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Questions about MDM command "DeviceLock"
Hi, I have a couple of questions about how to proceed and prepare the implementation for the DeviceLock MDM command for macOS in a secure and proper manner. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicemanagement/device-lock-command In documentation "PIN" is "(string) The six-character PIN for Find My. This value is available in macOS 10.8 and later." - is this the PIN that is used to unlock the device? Is there any video online that I can see how the process would look like for the end user with locking and unlocking a device? What should be done before sending a DeviceLock command? What should be done to safely test the command without bricking a device. How to unlock a device that was locked with a DeviceLock command? Is there any Unlock command or can the user unlock device with the provided PIN earlier? Thank you for any help!
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671
Feb ’25
Apps and Books for Organizations API – Reliability Issues, Feature Request, and Rate Limit Clarification
Hi Apple team and community, We’re currently integrating with the Apps and Books for Organizations API as part of our device management solution and would like to highlight a few critical points we've encountered — including a reliability issue, an enhancement suggestion, and a request for clarification on API rate limits. 1. Issue: Intermittent 403 Errors with stoken-authenticated-apps Endpoint We are encountering intermittent 403 Forbidden responses from the stoken-authenticated-apps endpoint. Approximately 30–35% of the requests fail with a 403 status code. These failures are inconsistent — the same request (using the same Content Token and Storefront) may succeed upon retry. All requests are properly authenticated and include the required Cookie and other headers as specified in the API documentation. This issue is impacting our ability to reliably fetch app metadata at scale, particularly in workflows. We’d like to know: Is this a known issue? Could it be due to a rate limit or token misconfiguration? Are any changes required on our end to avoid these failures? 2. Enhancement Request: Include externalVersionId in versionHistory Response The versionHistory extension currently returns: versionString releaseNotes releaseDate However, for Declarative Device Management (DDM) workflows such as App Pinning, we need the externalVersionId as well. Without it, we can't reliably correlate version metadata with the specific version ID required for pinning. Adding externalVersionId would: Enable precise version targeting during App Pinning Improve reliability and automation in managed deployments We request that Apple consider including externalVersionId in the versionHistory response to better support DDM-based app lifecycle management. 3. Rate Limit Clarification We found the following note in the Apps and Books for Organizations API documentation: "The Apps and Books for Organizations API limits the number of requests your app can make using a developer token within a specific period of time. If you exceed this limit, you’ll temporarily receive 429 Too Many Requests error responses for requests that use the token. This error resolves itself shortly after the request rate has reduced." While this confirms that a rate limit is enforced, there is no detailed information about the thresholds — such as the number of allowed requests per minute, hour, or day per developer token. To help us implement proper throttling and retry strategies, we request clarification on the following: What is the exact rate limit threshold per developer token? Are there per-endpoint limits, or is it a global cap for all requests using the token? Does the API return a Retry-After header when the limit is exceeded? What is the recommended backoff strategy for clients to follow when receiving 429 errors? This information would help us implement efficient throttling and error handling logic. Any insights from the Apple team or other developers who’ve encountered these issues would be greatly appreciated!
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1.2k
Jul ’25
Question/Feature Request: String-based Version Specification (x.y.z) for `InstallBehavior.Version` in App:Managed
Hello, I'm currently working on implementing app installation features, referencing the app.managed.yaml declaration on GitHub: https://github.com/apple/device-management/blob/0a4527c5ea21825fd23e08273ccdb9e2302458ce/declarative/declarations/configurations/app.managed.yaml My question pertains to the InstallBehavior.Version key. The current specification indicates its type as <integer>: key: Version title: Version supportedOS: iOS: introduced: '26.0' macOS: introduced: '26.0' visionOS: introduced: '26.0' type: <integer> Is there a way to specify the app version using a string format, such as x.y.z, instead of the integer (App Store External Version Identifier - EVID)? Allowing for a simpler version specification would make app version management through MDM more flexible and efficient. I believe this would significantly streamline the deployment and operation of Apple devices within organizations. Any guidance or consideration for this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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Jul ’25
Force-renew Enterprise Provisioning Profiles of iOS Distribution Managed Certs?
Last year I used the iOS Distribution Managed Certificate (Enterprise Program) to sign an App and to distribute it internally. The Cert is still valid until May 2026. But its associated Provisiong Profile (which is not visible in the Apple Portal, but within Xcode when you export your archive) expired last week. Until then it was impossible for me to somehow force renew the profile and that lead to the fact that my app was not usable for a day, because the renewal was done after the expiration of the old one. Whats the whole point of the managed signing if can't influence the provisioning update. To be clear: I don't speak about the certificate - just about the profile. Or am I using it wrong?
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Apr ’25
Help Setting Up Apple MDM Vendor-Signed CSR and Push Certificate
Hello, I have an Apple Developer Enterprise account, and Apple Support has already enabled MDM for my account. I successfully downloaded and installed my MDM Vendor Certificate (it shows up in Keychain as MDM Vendor: [My Company Name] with its private key). Here’s what I’ve done so far: Exported the Vendor Certificate + private key as a .p12, then converted to .pem and .key using OpenSSL. Generated an unsigned CSR with CN=com.apple.mgmt.External. using OpenSSL. Attempted to sign the CSR using: my Vendor certificate the Vendor private key Apple Worldwide Developer Relations (WWDR) intermediate certificate OpenSSL smime -sign command with DER output Problem: Every time I try to upload the vendor-signed CSR to the Apple Push Certificates Portal, I get an error (CSR rejected). Sometimes OpenSSL even fails with “unable to load certificates” depending on how the WWDR certificate is included. My Questions: What is the correct OpenSSL command and certificate chain Apple expects for signing the CSR? Do I need to include any additional intermediates besides WWDR? Is there an official Apple reference example for generating the vendor-signed CSR that the Push Certificates Portal will accept? Any guidance from the community (or someone who has successfully done this end-to-end) would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Sergio Sanchez
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475
Sep ’25
macOS ACME certificate not appearing in System Keychain
Finally got to the stage where the ACME certificate profile is successfully installed. However, the public key/certificate itself isn't appearing in the System Keychain. I'm not sure if this is normal or if it's an indication that something went wrong after the profile installation. Unfortunately, I didn't study the log detail at the time and I'm uncertain of how to retrieve those logs from two days ago for the ACME activities. Can anyone confirm that macOS 26 should be storing ACME-retrieved MDM profile-based certificates in the System Keychain? If they should be there, what can possibly go wrong? The most obvious issue I can see is that the ACME server has requested the certificate with two CN's, which comes from the MDM profile asking for the subject against CN and the OID (2.5.4.3). Both CN's are identical. I'm surprised the profile installed if something is wrong. At first, I assumed Apple had decided to stop installing the certificates into the System Keychain.
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Jul ’25
iOS 18.5 MDM Screen Lock
Hello, I am running into a bit of an issue with the Screen Timeout/Screen Lock setting and would like some clarification on. First for a bit of context, I am enrolling personal iOS devices 18.0+ into the company MDM (Intune) with Account Driven User Enrollment. We are trying to set a screen timeout of 5 minutes and immediately after it asks for the passcode on the device, though this setting is not being applied and the device timeout setting can be set as "Never" on the user's end. This is a big security risk for the company I work for and and the issue with being HIPAA compliant. According to the Microsoft Intune Support, "In iOS 18, when using Account-Driven User Enrollment for BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) scenarios, the screen lock timeout setting is indeed marked as “Not Applicable”. This is because Apple’s privacy-preserving model for personal devices restricts administrative control over system-level settings like screen lock or idle timeout." I am needing clarification on the item mentioned from Microsoft Intune Support and if this setting is no longer able to be applied from the MDM with devices enrolled with Account Driven User Enrollment?
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987
Jul ’25
Delays in associating the serial of a device with an app in apple business manager
We are expering frequent delays recently when associating a device serial with the adamid of an app in our business manager account. I get an event id back when calling the /associate api but when i check the status of that event id is can be sat in a pending state for sometimes several hours. Need to understand why and if its a configuration issue
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282
Oct ’25
Enterprise Account: Can we use corporate credit card under different name?
We’re using the Apple Developer Enterprise Program for internal app distribution. The Apple ID is a generic one using our domain email, but the Account Holder is a real person with authority in the organization. For the payment method, we plan to use a corporate credit card — but it is issued under a different staff name (e.g. card under Chief, but Account Holder is IT Head). Just want to check: • Is this setup acceptable? • Will Apple reject the enrollment/renewal if the card name doesn’t match the Account Holder? • What’s the best practice in this case to avoid delays or verification issues? Appreciate any guidance or experience from the community. Thanks!
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Jul ’25
Device Unresponsive When Trying to Reboot in Single App Mode (MDM or Apple Configurator)
Main Issue We are experiencing an issue where iOS devices become unresponsive when attempting to shutdown or reboot from the lock screen while locked into Single App Mode via MDM or Apple Configurator. Steps to Reproduce: Start any iOS device. Use Apple Configurator or an MDM solution to enable Single App Mode. Wait for the device to lock into the specified app. Lock the device so that it goes to the lock screen. Hold the Power button and Volume Up button until the shutdown/emergency screen appears. At this point, the device becomes unresponsive. After approximately 30 seconds, the message "Guided Access app unavailable. Please contact your administrator" appears. The device is now frozen, and the only way to recover is to force restart it using Apple's forced restart method (Apple Support Link). Additional Issue: Additionally, we observe that when using an app in Single App Mode, attempting to reboot the device and canceling the reboot prevents any subsequent reboot attempts until a force restart is performed. Steps to Reproduce This Behavior: Lock the iOS device into Single App Mode. Use the app normally. Attempt to shut down the device by holding the Power and Volume Up buttons. The shutdown/emergency screen appears as expected. Cancel the shutdown by tapping "Cancel." The device returns to the lock screen. Swipe up to return to the app. Attempt to shut down the device again using the same method. Nothing happens—the shutdown screen no longer appears. The only way to reboot the device now is through a forced restart. This appears to be a bug in Single App Mode behavior, potentially related to Guided Access restrictions. Has anyone else encountered this issue? Is this the right place to report this issue? or should I report it elsewhere? I have more videos and material showing how to reproduce this issue if needed.
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Feb ’25
Is NanoMDM a future-ready MDM for Apple Business Manager?
Hello, We are currently deploying Apple devices in our organization using Apple Business Manager (ABM) and are looking for a long-term self-hosted MDM solution. We initially considered MicroMDM, but since official support will end in December 2025, we are evaluating NanoMDM. I would like to confirm: Is NanoMDM a stable and production-ready option for long-term use with Apple Business Manager and Automated Device Enrollment (ADE)? Does NanoMDM support all essential features like: Supervision Remote wipe App deployment Configuration profiles Are there any limitations or known issues with using NanoMDM? Are there any other open-source or lightweight MDM solutions Apple developers recommend that are actively maintained? We are aiming for a reliable, secure, and future-proof self-hosted MDM setup. Any guidance or shared experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Vijay Pratap Singh
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385
Jul ’25
in app purchase error
I just want to add a in-app purchase project to my app, steps: 1.i create a product in App Store Connect ,the product id is "com.buy.once.me" 2.in Xcode,i create " SubscriptionStoreView(productIDs:["com.buy.once.me"])" in a view 3. the view show "subscription unavailable the subscription is unavailable in the current storefront" I don't know what the problem is ,anyone help me,thanks
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Mar ’25
Declarative management application config not applying
Hello All, I am currently attempting to get application config working with enterprise apps but it seems as though the asset config is not applying at all. While the asset and application install correctly it does not seem that the config is read at all judging from the status message returned. "StatusItems" : { "app" : { "managed" : { "list" : [ { "name" : "apps", "config-state" : { "app-config-state" : { "state" : "unknown" } }, "identifier" : "app.identifier", "version" : "3.2", "short-version" : "3.2.0", "state" : "managed", "declaration-identifier" : "dec-identifier" } ] } } }, "Errors" : [ ] } The asset file being sent down is as follows: <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>Config 1</key> <string>Value 1</string> <key>Config 2</key> <string>Value 2</string> <key>Config 3</key> <string>Value 3</string> </dict> </plist> This is the config report being sent back by the device after everything has been fetched: "StatusItems" : { "management" : { "declarations" : { "activations" : [ { "active" : true, "identifier" : "group.activation.payload", "valid" : "valid", "server-token" : "56792E4AE25C3286640B45E6BD265AE97545B2B87F90A6355919FD8B2E3C3AB3" } ], "configurations" : [ { "active" : true, "identifier" : "app.install", "valid" : "valid", "server-token" : "34D7ACECAE16EE9EEAC0630FF2FF85524FFBB5BA3CB18CFB6296FBC860368C85" }, { "active" : true, "identifier" : "ios.policy.subscription.list", "valid" : "valid", "server-token" : "376913E11BE7D26EC745B3B68C6FA94C4FC061B1B736D143EBE0F12FF73ADFF8" } ], "assets" : [ { "active" : true, "identifier" : "app.config.reference", "valid" : "valid", "server-token" : "1CFBE30EB56309005F742D667B80242E6A3CDC08ED228D0BC5F87749C6BBAB77" } ], "management" : [ ] } }, "app" : { "managed" : { "list" : [ { "state" : "downloading", "declaration-identifier" : "app.install", "identifier" : "app.identifier", "name" : "apps", "config-state" : { "app-config-state" : { "state" : "unknown" } } } ] } } }, "Errors" : [ ] } Additional info would be useful, though a sysdiagnosis will be submitted to feedback as well. Config did apply correctly when sending down through Install application command
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Apr ’25
com.apple.profileRemovalPassword not working (MDM)
Hi. I am writing a little MDM application. Despite the basic task (add a password for 'remove profile' button in settings), it seems I am stuck with a problem: When I try to enroll my device with enrollment.mobileconfig file, Apple Configurator app, I receive an error The profile “Enrollment Profile” could not be installed because it is invalid. Make sure the profile is valid and try installing it again. The original architecture of my .mobileconfig contains of two payloads (com.apple.security.scep , com.apple.mdm), and it works correctly. However, when I try to add a third payload of com.apple.profileRemovalPassword , I receive the error stated above. From logs collected on iPhone, here's what was found : Failed to parse profile data. Error: NSError: Desc : The profile “Enrollment Profile” is invalid. Sugg : A profile containing an MDM payload must be removable. US Desc: The profile “Enrollment Profile” is invalid. US Sugg: A profile containing an MDM payload must be removable. Domain : MCProfileErrorDomain Code : 1000 Type : MCFatalError Params : ( "Enrollment Profile" ) ...Underlying error: NSError: Desc : A profile containing an MDM payload must be removable. US Desc: A profile containing an MDM payload must be removable. Domain : MCProfileErrorDomain Code : 1000 Type : MCFatalError Extra info: { isPrimary = 1; } My main dictionary contains HasRemovalPasscode Also, I have tried playing around with PayloadRemovalDisallowed setting it to true and false, however, I keep getting the same error message. There is also a second error produced: Profile MCConfigurationProfile, version 1: Display Name: “Enrollment Profile” Description : “***” Identifier : *** UUID : *** Organization: *** Is Stub : No Locked : Yes Removal passcode present Encrypted : No Trusted : 0 Signed : No Device Type : 0 Payloads: Payload MCSCEPPayload, version 1 Description : “***” Identifier : *** UUID : *** Type : com.apple.security.scep Display name: *** Organization: *** Payload MCMDMPayload, version 1 Description : “***” Identifier : *** UUID : *** Type : com.apple.mdm Organization: *** Payload MCRemovalPasswordPayload, version 1 Identifier : com.examp Can't parse profile: <decode: missing data> The code for com.apple.profileRemovalPassword is taken from apple documentation (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicemanagement/profileremovalpassword) I have also tried the automatic way - creating it from Apple Configurator, so it is correct in terms of syntax 100%. Several important notes: Creating a fresh new profile with just password removal protection single payload allows to perform a download of the profile If I comment out the whole com.apple.mdm payload block, I will be able to download this profile on iPhone also The com.apple.mdm block is also valid by itself, and works correctly I have tried implementing other types of "dummy" payloads - for example com.apple.dock <dict> <key>PayloadType</key> <string>com.apple.dock</string> <key>PayloadVersion</key> <integer>1</integer> <key>PayloadIdentifier</key> <string>com.example.test.dock</string> <key>PayloadUUID</key> <string>22222222-3333-4444-5555-666666666666</string> <key>PersistentApps</key> <array/> </dict> And everything worked out fine. So my hypothetical conclusion out of these four notes might be in some type of interconnection between mdm and profileRemovalPassword, which isn't really listed anywhere? Or am I missing something ? Thank you in advance.
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Apr ’25
Is it technically possible to force-update ASM/MDM-distributed App Store apps via a custom update server?
Hello, I’d like to clarify the technical limitations around app updates in an Apple School Manager (ASM) + MDM environment. Environment • iOS/iPadOS devices supervised and managed via Apple School Manager • Apps are distributed via ASM (VPP / Custom App) and managed by MDM • Apps are App Store–signed (not Enterprise/In-House) • Some apps include NetworkExtension (VPN) functionality • Automatic app updates are enabled in MDM Question From a technical and platform-design perspective, is it possible to: Deploy app updates for ASM/MDM-distributed App Store apps via a separate/custom update server, and trigger updates simultaneously across all managed devices, bypassing or supplementing the App Store update mechanism? In other words: • Can an organization operate its own update server to push a new app version to all devices at once? • Or is App Store + iOS always the sole execution path for installing updated app binaries? ⸻ My current understanding (please correct if wrong) Based on Apple documentation, it seems that: 1. App Store–distributed apps cannot self-update • Apps cannot download and install new binaries or replace themselves. • All executable code must be Apple-signed and installed by the system. 2. MDM can manage distribution and enable auto-update, but: • MDM cannot reliably trigger an immediate update for App Store apps. • Actual download/install timing is decided by iOS (device locked, charging, Wi-Fi, etc.). 3. Custom update servers • May be used for policy decisions (minimum allowed version, feature blocking), • But cannot be used to distribute or install updated app binaries on iOS. 4. For ASM-managed devices: • The only supported update execution path is: App Store → iOS → Managed App Update • Any “forced update” behavior must be implemented at the app logic level, not the installation level. ⸻ What I’m trying to confirm • Is there any supported MDM command, API, or mechanism that allows: • Centralized, immediate, one-shot updates of App Store apps across all ASM-managed devices? • Or is the above limitation fundamental by design, meaning: • Organizations must rely on iOS’s periodic auto-update behavior • And enforce version compliance only via app-side logic? ⸻ Why this matters In large school deployments, delayed updates (due to device conditions or OS scheduling) can cause: • Version fragmentation • Inconsistent behavior across classrooms • Operational issues for VPN / security-related apps Understanding whether this limitation is absolute or if there is a recommended Apple-supported workaround would be extremely helpful. Thanks in advance for any clarification
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