Device Management

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Allow administrators to securely and remotely configure enrolled devices using Device Management.

Device Management Documentation

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Falcon application is intermittently not detected using system_profiler command
Issue - Falcon application is intermittently not detected using system_profiler command Use case - We are trying to fetch the list of installed applications on macOS using the system_profiler command. While this works for most applications, we are observing inconsistent behavior with the Falcon application — it is sometimes detected as installed and sometimes missing from the results, even though it is present on the system. This inconsistency is causing issues in reliably tracking installed security software. Command used - /usr/sbin/system_profiler SPApplicationsDataType
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Apr ’26
DeviceInformationCommand Not Received After Enrollment – MDM Push Issue
Hi everyone, I'm running an Apple MDM service and encountering an issue where a number of devices stop receiving MDM push commands within 10 days of profile installation, even though everything appears to be set up correctly. Environment: MDM profile is installed and verified (status: OK, result: SUCCESS) Devices are cellular-enabled with no connectivity issues APNs certificate is valid (thousands of other devices are communicating normally) The command being sent to devices is DeviceInformationCommand No "NotNow" response or any check-in received from the affected devices for over a week Issue: We send DeviceInformationCommand to devices to retrieve device information and update the last communication timestamp. However, a subset of devices simply stop responding to this command within 10 days of profile installation. The last communication date is not being updated, and no response — not even a "NotNow" — is coming back from these devices. Since other devices on the same MDM setup are working fine, I've ruled out APNs certificate expiration and general server-side issues. Questions: Are there any known management points or configuration settings that could cause a device to silently stop receiving DeviceInformationCommand shortly after enrollment? What diagnostic steps would you recommend to identify the root cause on the device or server side? Are there any known bugs or reported issues related to this behavior in recent iOS versions? Is there any way to recover the MDM communication without requiring the user to re-enroll? Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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Apr ’26
ABM token can not work if it is downloaded from an existing ABM Device Management Service
Hi Dear Apple experts, I am hitting a problem (observed from Apr-15, maybe earlier) for renewing ABM/DEP token from my MDM server. My renewal steps: Download public key from my MDM server Upload the public key to the ABM Device Management server instance in ABM portal, and download a new token Upload the new token to my MDM server The problem here is at step-2: If upload the public key to an existing ABM Device Management server instance in ABM portal, then the generated token will be rejected by my MDM server with error "Could not find recipient info"; However, if upload the public key to a newly created ABM Device Management server instance, then everything is good. So, looks to me, it is the token issue when renewing an existing ABM MDM instance. Could you please help take a look? Thanks, Wei
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pwpolicy -clearaccountpolicies and DDM Passcode Policies
If I have a macOS devices enrolled in MDM, with a DDM policy defined to deliver passcode settings to the device I can run: sudo pwpolicy -getaccountpolicies to see the configuration on the device. I can subsequently run: sudo pwpolicy -clearaccountpolicies Then all passcode policies applied in my declarations are cleared from the device allowing the user to set and use any password they want with no bearing on the delivered passcode settings. I have left my macOS devices for days on and off network and the pwpolicy data never returns. The passcode settings do not restore on the device until I do one of the following: manually re-push all declarations from MDM log off and log back on reboot the computer It was my understanding that DDM was meant to assess device state and self heal on its own without requiring an MDM service to re-push any commands. Based on this finding this seems broken or I may misunderstand how DDM is supposed to work. macOS version: 26.4.1
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MCRestrictionsPayload (allowListedAppBundleIDs) breaks Apple Watch native app enumeration — `nanotimekitcompaniond` reports "Missing .app from directory: /Watch/"
forum-post-v2-evidence.log MCRestrictionsPayload (allowListedAppBundleIDs) breaks Apple Watch app enumeration — nanotimekitcompaniond reports "Missing .app from directory: /Watch/" Summary Installing a Configuration Profile with com.apple.applicationaccess payload containing allowListedAppBundleIDs causes native Apple Watch apps to disappear from the paired Watch — even when their bundle IDs are explicitly in the whitelist. Log analysis shows this is not a bundle ID matching problem: nanotimekitcompaniond on the iPhone fails to enumerate the <companion>.app/Watch/ subdirectories where native watchOS app stubs live. Follow-up to https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/745585 — community-confirmed but received no official response. Environment iPhone 16 (iPhone17,3), iOS 26.4.2 (23E261), supervised Apple Watch paired via Bridge.app Profile installed locally via Apple Configurator (no MDM server required) Smoking gun Within ~5 seconds of profile install, two processes (nanotimekitcompaniond and NTKFaceSnapshotService) log identical errors for eight companion-app paths: nanotimekitcompaniond[1498] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: file:///Applications/MobilePhone.app/Watch/ nanotimekitcompaniond[1498] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: .../Calculator.app/Watch/ nanotimekitcompaniond[1498] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: .../Bridge.app/Watch/ nanotimekitcompaniond[1498] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: .../MobileTimer.app/Watch/ nanotimekitcompaniond[1498] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: .../Camera.app/Watch/ nanotimekitcompaniond[1498] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: .../VoiceMemos.app/Watch/ nanotimekitcompaniond[1498] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: .../MobileMail.app/Watch/ nanotimekitcompaniond[1498] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: .../FindMy.app/Watch/ NTKFaceSnapshotService[3758] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: <same 8 paths> The Watch's app icons and face complications both go through these processes, which explains the symptoms users see. iOS itself flags the payload as Watch-incompatible — but applies it anyway profiled[179] <Notice>: Payload class MCRestrictionsPayload (com.apple.applicationaccess) is not supported on any Watch version profiled[179] <Notice>: Payload class MCRestrictionsPayload (com.apple.applicationaccess) is not available on HomePod profiled[179] <Notice>: Beginning profile installation... profiled[179] <Notice>: Profile "...v2..." installed. So profiled knows the payload doesn't target watchOS — yet its side effects clearly manifest there. Tests performed Test Bundle IDs in whitelist Result v1 249 (every installed iOS app: Apple + 3rd party) Walkie-Talkie, Messages, Find My + more disappear from Watch v2 295 (v1 + every Apple extension/Nano* daemon seen in syslog: *.MessagesActionExtension, *.FindMyNotifications*Extension, *.FindMyWidget*, com.apple.NanoBackup, com.apple.NanoMusicSync, com.apple.NanoPreferencesSync, com.apple.NanoTimeKit.face, com.apple.NanoUniverse.AegirProxyApp, com.apple.tursd, com.apple.FaceTime.FTConversationService, com.apple.Bridge.GreenfieldThumbnailExtension, etc.) Identical Missing-.app errors. Same apps disappear. Conclusion: this is not a bundle ID matching issue — adding more IDs doesn't help. The system fails to enumerate <companion-iOS-app>.app/Watch/ regardless of whitelist contents. Many users in my prior thread reported trying 100+ bundle ID combinations without success; this evidence explains why. Reproduction (no MDM required) Pair Apple Watch with iPhone normally. Generate a Configuration Profile with com.apple.applicationaccess + any non-empty allowListedAppBundleIDs array. Install via Apple Configurator's cfgutil install-profile, or AirDrop + Settings → Install. Within ~5 s, nanotimekitcompaniond errors appear (visible via idevicesyslog). Native Watch apps backed by an iOS companion stub disappear from the Watch's app grid and from face complications. Hypothesis MCRestrictionsPayload applies an enumeration filter that does not descend into .app/Watch/ subdirectories when computing visible apps. nanotimekitcompaniond consequently sees those directories as missing, the Watch's Carousel (SpringBoard equivalent) hides the apps, and NTKFaceSnapshotService can't load corresponding complications. Because profiled itself logs the payload as "not supported on any Watch version", this appears to be unintended bleed-through. Questions for Apple Is MCRestrictionsPayload / allowListedAppBundleIDs officially supposed to affect Apple Watch apps? profiled says no. Is there an undocumented bundle ID pattern (e.g. <companion>.watchapp, or a Bridge.app/Watch/ prefix) that needs whitelisting to keep native Watch apps visible? Is the recommended workaround to use blacklistedAppBundleIDs instead? Should the enumeration error (Missing .app from directory: .../Watch/) be tracked as a separate watchOS framework bug? Artifacts Curated evidence log with timestamps, profile installer events, and the eight Missing-.app errors is attached as forum-post-v2-evidence.log. Full idevicesyslog captures (multiple install/remove cycles, ~2M log lines) and the .mobileconfig files are available on request. Thanks — looking forward to guidance.
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Does Enterprise Program Expiration Impact an Existing APNs Certificate for MDM?
Hi, I have a question regarding the relationship between the Apple Developer Enterprise Program membership and an existing APNs certificate used for MDM. Current Situation We are operating an MDM server. We have already obtained a valid APNs certificate via the Apple Push Certificates Portal. Our Apple Developer Enterprise Program membership is about to expire. The only asset we have in the Enterprise account is the MDM CSR used during the APNs certificate issuance process. Question If the Apple Developer Enterprise Program Membership expires: Will the existing APNs certificate remain valid until its expiration date? Or will it become invalid immediately due to the account expiration? Thank you.
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Falcon application is intermittently not detected using system_profiler command
Issue - Falcon application is intermittently not detected using system_profiler command Use case - We are trying to fetch the list of installed applications on macOS using the system_profiler command. While this works for most applications, we are observing inconsistent behavior with the Falcon application — it is sometimes detected as installed and sometimes missing from the results, even though it is present on the system. This inconsistency is causing issues in reliably tracking installed security software. Command used - /usr/sbin/system_profiler SPApplicationsDataType
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0
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0
Views
386
Activity
Apr ’26
DeviceInformationCommand Not Received After Enrollment – MDM Push Issue
Hi everyone, I'm running an Apple MDM service and encountering an issue where a number of devices stop receiving MDM push commands within 10 days of profile installation, even though everything appears to be set up correctly. Environment: MDM profile is installed and verified (status: OK, result: SUCCESS) Devices are cellular-enabled with no connectivity issues APNs certificate is valid (thousands of other devices are communicating normally) The command being sent to devices is DeviceInformationCommand No "NotNow" response or any check-in received from the affected devices for over a week Issue: We send DeviceInformationCommand to devices to retrieve device information and update the last communication timestamp. However, a subset of devices simply stop responding to this command within 10 days of profile installation. The last communication date is not being updated, and no response — not even a "NotNow" — is coming back from these devices. Since other devices on the same MDM setup are working fine, I've ruled out APNs certificate expiration and general server-side issues. Questions: Are there any known management points or configuration settings that could cause a device to silently stop receiving DeviceInformationCommand shortly after enrollment? What diagnostic steps would you recommend to identify the root cause on the device or server side? Are there any known bugs or reported issues related to this behavior in recent iOS versions? Is there any way to recover the MDM communication without requiring the user to re-enroll? Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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313
Activity
Apr ’26
What is the reliable approach to fetch a consistent and complete list of installed applications?
Is system_profiler the recommended approach for retrieving installed application data on macOS? If not, what is the preferred and reliable alternative to fetch a consistent and complete list of installed applications?
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872
Activity
3w
ABM token can not work if it is downloaded from an existing ABM Device Management Service
Hi Dear Apple experts, I am hitting a problem (observed from Apr-15, maybe earlier) for renewing ABM/DEP token from my MDM server. My renewal steps: Download public key from my MDM server Upload the public key to the ABM Device Management server instance in ABM portal, and download a new token Upload the new token to my MDM server The problem here is at step-2: If upload the public key to an existing ABM Device Management server instance in ABM portal, then the generated token will be rejected by my MDM server with error "Could not find recipient info"; However, if upload the public key to a newly created ABM Device Management server instance, then everything is good. So, looks to me, it is the token issue when renewing an existing ABM MDM instance. Could you please help take a look? Thanks, Wei
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0
Views
616
Activity
3w
pwpolicy -clearaccountpolicies and DDM Passcode Policies
If I have a macOS devices enrolled in MDM, with a DDM policy defined to deliver passcode settings to the device I can run: sudo pwpolicy -getaccountpolicies to see the configuration on the device. I can subsequently run: sudo pwpolicy -clearaccountpolicies Then all passcode policies applied in my declarations are cleared from the device allowing the user to set and use any password they want with no bearing on the delivered passcode settings. I have left my macOS devices for days on and off network and the pwpolicy data never returns. The passcode settings do not restore on the device until I do one of the following: manually re-push all declarations from MDM log off and log back on reboot the computer It was my understanding that DDM was meant to assess device state and self heal on its own without requiring an MDM service to re-push any commands. Based on this finding this seems broken or I may misunderstand how DDM is supposed to work. macOS version: 26.4.1
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0
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1.1k
Activity
2w
MCRestrictionsPayload (allowListedAppBundleIDs) breaks Apple Watch native app enumeration — `nanotimekitcompaniond` reports "Missing .app from directory: /Watch/"
forum-post-v2-evidence.log MCRestrictionsPayload (allowListedAppBundleIDs) breaks Apple Watch app enumeration — nanotimekitcompaniond reports "Missing .app from directory: /Watch/" Summary Installing a Configuration Profile with com.apple.applicationaccess payload containing allowListedAppBundleIDs causes native Apple Watch apps to disappear from the paired Watch — even when their bundle IDs are explicitly in the whitelist. Log analysis shows this is not a bundle ID matching problem: nanotimekitcompaniond on the iPhone fails to enumerate the <companion>.app/Watch/ subdirectories where native watchOS app stubs live. Follow-up to https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/745585 — community-confirmed but received no official response. Environment iPhone 16 (iPhone17,3), iOS 26.4.2 (23E261), supervised Apple Watch paired via Bridge.app Profile installed locally via Apple Configurator (no MDM server required) Smoking gun Within ~5 seconds of profile install, two processes (nanotimekitcompaniond and NTKFaceSnapshotService) log identical errors for eight companion-app paths: nanotimekitcompaniond[1498] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: file:///Applications/MobilePhone.app/Watch/ nanotimekitcompaniond[1498] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: .../Calculator.app/Watch/ nanotimekitcompaniond[1498] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: .../Bridge.app/Watch/ nanotimekitcompaniond[1498] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: .../MobileTimer.app/Watch/ nanotimekitcompaniond[1498] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: .../Camera.app/Watch/ nanotimekitcompaniond[1498] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: .../VoiceMemos.app/Watch/ nanotimekitcompaniond[1498] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: .../MobileMail.app/Watch/ nanotimekitcompaniond[1498] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: .../FindMy.app/Watch/ NTKFaceSnapshotService[3758] <Error>: Missing .app from directory: <same 8 paths> The Watch's app icons and face complications both go through these processes, which explains the symptoms users see. iOS itself flags the payload as Watch-incompatible — but applies it anyway profiled[179] <Notice>: Payload class MCRestrictionsPayload (com.apple.applicationaccess) is not supported on any Watch version profiled[179] <Notice>: Payload class MCRestrictionsPayload (com.apple.applicationaccess) is not available on HomePod profiled[179] <Notice>: Beginning profile installation... profiled[179] <Notice>: Profile "...v2..." installed. So profiled knows the payload doesn't target watchOS — yet its side effects clearly manifest there. Tests performed Test Bundle IDs in whitelist Result v1 249 (every installed iOS app: Apple + 3rd party) Walkie-Talkie, Messages, Find My + more disappear from Watch v2 295 (v1 + every Apple extension/Nano* daemon seen in syslog: *.MessagesActionExtension, *.FindMyNotifications*Extension, *.FindMyWidget*, com.apple.NanoBackup, com.apple.NanoMusicSync, com.apple.NanoPreferencesSync, com.apple.NanoTimeKit.face, com.apple.NanoUniverse.AegirProxyApp, com.apple.tursd, com.apple.FaceTime.FTConversationService, com.apple.Bridge.GreenfieldThumbnailExtension, etc.) Identical Missing-.app errors. Same apps disappear. Conclusion: this is not a bundle ID matching issue — adding more IDs doesn't help. The system fails to enumerate <companion-iOS-app>.app/Watch/ regardless of whitelist contents. Many users in my prior thread reported trying 100+ bundle ID combinations without success; this evidence explains why. Reproduction (no MDM required) Pair Apple Watch with iPhone normally. Generate a Configuration Profile with com.apple.applicationaccess + any non-empty allowListedAppBundleIDs array. Install via Apple Configurator's cfgutil install-profile, or AirDrop + Settings → Install. Within ~5 s, nanotimekitcompaniond errors appear (visible via idevicesyslog). Native Watch apps backed by an iOS companion stub disappear from the Watch's app grid and from face complications. Hypothesis MCRestrictionsPayload applies an enumeration filter that does not descend into .app/Watch/ subdirectories when computing visible apps. nanotimekitcompaniond consequently sees those directories as missing, the Watch's Carousel (SpringBoard equivalent) hides the apps, and NTKFaceSnapshotService can't load corresponding complications. Because profiled itself logs the payload as "not supported on any Watch version", this appears to be unintended bleed-through. Questions for Apple Is MCRestrictionsPayload / allowListedAppBundleIDs officially supposed to affect Apple Watch apps? profiled says no. Is there an undocumented bundle ID pattern (e.g. <companion>.watchapp, or a Bridge.app/Watch/ prefix) that needs whitelisting to keep native Watch apps visible? Is the recommended workaround to use blacklistedAppBundleIDs instead? Should the enumeration error (Missing .app from directory: .../Watch/) be tracked as a separate watchOS framework bug? Artifacts Curated evidence log with timestamps, profile installer events, and the eight Missing-.app errors is attached as forum-post-v2-evidence.log. Full idevicesyslog captures (multiple install/remove cycles, ~2M log lines) and the .mobileconfig files are available on request. Thanks — looking forward to guidance.
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2
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0
Views
129
Activity
21h
Does Enterprise Program Expiration Impact an Existing APNs Certificate for MDM?
Hi, I have a question regarding the relationship between the Apple Developer Enterprise Program membership and an existing APNs certificate used for MDM. Current Situation We are operating an MDM server. We have already obtained a valid APNs certificate via the Apple Push Certificates Portal. Our Apple Developer Enterprise Program membership is about to expire. The only asset we have in the Enterprise account is the MDM CSR used during the APNs certificate issuance process. Question If the Apple Developer Enterprise Program Membership expires: Will the existing APNs certificate remain valid until its expiration date? Or will it become invalid immediately due to the account expiration? Thank you.
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40
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5h