Apple MFI certification is a license to use the logo of external accessories produced by Apple authorized accessory manufacturers. It is ApplemadeForiosMadeForiPod, "MadeForiPhone", "and" MadeForiPad", which refers to electronic accessories designed to connect iPods, iPhones, and iPads, respectively. And these accessories have been authorized and certified by Apple to meet the performance standards of Apple products. Apple is not responsible for the operation of the device or compliance with safety certification standards.
How to apply for MFI certification?
The process of MFI certification is complex and can be summarized into three parts.
1. Submit an application
First of all, collect company information, mainly including the contact information of the person in charge of certification, company introduction, company organizational structure, enterprise **, material quality control, ISO system certificate and other information. Then register on Apple MFI Official**. Application. com) and submit the company information gathered in the first step to apply for an account.
Next, Apple will review the MFI system. This is a very critical step. Mainly investigate the company's management system of MFI chips to see if the company has a standardized process and system to manage MFI chips, which can effectively prevent chip resale or misappropriation of chips (using chips for projects that have not passed MFI recognition). Apple will arrange a special person or ** agency to conduct spot checks.
If the MFI system is reviewed, Apple will also investigate other circumstances of the company to assess whether the company qualifies for MFI membership. The audit standard mainly depends on the relevant qualifications of the company, whether there is a large production scale; whether there is an independent brand; whether the brand has a high status in the industry (mainly manifested in various honors); whether to supply to other internationally renowned enterprises; Whether the R&D personnel meet Apple's requirements, the applicant must ensure the authenticity of the application, and Apple will verify it one by one.
If all these conditions are met, congratulations on your company becoming an MFI member, eligible to purchase sample chips, and receive official MFI development documentation from Apple. Each page of the document is watermarked with the applicant's name, which is prohibited from disclosure to the public. MFI membership may be cancelled if discovered. It is said that most businesses get stuck in membership review.
2. Submit product plans, R&D and self-testing
If your company is one of the lucky fraction (5% supposedly, I hearsay, no official data backing it up) passes MFI membership**, obtains official Apple MFI R&D documentation, and buys MFI sample chips, then you can submit a product plan for product development and self-testing.
Submitting a product plan is a very critical step that requires a detailed description of the form of the company's product to be developed, the technical solution and the iOS device and the relevant information of the IOS, among which the more important information includes:
1) Accessory overview
If you are a car machine that supports CAPPLAY, then choose CarPlay, otherwise you should choose IAP; If your hardware needs to be connected with your iPhone and handle related business, not just a charging cable or data cable, then you should choose the AuthenticatiConcoProcessor among the compones....
2) Firmware & hardware
Firmware and hardware information.
All hardware that is now MFI certified needs to support the IAP2 protocol, so both IAP2 must be selected or both IAP2 and IAP1 supported.
How to communicate with Apple devices, whether to use USBhost mode, USBdevices mode, serial port or Bluetooth, you need to choose according to the needs and characteristics of the product.
3) Select the IAP2 feature supported by the hardware.
4) Select the supported Apple device model.
According to the product design, select the Apple device model, including pad, iplnird.
5) App-related information.
This is also the part that iOS developers need to pay attention to, including the version number of the application, bundleld and protocol strings, and the description of the main features of the iOS application. This information needs to be consistent with the information attached to the application test package with the MFI review.
3. Test review and mass production
This phase is also led by the hardware manufacturer. When hardware MFI certification is approved, certification and audit of the product packaging is also required. After the review is passed, Apple can authorize the bulk purchase of MFI chips, and then mass produce and sell the hardware according to the sales plan.
The entire cycle of MFI certification takes about 3 months to half a year, and each time you submit a certification test, you need to pay a test fee of $600, and Apple will not send back hardware test samples.