What if any “hang forever” problems exist while signing the App Store certificate / key code code?

Question

My company works with several other companies to meet its iPhone development needs, and in many cases other companies already have some applications (applications) in the App Store.

We also process the presentation in the App Store for them, and in cases where they already have an existing application, their iOS Dev Center account already has a distribution certificate. In this case, we must purchase the key pair that was generated when they (or the third-party developer whom they hired) created the certificate. I always understood that this is a necessary process for working with the App Store.

But over time, I think about a few things

• What happens when certificates expire? I know that we are creating new ones, but this means that the applications in the App Store are signed with a / keypair certificate different from the one with which they were created. It is important? Or I can update existing applications in the App Store even with a new certificate / keypair (from the same Dev Center account),

• What happens if a key is lost for an existing certificate? Say the company made the application earlier, but the Macintosh they used earlier was struck by a meteorite. And no backups, of course. Do I have to revoke and recreate the certificate - would that mean anything for an existing published application? If I had the source code for this application and had to update it, can I do this?

Basically, I ask: are there any “hanging forever” scripts associated with iOS development and distribution certificates that will prevent you from updating existing applications? I know that if you do not back up the keystore in Android development, you will simply be in the know about publishing updates, but is there a way to completely ruin iOS development?

And the bonus question: if I can just revoke development certificates and re-issue them without consequences, does it always work? Or did they change the process? I can see where the “evidence chain” can always be tied to the iOS Dev Center Agent account, and that will be the root of things, but is this a new thing?

Answer 1

A distribution certificate is only used to send to iTunes Connect (and Ad Hoc). After approval, Apple signs the application with a different certificate without expiration before placing the application in the application store, so the state of the distribution distribution certificate no longer matters.

A downloaded or purchased application will work on the client device, even if the developer certificates and iOS registration expire. But the developer needs to re-register ($ 99 / annum) on time if they want their application to remain visible in the application store.

Typically, distribution certificates expire annually, maybe more often, new ones can be created, and updates for existing applications can only be submitted with the newest (and valid) distribution certificate.

If you lose a key pair, the group leader will have to revoke and generate new certificates and regulations, as well as update all of his capabilities for creating keys and Xcode and, possibly, project / goal parameters. Confusion over which certificates and regulations are alive and which are dead has caused some serious headaches for some developers.