---
title: "Register a device"
section: "frontend/push-notifications/customer-profiles"
platforms: ["react-native"]
gen: 2
last-updated: "2026-07-30T16:47:07.000Z"
url: "https://docs.amplify.aws/react/frontend/push-notifications/customer-profiles/register-device/"
---

A device must be registered before an Amazon Connect journey can deliver a notification to it. Registering stores the device's push token against the current user's profile identity, so your backend knows where to send messages.

## Registration happens automatically

In most applications you do not call `registerDevice` yourself. After you call `initializePushNotifications`, the library listens for the push token that the native platform issues and registers the device the first time a token arrives.

```ts title="index.js"
import { Amplify } from 'aws-amplify';
import { initializePushNotifications } from 'aws-amplify/push-notifications/customer-profiles';
import outputs from './amplify_outputs.json';

Amplify.configure(outputs);
initializePushNotifications();
```

The library also re-registers the device when a user signs in, which moves the existing registration from the guest identity to the authenticated one. See [Guest and authenticated users](/[platform]/frontend/push-notifications/customer-profiles/guest-and-authenticated-users/).

A token is issued only after the user grants notification permission, so request permission during your onboarding flow:

```ts
import {
  getPermissionStatus,
  requestPermissions
} from 'aws-amplify/push-notifications/customer-profiles';

const status = await getPermissionStatus();

if (status === 'shouldRequest') {
  await requestPermissions();
} else if (status === 'shouldExplainThenRequest') {
  // Explain why your application sends notifications, then request permission.
  await requestPermissions();
}
```

`getPermissionStatus` resolves to `'granted'`, `'denied'`, `'shouldRequest'`, or `'shouldExplainThenRequest'`. `requestPermissions` resolves to a boolean indicating whether permission was granted.

## Register a device manually

Call `registerDevice` with a push token when you need to control registration yourself, for example to register only after a user opts in to notifications in your own settings screen. Obtain the token with `onTokenReceived`:

```ts
import {
  onTokenReceived,
  registerDevice
} from 'aws-amplify/push-notifications/customer-profiles';

const listener = onTokenReceived(async (token) => {
  await registerDevice({ token });
});
```

The `token` is the only value you provide. The library resolves the remaining device fields for you:

| Field | Source |
| --- | --- |
| `deviceId` | A stable identifier the library generates and persists per installation. |
| `platform` | Derived from the operating system. |
| `channelType` | Derived from the operating system, which selects the APNs or FCM channel. |

Registration is an idempotent operation keyed on `deviceId`, so calling `registerDevice` again with a new token updates the existing record rather than creating a second one.

## The device belongs to the current identity

The registered device is stored against the `principalId` that your backend derives from the signed request, so a device always belongs to the identity that registered it. Your application never sends a user identifier, and one user cannot register a device against another user's profile.

Because the identity comes from Amazon Cognito identity pool credentials, registration works for guest users as well as signed-in users.

## When to call registerDevice

Call `registerDevice` in these situations:

- After a user opts in to notifications, when you are managing registration manually rather than relying on automatic registration.
- After receiving a replacement token from `onTokenReceived`, if you are not relying on the automatic listener.

You do not need to call `registerDevice` on every application start, or after a user signs in. The registration persists, and sign-in re-registration is handled for you.

## Handle errors

`registerDevice` rejects in the following cases:

- **Push notifications are not initialized.** Call `initializePushNotifications` before registering a device.
- **No token is available.** Pass a token, or wait until `onTokenReceived` has fired.
- **The request failed.** The endpoint returned a non-success status, or the request could not complete.

```ts
import { registerDevice } from 'aws-amplify/push-notifications/customer-profiles';

try {
  await registerDevice({ token });
} catch (error) {
  console.error('Failed to register device', error);
}
```

## Next steps

- [Remove a device](/[platform]/frontend/push-notifications/customer-profiles/remove-device/): de-register a device before signing a user out.