Apple Push Notification Limits

Question

I'm developing an iOS application that uses push notifications, I have implemented the app and the server side and it works great if I send just one or two notifications. The problem comes when I need to send the same notification to all of my users, the notifications only get to the first users of the loop. I'm in sandbox, so I wonder if there is any limit for sandbox environment, because I have read that the APNS service has no limit. Any idea?

Thanks in advance,

UPDATED SOLUTION:

I had to check apple response, I was sending push to invalid tokens and Apple disconnected me from server. With the following function I have solved the problem. Thanks @Eran and this post

/* FUNCTION to check if there is an error response from Apple
 * Returns TRUE if there was and FALSE if there was not
 */
public function checkAppleErrorResponse($fp) {

    //byte1=always 8, byte2=StatusCode, bytes3,4,5,6=identifier(rowID). 
    // Should return nothing if OK.

    //NOTE: Make sure you set stream_set_blocking($fp, 0) or else fread will pause your script and wait 
    // forever when there is no response to be sent. 
    $apple_error_response = fread($fp, 6);
    if ($apple_error_response) {

        // unpack the error response (first byte 'command" should always be 8)
        $error_response = unpack('Ccommand/Cstatus_code/Nidentifier', $apple_error_response); 

        if ($error_response['status_code'] == '0') {
        $error_response['status_code'] = '0-No errors encountered';

        } else if ($error_response['status_code'] == '1') {
        $error_response['status_code'] = '1-Processing error';

        } else if ($error_response['status_code'] == '2') {
        $error_response['status_code'] = '2-Missing device token';

        } else if ($error_response['status_code'] == '3') {
        $error_response['status_code'] = '3-Missing topic';

        } else if ($error_response['status_code'] == '4') {
        $error_response['status_code'] = '4-Missing payload';

        } else if ($error_response['status_code'] == '5') {
        $error_response['status_code'] = '5-Invalid token size';

        } else if ($error_response['status_code'] == '6') {
        $error_response['status_code'] = '6-Invalid topic size';

        } else if ($error_response['status_code'] == '7') {
        $error_response['status_code'] = '7-Invalid payload size';

        } else if ($error_response['status_code'] == '8') {
        $error_response['status_code'] = '8-Invalid token';

        } else if ($error_response['status_code'] == '255') {
        $error_response['status_code'] = '255-None (unknown)';

        } else {
        $error_response['status_code'] = $error_response['status_code'].'-Not listed';

        }

        echo '<br><b>+ + + + + + ERROR</b> Response Command:<b>' . $error_response['command'] . '</b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Identifier:<b>' . $error_response['identifier'] . '</b>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Status:<b>' . $error_response['status_code'] . '</b><br>';

        echo 'Identifier is the rowID (index) in the database that caused the problem, and Apple will disconnect you from server. To continue sending Push Notifications, just start at the next rowID after this Identifier.<br>';
        return true;
    }
    return false;
}

Solution

The likely problem is that some of the device tokens you are using are invalid (remember that production device tokens are invalid in sandbox environment and vica versa). Sending a notification to an invalid device token will close your socket to the APN servers. All the notifications written to that socket after the invalid one will be discarded until you open a new socket.

You can try to read error responses from Apple to find out which device token is invalid.

You should definitely read the error checking section of the Tech Note that was already mentioned by other people here.

Comments

[Marta Rodriguez]

I'm sending the same notification to all users (some message), and some of them receive the notifications and others no, so I guess that the length is not the problem, anyway, I am checking the limit.

[MZimmerman6]

Are you sure each send succeeds or are you being blocked by your ISP for what may be perceived as spamming or something like that?

[Marta Rodriguez]

I have checked the response from Apple and in all cases it returns the apns message size. Also, I have checked the feedback service and it returns empty

[Marta Rodriguez]

you are right, I was sending push to invalid tokens, but I didn't check the apple response correctly, now it works perfect. Thanks!! This link helped me learn-php-by-example.blogspot.com.es/2013/01/…, with "checkAppleErrorResponse" function.

[Fatima]

@Eran I tried to use the same code above, and it gave me the invalid tokens which are development tokens, and I removed them from database, but still not received by all devices, and I gave up :(