Does Azure Notification Hub Support iOS VoIP Push Notifications?

Question

I am using the paid service of Azure Notification Hub to send regular push notifications and VoIP push notifications. Regular push notifications are working fine for both Android and iOS. However, VoIP push notifications are not functioning on iOS.

I have updated the required payload and header parameters according to the documentation, but the notifications are still being sent as normal messages instead of VoIP messages.

For Android, VoIP push notifications are working as expected.

Could someone confirm if Azure Notification Hub supports iOS VoIP push notifications? If yes, are there specific configurations or steps I need to follow to enable it?

Answer 1

Hi @Naresh Khuriwal ,
Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A Platform!
Azure Notification Hub does support iOS VoIP push notifications, but certain specific configurations are required to ensure they are sent correctly.
APNs VoIP Certificate

Use a VoIP-specific APNs certificate generated from the Apple Developer portal.

• Upload the .p12 file to Azure Notification Hub.
• Include content-available: 1 in the payload to indicate background processing.

    {
        "aps": {
            "content-available": 1,
            "alert": {
                "title": "Incoming Call",
                "body": "You have an incoming call."
            }
        }
    }
  

Headers

Set the following headers:

• apns-push-type: voip
• apns-priority: 10
• apns-topic: <Bundle Identifier>.voip

Bundle Identifier

Ensure the app’s Bundle Identifier matches the apns-topic.

Device Token:

• Use a VoIP-specific device token generated with

pushRegistry.desiredPushTypes = [.voIP]

Test with APNs

• Use tools like curl to test VoIP push notifications directly with APNs.

Azure Notification Hub Logs

• Enable and review diagnostic logs in the Azure portal for errors or mismatches.
  If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it.

Answer 2

// Check if form data is received
if (isset($_REQUEST['tag'])) {
    $tag = htmlspecialchars(trim($_REQUEST['tag'])); // Sanitize input
    $client_type = htmlspecialchars(trim($_REQUEST['client_type'])); // Sanitize input

    $is_voip_push = true; // Set to true for VOIP push
    // $client_type = "FcmV1"; // Platform type (e.g., FcmV1, apple, etc.)

    // Prepare notification details
    $title = "New Alert";
    $body = "You have a new update. Please check your app for details.";
    $uuid = Uuid::uuid4();
    // Convert the UUID to string and remove hyphens
    $message_id = str_replace('-', '', $uuid->toString());

    if($client_type == "android"){
        $payload = json_encode([
            "notification" => [
                "title" => $title,
                "body" => $body,
            ],
            "android" => [
                "priority" => "high" // Example custom data
            ]
        ]);
    }
    if($client_type == "apple"){
       
        $aps = [
            "content-available" => 1,
            "alert" => [
                "title" => $title,
                "body" => $body
            ]
        ];

        
        $payload = json_encode([
            "aps" => $aps
        ]);


    }
    

    // Instantiate NotificationHub
    try {
        $notificationHub = new NotificationHub($connectionString, $hubName);
        echo $payload;
        echo "\n";

        // Create Notification object
        $notification = new Notification($client_type, $payload);

        // Send Notification
        $message_id = $notificationHub->sendNotification($notification, $tag, $is_voip_push, $client_type);

        // Log result
        if ($message_id) {
            echo "Notification sent successfully! Message ID: $message_id\n";
        } else {
            echo "Failed to send notification.\n";
        }
    } catch (Exception $e) {
        echo "Error sending notification: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
    }
}

Main Sending Method

	public function sendNotification($notification, $tagsOrTagExpression, $is_voip_push, $client_type) 
	{
		if (is_array($tagsOrTagExpression)) {
			$tagExpression = implode(" || ", $tagsOrTagExpression);
		} else {
			$tagExpression = $tagsOrTagExpression;
		}
		# build uri
		$uri = $this->endpoint . $this->hubPath . "/messages" . NotificationHub::API_VERSION;
		//$url = "https://fcm.googleapis.com/fcm/send";
		// $GLOBALS['log']->info("apiv2:NotificationHub:info:" . ' uri: ' . $uri);
		$message_id = null;
		$ch = curl_init($uri);

		if (in_array($notification->format, ["template", "apple", "fcm", "gcm", "FcmV1", "adm"])) {
			$contentType = "application/json;charset=utf-8";
		} else {
			$contentType = "application/xml";
		}

		$token = $this->generateSasToken($uri);

		$headers = [
		    'Authorization: '.$token,
		    'Content-Type: '.$contentType,
		    'ServiceBusNotification-Format: '.$notification->format
		];

        if ("" !== $tagExpression) {
			$headers[] = 'ServiceBusNotification-Tags:' .$tagExpression; #;
		}

		if ($is_voip_push && ($client_type == "apple" || $client_type == "iphone") ) {
			$headers[] = 'ServiceBusNotification-Apns-Push-Type: voip';
			$headers[] = 'ServiceBusNotification-Apns-Topic: com.messaging.stars.voip';
			$headers[] = 'ServiceBusNotification-Apns-Priority: 10';
			$headers[] = 'ServiceBusNotification-Apns-Expiration: 0';		
			$GLOBALS['log']->info("apiv2:NotificationHub:Headers of sending notificaiton:" . json_encode($headers));
			print_r($headers);
		}

		# add headers for other platforms
		if (is_array($notification->headers)) {
			$headers = array_merge($headers, $notification->headers);
		}
		curl_setopt_array($ch, array(
		    CURLOPT_POST => TRUE,
		    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => TRUE,
		    CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER => FALSE,
		    CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => $headers,
		    CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => $notification->payload,
			CURLOPT_HEADER => TRUE, // Include headers in the output
			CURLOPT_VERBOSE => TRUE
		));
        curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_VERBOSE, true);
		$response = curl_exec($ch);
		// Check for errors
		if($response === FALSE){
			$GLOBALS['log']->info("apiv2:NotificationHub:Error sending notificaiton:" . curl_error($ch));
		    return;
		}

		$header_size = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HEADER_SIZE);
		$header = substr($response, 0, $header_size);
		$body = substr($response, $header_size);
	
		$info = curl_getinfo($ch);
		$GLOBALS['log']->info("apiv2:NotificationHub:status_code:" . $info['http_code'] . ' msg: ' . $body);
		$GLOBALS['log']->info("apiv2:NotificationHub:info: headers: " . $header);

		
		if ($info['http_code'] <> 201) {
			$GLOBALS['log']->info("apiv2:NotificationHub:Error sending notificaiton:" . $info['http_code'] . ' msg: ' . $response);
			return;
		}

		// Extract Location header
		$headers_array = explode("\r\n", $header);
		$location_header = null;
		foreach ($headers_array as $header_line) {
			if (stripos($header_line, 'Location:') === 0) {
				$location_header = trim(substr($header_line, 9));
				break;
			}
		}
		try{
			$parsed_url = parse_url($location_header);
			$path = $parsed_url['path'];
			$path_segments = explode('/', $path);
			$message_id = end($path_segments);
		}catch (Exception $e) {
			$GLOBALS['log']->info("apiv2:NotificationHub:error: " . $e->getMessage());
			return;
		}
		
		return $message_id;
	} 

Registration Request

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<entry xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
    <content type="application/xml">
        <AppleRegistrationDescription xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
            xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/netservices/2010/10/servicebus/connect">
            <Tags>keith51330_20241128132110</Tags>
            <DeviceToken>---replaced value --XXXX</DeviceToken>
        </AppleRegistrationDescription>
    </content>
</entry>

Registration Response

<entry p1:etag="W/&quot;1&quot;" xmlns:p1="http://schemas.microsoft.com/ado/2007/08/dataservices/metadata" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
    <id>https://xx.notificationhub.windows.net/xx-01/registrations/3722865485130199588-5427083653015844075-1?api-version=2015-01</id>
    <title type="text">3722865485130199588-5427083653015844075-1</title>
    <published>2024-11-28T07:51:18Z</published>
    <updated>2024-11-28T07:51:18Z</updated>
    <link rel="self" href="https://xxx.windows.net/xx-01/registrations/3722865485130199588-5427083653015844075-1?api-version=2015-01" />
    <content type="application/xml">
        <AppleRegistrationDescription xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/netservices/2010/10/servicebus/connect">
            <ETag>1</ETag>
            <ExpirationTime>9999-12-31T23:59:59.9999999</ExpirationTime>
            <RegistrationId>3722865485130199588-5427083653015844075-1</RegistrationId>
            <Tags>keith51330_20241128132110</Tags>
            <DeviceToken>xxx</DeviceToken>
        </AppleRegistrationDescription>
    </content>
</entry>

This is the last try please let me suggest if i am doing anything wrong Normal push is working but voip push is not working