Background / Objective We are currently developing a solution to centrally manage Apple OS updates (major and minor) across managed macOS devices. Before implementing at scale, we need Apple’s guidance on supported and future-proof update mechanisms under MDM. Questions / Ask (Apple Guidance Requested) Apple recommended method What is Apple’s recommended approach to perform: Minor updates (e.g., macOS X.Y → X.Z) Major upgrades (e.g., Ventura → Sonoma) in an enterprise fleet? Support boundary Is macOS update management only supported via MDM (including any newer declarative workflows), or are local mechanisms (installer + command-line tooling) also considered supported for enterprise automation? Use of startosinstall Can we leverage the existing utility: /Applications/Install macOS .app/Contents/Resources/startosinstall for automated upgrades in enterprise environments? If yes, are there recommended flags/workflows Apple endorses for unattended or minimally interactive upgrades? Long-term support / stability Does startosinstall have any form of long-term support / stability guarantees across future macOS releases? Are there any known deprecations planned (or guidance that customers should transition to MDM/DDM workflows)? MDM interaction / interference When using startosinstall, can MDM policies (software update deferrals/restrictions, update enforcement, etc.) interfere with or block the upgrade? If interference is expected, what is the correct supported way to coordinate: MDM software update settings local startosinstall execution to avoid failures and ensure compliance? What We Need From Apple (Desired Outcome) A clear statement of recommended and supported update workflow(s) for enterprise managed macOS: for minor updates for major upgrades Guidance on whether startosinstall is acceptable for long-term automation, or whether we should only use MDM/DDM-driven workflows. Any best practices or reference documentation Apple recommends for implementing this safely and reliably.

Requesting com.apple.managed-keychain Entitlement for Enterprise S/MIME Cert Visibility Platform: iOS | Distribution: MDM (Microsoft Intune) | Not App Store We are developing an internal enterprise iOS app (EMS Assist, com.company.supportcompanion) for Company deployed exclusively to Intune-managed devices. Our requirement: Read S/MIME certificates pushed to the device via Intune SCEP profiles to: Confirm cert presence in the MDM-managed keychain Read expiry date (kSecAttrNotValidAfter) to warn users before expiry Distinguish between missing, expired, and valid cert states What we have tried: Standard SecItemCopyMatching query — returns only app-installed certs, not MDM-pushed certs Graph API (deviceConfigurationStates) — confirms profile compliance but does not expose actual cert expiry or keychain presence Our understanding: com.apple.managed-keychain is required for an app to access MDM-managed keychain items on supervised devices, combined with a matching keychain-access-groups entitlement and the cert profile configured as "always available" in MDM. Questions: Is com.apple.managed-keychain the correct entitlement for this use case? Does it apply to SCEP/PKCS-issued certificates specifically, or only other MDM keychain items? Has anyone successfully accessed Intune-pushed S/MIME certs from an iOS app using this entitlement? Any guidance from the community or Apple engineers would be appreciated.

Hi, Is there any possible way we can install enrolment provisioning profile using iOS app using User/Account Authentication Enrolment such as described in this thread: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicemanagement/implementing-the-oauth2-authentication-user-enrollment-flow

I want to side load a .ipa file from a Mac to iPhone connected to Mac via USB. I don't want to use ABM or enterprise account. Also these can be any number of unknown devices. Is there any way to set this up automatically?

Is there any mechanism to restrict camera usage on a user-owned device, once they have opted in, consented to the restriction, and installed a management profile? Documentation suggests it was possible with allowCamera, but has be deprecated on unsupervised devices. Am I understanding correctly that it's simply not possible anymore unless the device is supervised?

I'm working on the companion iOS app for my purpose-built MDM system. when I use the following in a .swift file: import DeviceManagement I get the build issue: No such module 'DeviceManagement' When I attempt to add the framework in the Frameworks, Libraries, and Embedded Content settings, DeviceManagement doesn't even show up in the available frameworks. Alll the documentation I can find suggests that is the correct framework to import, but I'm new to this and not sure if I'm just missing something. Some AI help is suggesting that the culprit might be v16.x of Xcode, but I don't know enough to prove that correct or not. Any ideas on why Xcode believes there is no such module? Is there documentation that might help me learn how to make that framework available for my project?

We are going to replace our iPhone SE to iPhone 16e. The issue is that we are unable to install an in-house app on the new iPhone 16e. The app works on the iPhone SE Both phones run on the same iOS version (18.5) Has anyone else experienced the same issue? I initially thought the iPhone 16e was the successor to the iPhone SE

Three months ago I molded a mold program. I believe could be tweaked and tried unlined zero code. swear. anyway I would like to scale with some people if I can go to commercial area code phoned series and calls.and if I have rights. but my next moves for them. on iOS I think they should have a seri settings. where they can call seri.on settings, and it jump many codes-and navigation is hard. plus I think seri can help in settings expecially since seri settings is verbal drop. if the words fit or are similar it cues goes to but you have to hard call the switch.so there’s no hey no Sami where you setting no Sammy right I think it could skip cauldron and everything verbally either. Seri settings I think iOS should try it.

Hi Apple Team & Community, The new Introduction of Platform SSO during ADE Enrollment is Great And we tried implementing this. As a Rule mentioned in the Documentation Initially MDM Server should send 403 response with Response Body adhering to ErrorCodePlatformSSORequired when HTTP Header for MachineInfo request contains MDM_CAN_REQUEST_PSSO_CONFIG and set to true There are contradictory claims mentioned in Document, In Process Platform SSO Required Response it is mentioned that MDM Server should send body as JSON Object for ErrorCodePlatformSSORequired Example below >>>>> Response HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden Content-Type: application/json Content-Length: 558 { "code": "com.apple.psso.required", "description": "MDM Server requires the user to authenticate with Identity Provider - BY MEMDM", "message": "The MDM server requires you to authenticate with your Identity Provider. Please follow the instructions provided by your organization to complete the authentication process - BY MEMDM", "details": { "Package": { "ManifestURL": "https://platform-sso-node-server.vercel.app:443/manifest" }, "ProfileURL": "https://platform-sso-node-server.vercel.app:443/profile", "AuthURL": "https://platform-sso-node-server.vercel.app:443/auth" } } But in the same Document a Sample HTTP Response was Provided but seems to be XML format as below >>>>> Response HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden Content-Type: application/xml Content-Length: 601 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>Code</key> <string>com.apple.psso.required</string> <key>Details</key> <dict> <key>ProfileURL</key> <string>https://mdmserver.example.com/psso.mobileconfig</string> <key>Package</key> <dict> <key>ManifestURL</key> <string>https://mdmserver.example.com/psso-app.plist</string> </dict> <key>AuthURL</key> <string>https://idp.example.com/authenticate</string> </dict> </dict> </plist> From Github I assume that both Response Types are welcomed hence I tried with Both Followed in JSON Mode, I redirected the HTTP request if MachineInfo contains MDM_CAN_REQUEST_PSSO_CONFIG and set to true to https://platform-sso-node-server.vercel.app/redirectedDEPJSON Followed in XML Mode, I redirected the HTTP request if MachineInfo contains MDM_CAN_REQUEST_PSSO_CONFIG and set to true to https://platform-sso-node-server.vercel.app/redirectedDEPXML In both Response Modes OS is not proceeding after and a error Stating Enrollment with Management Server Failed , Forbidden request (403) appears Can someone kindly guide on where I missed, or is this any OS Bug in Tahoe 26?

I'm currently implementing a managed app using the new AppConfig specification. I referred to Apple's official documentation: Specifying and decoding a configuration. Based on the example provided in the "Publish your configuration specification" section, I structured my application configuration plist like this: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>configuration</key> <dict> <key>account</key> <dict> <key>username</key> <string>test user</string> <key>password</key> <string>test 123</string> </dict> <key>domain</key> <string>test example.com</string> </dict> </dict> </plist> When I deployed this configuration via my MDM server, the server reported valid for the activation, configuration and asset (which is the plist), but the configuration did not reflect or apply within my app. My app was unable to retrieve these settings. After some troubleshooting, I found that removing the top-level <key>configuration</key> wrapper resolved the issue. The following plist structure successfully pushed the configuration to my app: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>account</key> <dict> <key>username</key> <string>test user</string> <key>password</key> <string>test 123</string> </dict> <key>domain</key> <string>test example.com</string> </dict> </plist> My question is: Is the inclusion of the <key>configuration</key> wrapper (as shown in the Apple documentation example) incorrect for the current AppConfig implementation? Or is this structure intended for a future release (e.g., iOS 26 or beyond) and the documentation implicitly refers to it, causing confusion for current implementation? Any clarification would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Hi everyone, I’m working as an IT engineer in the cruise industry and need to troubleshoot passenger complaints about Apple’s new RCS messaging feature (introduced with iOS 18). Could someone help confirm which domains and ports iPhones use when they send RCS messages? For the fortigate and palo alto firewalls I need specifics: domains (or subdomains) that need whitelisting and the ports involved. Any official or community-sourced info would be super helpful—thanks in advance!

Hello All, I am currently developing a mobile management system using declarative management and for the most part it is pretty great. There is one consistent issue I have run into and it comes when testing VPP app installs with not enough licenses. When my server detects that it can't provide a license ID it will return a 404, which causes the rest of the DM syncing to stop, and the activation to throw an error. Per the documentation for using simple activation: An array of strings that specify the identifiers of configurations to install. A failure to install one of the configurations doesn’t prevent other configurations from installing The above would imply that if a config fails it should not affect anything else (aside from possibly reporting an error. Am I returning the wrong error code for it to continue or is the behavior correct and the documentation is wrong? Any additional info would be useful

Hi guys, I need to configure a VPN to work only for specific apps. I already have a supervised iPhone, and I’ve successfully configured the VPN, but right now it applies to the whole phone. I need it to work just for some apps. I tried using both Apple Configurator and iMazing, but I can’t find this option there.

I work at a school in NYC and have a software idea that could better support the new NYC phone ban law than current market options (i.e. Yondr pouches). Right now at my school, students and staff scan a QR code upon entering the building to indicate that they are in the building. They scan again on the way out to indicate they've left the building. This is super helpful for attendance, particularly in emergency situations (fire drills, etc). Imagine if when students scanned their QR code, it also activated an app similar to Opal or ScreenZen, but with an admin preset whitelisted apps. The idea is that this app would default deny access to all apps on students' phones except the admin preset whitelisted ones such as Phone, Calculator, etc. Depending on the age/needs of the student, other apps like Spotify, or medical apps could also be whitelisted. My question is -- is this idea possible to create? We would need admin preset controls to create the preset whitelist. We can't have students picking their own restrictions, as we know most would opt to not restrict at all. We would need an admin dashboard so teachers/admin can see which students have activated the app in the building, and which may be trying to sneakily avoid it. We would ideally need to be able to whitelist both system apps like Phone and Calculator, as well as non-system apps such as Spotify (and medical apps -- we have some students who manage/monitor their Diabetes with an app). I don't have a background in software. I'm a math and health teacher. I've experimented with trying to have friends who majored in CS to create this app for me, but they've all either struggled/lost interest. So I'm also looking for a business partner in this venture. If anyone has any guidance here, it would be so helpful! My boss (Head of School) is super interested in this idea and significantly prefers it to every other alternative that he has encountered. The problem is this idea does not exist yet! Note: I know this is a super similar idea to the app and product "Brick". Notably, though, Brick does not have the ability for admin preset controls, or the admin dashboard. We reached out to the company to see if they're create this for us and they said it's a back burner idea that they're aware of, but it's not a priority for them right now. Thank you for any guidance!

When using the SoftwareUpdateEnforcementSpecific to target an update to iPad OS 18.7.1, will the update be triggered to be downloaded immediately after the iPad has an active Internet connectivity? Or, if the SoftwareUpdateSettingsAutomaticActionsObject download string is set to AlwaysOff, will this mean that the update enforced will not start downloading automatically, but only when the user decides? I am trying to understand how these two can be combined together or if they work independently, as while trying to enforce a specific version, we need to eliminate the possibility to download an iPad OS version using cellular data, as our devices have an eSIM installed and the cost of using that for the iOS updates will be quite high. Maybe there is a setting to only allow the iOS updates to be downloaded via Wi-Fi. Thanks!

Hi, We have a macOS app that uses NETransparentProxyManager (Transparent App Proxy) with a NETunnelProviderExtension. The Network Extension is configured and deployed via an MDM configuration profile. The profile is pushed through Intune MDM as a user-enrolled device (Company Portal enrollment, not ADE/supervised). The MDM profile sets up the Transparent Proxy extension as follows (sanitized snippet): <key>VPNType</key> <string>TransparentProxy</string> <key>TransparentProxy</key> <dict> <key>ProviderType</key> <string>app-proxy</string> <key>ProviderBundleIdentifier</key> <string>com.example.app.tunnel</string> <key>ProviderDesignatedRequirement</key> <string>identifier "com.example.app.tunnel" and anchor apple generic and certificate leaf[subject.OU] = TEAMID</string> <key>RemoteAddress</key> <string>100.64.0.0</string> </dict> <key>PayloadScope</key> <string>System</string> What we do in code: Call NETransparentProxyManager.loadAllFromPreferences — this correctly returns the MDM-managed profile (1 profile found) We do not call saveToPreferences — the profile already exists We call NEVPNConnection.startVPNTunnel() to connect and NEVPNConnection.stopVPNTunnel() to disconnect Problem: On a user-enrolled MDM device, when the app is running as a standard user (non-admin), every call to startVPNTunnel() or stopVPNTunnel() triggers the macOS VPN consent dialog: "VPN is trying to modify your system settings. Enter your password to allow this." Console log evidence: Failed to authorize 'system.preferences' by client '/System/Library/ExtensionKit/Extensions/VPN.appex' for authorization created by '/System/Library/ExtensionKit/Extensions/VPN.appex' (-60006) (engine 881) Key observations: Even if the user does not provide the admin credentials in the popup and cancel the window, still things work properly in the background i.e start/stop works. This does not happen for admin users on user-enrolled devices saveToPreferences is NOT called — the profile is MDM-managed and already present The prompt is triggered purely by startVPNTunnel() / stopVPNTunnel() from a standard user process Question: Is there a supported API, entitlement, or MDM configuration key that allows NETransparentProxyManager.startVPNTunnel() / stopVPNTunnel() to be invoked by a standard user process on a user-enrolled (non-supervised) device without triggering the system.preferences authorization dialog — given that the VPN profile is already deployed and managed by MDM?

We've put in a feedback assistant request, but not sure if we will get feedback in that channel or not and also want to highlight for others. When replacing a basic passcode profile on a macOS device with a passcode declaration, the user is required to change the password after logging out and back in. Explicitly including the "ChangeAtNextAuth" key set equal to false, set required a password change after logging out and back in. Once the declaration is active and the password has been changed, future updates to the passcode declaration do not require a password change unless the existing password is not compliant. Steps to reproduce: Install a basic passcode profile on a macOS device Ensure the existing password matches the requirements specified in the profile Install a passcode declaration with the same settings as the passcode profile currently installed Remove the traditional passcode profile from the device After the passcode declaration is installed, check the local pwpolicy with the command pwpolicy getaccountpolicies and look for the key policyAttributePasswordRequiredTime Log out of the macOS device Log back into the macOS device and you are presented with a change password prompt Expected result: Simply replacing an existing passcode profile with the exact same settings in a passcode declaration should not require a password change if the existing password is compliant. Actual results: After replacing the passcode profile with a passcode declaration, a password change was required even though the existing password was compliant. Initial testing was done with a macOS VM running 15.5. Additional testing has now been done with a macOS VM running 26.4.1 and the same behavior was observed.

Hello together, I'm currently trying to implement a simple way to use the new LOM commands for our new mac infrastructure. My MDM sollution is a custom instance of MicroMDM. MDM profiles are working fine, but when I send a https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicemanagement/lom_device_request_command with any command (Reset, PowerON, PowerOFF), then it doesn't reset/restart/start the target Mac. Host X has a device profile and host Y a controller profile. Host/Mac Y = fe80::YYYY:YYYY:YYYY:8608 Host/Mac X = fe80::XX:XXXX:XXXX:cfab Now, if I send a LOM request for Mac Y to reset Mac X, I get the error "Address already in use" on Mac X (logs via log stream) log stream (private logs) And wireshark on Mac X shows there is traffic, but MacX does not respond to anything, not even tcp syn packages. This error is really weird, because there are no special ports running on that mac and I don't know what Port lightsoutmanagementd tries to listen to. lsof | grep LISTEN | grep -i ipv6 launchd 1 root 7u IPv6 0x457f571ac3303fd7 0t0 TCP *:ssh (LISTEN) launchd 1 root 11u IPv6 0x457f571ac33015d7 0t0 TCP *:rfb (LISTEN) launchd 1 root 27u IPv6 0x457f571ac3303fd7 0t0 TCP *:ssh (LISTEN) lightsout 112 root 4u IPv6 0x457f571ac3302ad7 0t0 TCP *:55555 (LISTEN) kdc 143 root 5u IPv6 0x457f571ac33023d7 0t0 TCP *:kerberos (LISTEN) screensha 403 root fp.u IPv6 0x457f571ac33015d7 0t0 TCP *:rfb (LISTEN) (fileport=0x2103) screensha 403 root 3u IPv6 0x457f571ac33015d7 0t0 TCP *:rfb (LISTEN) ARDAgent 535 devops 9u IPv6 0x457f571ac33031d7 0t0 TCP *:net-assistant (LISTEN) Did anyone have the same problem, or maybe can hint me in the right direction? I currently don't have a clue, what I can do next.

Is there a way to check if DDM(Declarative Device Management) is enabled on a device?

Hi all, I'm implementing Intune MAM to secure applications on iOS. However, I need my users to be able to save files (e.g. attachments in an email in the Outlook app) to iOS Files. To do so, I'm trying to put Files in exception of my Intune MAM policy and I need to obtain the Files "CFBundleURLSchemes" value from the info.plist file of the Files app. I'm not able to get that information. Are any of you able to get that somehow? Thanks!