macOS 26.5.1: Age Range Setup Assistant pane cannot be skipped with MDM SetupAssistant payload outside ADE

Hello,

I’m trying to clarify whether the new Age Range / Age Assurance Setup Assistant pane can be skipped on macOS when using a standard MDM Device Enrollment flow, not Automated Device Enrollment.

Environment:

• Platform: macOS Tahoe 26.5.1

• Enrollment type: MDM Device Enrollment, not ADE / DEP

• MDM: Microsoft Intune

• Profile deployment channel: Device profile

• Payload type: com.apple.SetupAssistant.managed

• Key used: SkipSetupItems

• Skip items tested:

  • AgeAssurance
  • AgeBasedSafetySettings

The configuration profile installs successfully on the Mac as a device profile. I can confirm that the com.apple.SetupAssistant.managed payload is present on the device and includes the tested SkipSetupItems values. However, the Age Range / age-related Setup Assistant pane is still shown to the user.

Example payload content:

<dict>
    <key>PayloadType</key>
    <string>com.apple.SetupAssistant.managed</string>

    <key>PayloadIdentifier</key>
    <string>com.example.setupassistant.managed</string>

    <key>PayloadUUID</key>
    <string>REDACTED-UUID</string>

    <key>PayloadVersion</key>
    <integer>1</integer>

    <key>PayloadDisplayName</key>
    <string>Managed Setup Assistant</string>

    <key>SkipSetupItems</key>
    <array>
        <string>AgeAssurance</string>
        <string>AgeBasedSafetySettings</string>
    </array>
</dict>

What I expected:

When the com.apple.SetupAssistant.managed payload is installed as a device-level profile and includes the relevant age-related skip keys, the Age Range / Age Assurance pane should be skipped during Setup Assistant, or Apple documentation should state clearly that this pane can only be skipped in ADE.

What actually happens:

The profile installs, but the Age Range / age-related Setup Assistant pane still appears to the user on macOS 26.5.1.

Documentation ambiguity:

Apple’s Setup Assistant payload documentation says:

• The supported payload identifier is com.apple.SetupAssistant.managed
• Supported operating systems/channels include macOS device and macOS user
• Supported enrollment methods include User Enrollment, Device Enrollment, and Automated Device Enrollment
• SkipSetupItems is a list of Setup Assistant panes that can be skipped

Apple’s macOS Tahoe 26 enterprise notes say:

• “The new Age Range setup pane is automatically skipped for devices using Automated Device Enrollment.”

That wording clearly mentions ADE, but I have not found documentation that explicitly states whether the Age Range pane is intentionally unsupported for non-ADE macOS MDM enrollment, or whether there is a separate skip key required for macOS.

Third-party MDM/tooling documentation appears to reference the following newer skip keys:

• AgeAssurance
• AgeBasedSafetySettings

However, it is unclear whether those keys are supported on macOS, iOS/iPadOS only, ADE only, or all MDM enrollment methods.

Questions:

1. Are AgeAssurance and AgeBasedSafetySettings valid SkipSetupItems values on macOS 26.5.1?
2. If yes, are they supported only during Automated Device Enrollment, or should they also work with standard MDM Device Enrollment?
3. If these keys are iOS/iPadOS-only, what is the correct macOS skip item for the Age Range / age-related Setup Assistant pane?
4. Is the Age Range pane intentionally only auto-skipped in ADE on macOS?
5. Should Apple’s public Device Management / SkipKeys documentation be updated to list the correct key names, supported platforms, minimum OS versions, and enrollment requirements?

This is important for Mac deployments where devices are enrolled into MDM but are not assigned through Apple Business Manager / Automated Device Enrollment. At the moment, it is difficult to determine whether the behavior is expected, unsupported, or a bug in macOS / Setup Assistant / MDM profile handling.

Thanks.