I keep getting a "cannot verify server identity" notification

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sfrench Author

Level 1

13 points

I keep getting a "cannot verify server identity" notification

[Edited by Moderator]

iPhone 8, iOS 16

Posted on Jul 17, 2025 9:32 AM

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Answer 1

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

236,285 points

Jul 17, 2025 11:43 AM in response to sfrench

If you open your Calendar and look at the bottom of the page center, you should see the work Calendars.If you tap on that, it will display calendars that you have available and/or on your device. They are sorted by calendar source, such as iCloud, and the last set should be Other. There you will see things like Birthdays, Holidays. If you have a Holiday one, under it you should see Subscribed. That is one subscribed calendar. It is possible that you have another one, this one you are receiving the error from. If it is there, that is what you need to get rid of.

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Answer 2

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

236,285 points

Jul 17, 2025 10:34 AM in response to sfrench

Looks like you have a spam calendar subscription on your phone. Go to Calendar and follow the steps in this support document. Delete calendars and events on iPhone - Apple Support You can also watch this YouTube video from Apple Support.

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Answer 3

Jul 17, 2025 2:18 PM in response to sfrench

sfrench wrote:

Thank you, MrHoffman. I have followed these instructions. ChrisJ4203 sent them earlier.

I am subscribed to quite a few calendars, but none of them is the americanhistorycalendar.

And this notification pops up wherever I happen to be in my phone … while reading the NYT, for example.

So, I wonder whether this might actually more of a spam issue than a calendar issue. 🤷🏻‍♀️

It is likely one of the subscribed calendars is the problematic calendar, as one of the symptom of a malfunctioning subscribed calendar server certificate configuration includes these messages popping up seemingly at random.

This is not a certificate that is failing during installation. No attempt to install a certificate is transpiring here. This is a certificate associated with a website that is not trusted.

The edgesuite.net domain is part of Akamai content delivery network, so not directly to this pop-up certificate error. And the error shown looks to be a website configuration issue. Again, unrelated to the certificate error pop-up.

This is not Siri Suggestions.

What’s in the delegate calendars section?

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Answer 4

Jul 18, 2025 11:18 AM in response to sfrench

sfrench wrote:

P.S. (No spammy events appear in my Calendar app. The problem is just these spammy NOTIFICATIONS, which appear regularly and for no apparent reason.)

I’m unaware of “spammy” notifications in this thread.

What’s been discussed so far is neither spam nor a notification.

That then seems a different issue?

For what was discussed, remove the subscribed calendars one at a time, wait for each, and see which is the one that triggers this.

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Answer 5

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

236,285 points

Jul 18, 2025 8:04 AM in response to sfrench

Can you go to Settings>Apps>Mail. See how many accounts are listed there. Are these all mail accounts that you entered? Another question might be, is your device managed by an MDM from work, or something like that? I don't really have any other thoughts right now, but I'm working on it.

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Answer 6

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

236,285 points

Jul 18, 2025 11:37 AM in response to sfrench

Does the notification about the server identity appear when doing a specific task? It looks like you may be in Safari, or some other app. I'm wondering if it may have something to do with an advertisement that is trying to open from a website but it not coded correctly and is causing that error. I'm guessing that you tapped on Details in the original popup to get that certificate error? What happens if you tap on Cancel? Since it does not appear that you don't have a calendar subscription problem that it may be a popup from the page you are on when it happens. I've not experienced a problem being on the website, I've left it open in the background on my computer and it hasn't been a problem.

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Answer 7

sfrench Author

Level 1

13 points

Jul 19, 2025 7:42 AM in response to sfrench

Thank you for your help, ChrisJ4203, Kilgore-Trout and MrHoffman.

I located the offending calendar and unsubscribed … too bad for ****, I'd have preferred to keep this subscription. It sounds interesting. But the notifications were just too annoying; they have now stopped. 🎉

A search for the term "cannot verify server identity" in Apple Support Community shows this problem turning up in relation to quite a few sites. There's something causing it. I hope someone with strong tech skills gets to the bottom of it.

Thank you all, again.

[Edited by Moderator]

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Answer 8

sfrench Author

Level 1

13 points

Jul 18, 2025 4:31 AM in response to sfrench

Thank you, ChrisJ4203 and Kilgore-Trout. 👍

I agree this looks spammy. But I don't know what to do about it (I have read the materials you recommended).

As far as I know, I'm not subscribed to the americanhistorycalendar, so it's not here to be deleted.

Here's more info …

I'm baffled! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Edited by Moderator]

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Answer 9

sfrench Author

Level 1

13 points

Jul 17, 2025 12:14 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

Thanks for sticking with this, ChrisJ4203. 👍

Under "Other," I see:

US Holidays (subscribed)
Birthdays
Siri Suggestions (could this be the problem?)

Below that , there's:

Show Declined Events

And below that, there's:

Delegate Calendars …

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Answer 10

sfrench Author

Level 1

13 points

Jul 17, 2025 12:37 PM in response to MrHoffman

Thank you, MrHoffman. I have followed these instructions. ChrisJ4203 sent them earlier.

I am subscribed to quite a few calendars, but none of them is the americanhistorycalendar.

And this notification pops up wherever I happen to be in my phone … while reading the NYT, for example.

So, I wonder whether this might actually more of a spam issue than a calendar issue. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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Answer 11

sfrench Author

Level 1

13 points

Jul 18, 2025 1:15 PM in response to MrHoffman

Thank you for your detailed response, MrHoffman. 👍

Here's the Delegate Calendars screen:

I'm feeling out of my league.

Is there a way to recognize which subscribed calendar is the problem?

I could make an appointment at the Genius Bar if this is too difficult to solve remotely.

Thank you, again.

[Edited by Moderator]

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Answer 12

sfrench Author

Level 1

13 points

Jul 18, 2025 10:26 AM in response to ChrisJ4203

I use gmail and have deleted Apple's mail app.

It looks as if there are two email addresses in my Settings:

my gmail address and
an icloud address.

I don't think I've ever used the icloud address. I think I created that just as a way to have a place in icloud … which I don't think I ended up needing / using.

I don't know what an MDM is, but I don't think my phone was ever managed by my employer … even back when I had an employer (which I don't currently). My old work address is not in the Settings section. Do you think I should do a search for it? How would I do that?

I just did a search for MDM and got this:

"MDM stands for Mobile Device Management. It's a type of software used by organizations to monitor, manage, and secure mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops, especially when employees use their own devices for work (BYOD). MDM solutions help enforce security policies, manage applications, and configure settings on these devices, protecting sensitive company data."

That does seem like a possibility, since I was working for a large corporation and was using my own iPhone. But this pesky-popup problem didn't surface until fairly recently, well after I left the company.

Thank you for continuing to mull this problem. 👍

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