Installing private CA root certificate on iOS devices

This isn’t related to Lync or OCS, but we see people having a hard time to install root CA certificates on iOS devices (iPhone/iPad).

While it’s recommended to use public certificates for Lync Mobility, sometimes we are just doing some tests to show to decision makers. Another case is a company that only deployed Lync Mobility internally and doesn’t want to spend on a public certificate.

Sending the root CA to an email account won’t work. We recommend you follow the next steps:

Step 1 – Export root CA certificate

The first thing is to obtain the certificate. We can do this by browsing our CA or exporting it from our PC.

Method A: Internal CA website

In this case http://dc.lync2013.uclobby/certsrv/ in Internet Explorer.

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Select Download a CA certificate, certificate chain or CRL, and then click Download CA certificate.

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Method B: Using MMC Certificate Snap-in

Open MMC and add the Certificate Snap-In. Expand Trusted Root Certification Authorities and select Certificates and the CA certificate and Export it.

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In the File Format select DER.

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After selecting the file destination path, we will get the following windows:

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Step 2 – Importing CA to OneDrive

Open Internet Explorer and browse http://OneDrive.com.

Select the right folder and select Upload:

After uploading the file, the following message will be displayed:

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Step 3 -Installing the root CA certificate

Now in your iOS device, open Safari, browse http://OneDrive.com, and find the root CA certificate file.

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Download the file and, when it completes, we will be prompted to install:

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Since this is a private root CA, iOS wont trust it. Selecting Install will show a warning and we need to confirm again to install the certificate.

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After choosing the Install option, the private root CA certificate is now trusted by our iOS device.

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Important note: Don’t use OneDrive app to download the certificate, or it will give an error message:

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Step 4 – Check if the root CA certificate is installed

The root CA certificates will be stored as profiles. To view all the certificates installed, go to Settings General Profiles:

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Note: This option will only appear below the VPN settings if we have at least one certificate installed.

As a final note, it’s important to say that these steps aren’t the only way to do this. Still, they certainly are a practical way to successfully install the root CA certificate on iPhone or iPad.