Dear Team,
We are working on retrieving email address of the user joined to Entra ID from Entra-joined macOS devices, specifically while running in a system context.The sudo dscl . -read /Users/$(whoami) RecordName command give the local user name whose password is synced with the entra ID. We would greatly appreciate guidance on how to retrieve the Entra ID joined user’s email address in a system context from Entra Joined mac devices, especially from those with prior experience in this area.
Thank you for your support.
Explore the intersection of business and app development. Discuss topics like device management, education, and resources for aspiring app developers.
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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
Topic:
Business & Education
SubTopic:
Device Management
Hi there,
I am trying to create an IPsec policy for remote access for iOS devices. Is the full updated list with all the settings, which are supported?
I could only find this article:
https://support.apple.com/de-de/guide/deployment/depdf31db478/web
But I am sure it's not updated:
Authentication Algorithms: HMAC-MD5 or HMAC-SHA1.
Same for DH Groups 2-5
During MDM Automated Device Enrollment of Apple TV, the web view defined by configuration_web_url is not working. We are using the web view to display the usage policy for all devices. While the web view functions correctly for other devices, it is resulting in an error specifically for Apple TV. Could you please clarify whether Apple plans to implement support for this feature on Apple TV in the future or if it will not be supported?
Referring to configuration_web_url in: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicemanagement/profile
Topic:
Business & Education
SubTopic:
Device Management
Tags:
Apple TV
Apple Business Manager
Device Management
It's a great platform to grow your knowledge.
Apple Teacher
We are upgrading macOS (minor versions and potentially major versions) using a scripted approach:
Install the InstallAssistant package via installer
Trigger OS install via startosinstall
On MDM-managed assets, OS update policies appear to prohibit or interfere with the update flow. The update often fails with startosinstall reporting “Helper tool crashed…” during the “Preparing” phase.
Steps to Reproduce
On an MDM-enrolled Mac with OS update restriction/deferral policies applied, run:
sudo /usr/sbin/installer -pkg /Path/To/InstallAssistant.pkg -target / &&
echo 'MACOS_PASSWORD' | /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sonoma.app/Contents/Resources/startosinstall
--agreetolicense
--forcequitapps
--stdinpass
--user MACOS_USER
Actual Result
Package installation reports success, but startosinstall fails during preparation with:
Standard Output
installer: Package name is macOS15.7_SoftwareUpdate
installer: Upgrading at base path /
installer: The upgrade was successful.
By using the agreetolicense option, you are agreeing that you have run this tool with the license only option and have read and agreed to the terms.
If you do not agree, press CTRL-C and cancel this process immediately.
Preparing to run macOS Installer...
Preparing: 0.0%
Preparing: 0.1%
...
Preparing: 24.9%
Standard Error
Helper tool crashed...
notes.log
Install.log is also attached.
Questions for Apple / Ask:
We suspect this crash is caused by MDM OS update restrictions/policies.
We need Apple’s recommended method to perform macOS updates (minor + major) when MDM is present, especially in environments where update deferrals/restrictions may be configured.
Issue Description:
We are experiencing MDM profile installation failures specifically on iPhone 17
devices. After extensive testing and comparison between affected and working
devices, we suspect this appears to be a parameter transmission error rather
than device settings.
Technical Analysis:
Device Settings Comparison: No differences found between problematic and
working devices in system settings, indicating this is not a configuration
issue.
Suspected Parameter Transmission Error:
• Device model information appears to be restricted or blocked during profile
download
• User ID and phone number parameters are not being transmitted to the server
• Installation logs show missing login ID and phone number entries
Symptoms:
• During MDM profile installation, the "Apps & Restrictions" section that should
appear is missing
• Profile download parameters are suspected to not be properly transmitted to
the server
• Installation process fails at the profile configuration stage
Critical Finding:
When we cloned a previously working device to create a problematic device
configuration, the cloned device also began experiencing the same installation
failures. This strongly suggests the issue is related to device-specific
parameters or identifiers.
Additional Information:
We continue to receive reports of this issue from our iPhone 17 users, and these
reports are occurring across various iOS versions.
Request for Assistance:
Has anyone encountered similar MDM profile installation issues on iPhone 17? Are
there known limitations or changes in how device parameters are transmitted
during MDM enrollment on this model?
Any guidance on debugging parameter transmission or known workarounds would be
greatly appreciated.
Topic:
Business & Education
SubTopic:
Device Management
Why is MDM camera restriction designed not to work on the lock screen?
Topic:
Business & Education
SubTopic:
Device Management
Hi,
I am experiencing an issue with in-house apps on iOS 18.
When the MDM profile is removed, newly installed in-house apps cannot be opened.
However, previously installed in-house apps still work fine until the device is restarted.
Context:
Our in-house apps are not distributed via MDM but through an internal company app store.
These apps are signed with an enterprise certificate and have been working fine on previous iOS versions.
Steps to reproduce:
Install an in-house app while the MDM profile is active -> The app works fine.
Remove the MDM profile.
Install a new in-house app (signed with the same enterprise certificate)
The newly installed app does not open at all.
The existing in-house apps installed before MDM removal continue to work normally.
Restart the device.
Now, even the previously installed in-house apps no longer open.
Observed behavior:
The newly installed in-house app does not open, and no trust prompt appears in Settings > General > VPN & Device Management.
The previously installed in-house apps continue to function normally until the device is restarted.
After restarting, none of the in-house apps open anymore.
Is there a now restriction in iOS 18 regarding in-house app installation after MDM removal?
Any insights or solutions would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you.
Topic:
Business & Education
SubTopic:
General
I came across this tool that enables supervised mode on iOS without resetting the data. it's essentially a macOS with a unix executable file underneath. a quick guide of how it works is here
https://www.techlockdown.com/guides/enable-supervised-mode-iphone
I would appreciate any guidance on how to recreate this, as this is behind a paywall, and would like to offer something similar for free to people who want to restrict their families devices.
Topic:
Business & Education
SubTopic:
Device Management
I'm are attempting to use the device management migration feature in Apple Business Manager / Apple School Manager (for devices running iOS 26 / iPadOS 26) to re-assign managed devices from one MDM server to another. We followed the published procedure (select device(s) → Assign Device Management → Set deadline → Continue).
However, we are observing that on the device side, no notification or prompt appears to the user (such as “Enrollment Required” or “Your organization requires this device to enroll in a different device management service”), even after the migration deadline has passed.
Here are the environment details:
Device OS version: (iOS 26.1)
Device ownership: enrolled via
Automated Device Enrollment
MDM re-assignment in ABM: old MDM server(name: https://dev5.clomo.com/panel/mackey-dev/ ) → new MDM server (name: https://obliging-bunny-equally.ngrok-free.app/ )
Deadline set: (12/10/2025 12:00 AM)
Network connectivity: confirmed online at deadline time
We would like to know:
Under what exact conditions will the device display the notification/prompt, and what common mis-configurations prevent it from appearing?
Is there any device log or activity indicator in ABM/ASM to confirm that the migration instruction has been sent to the device?
In cases where the prompt does not appear, what troubleshooting steps can we perform on the device (or in the MDM/ABM configuration) to correct it?
I have come across this Hideable attribute for managed apps, introduced in iOS 18.1, and I've encountered some behavior that seems to contradict the official documentation.
According to Apple's documentation for app.managed.yaml, setting the Hideable key to false under the Attributes section should prevent a user from hiding the app. The documentation explicitly states:
If false, the system prevents the user from hiding the app. It doesn't affect the user's ability to leave it in the App Library, while removing it from the Home Screen.
I have configured this in my app.managed.yaml and successfully applied the profile to my test device via our MDM server. However, I am still able to hide the application from both the Home Screen and the App Library.
Here are the steps I'm taking to hide the app:
Long-press the app icon on Home Screen
Select "Require Touch ID"
Select "Hide and Require Touch ID"
Authenticate using Touch ID
Select "Hide App"
After these steps, the app is no longer visible on the Home Screen or in the App Library, which is contrary to the behavior described in the documentation for when Hideable is set to false.
My question is:
Is this a known issue or a potential bug in iOS 18.1? Or, is there an additional configuration profile or a specific device supervision requirement that I might be missing to enforce this restriction correctly?
Any clarification would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
Can I upload custom app onto the ABM? if yes then how can we install it into the user's devices?
Topic:
Business & Education
SubTopic:
General
I'm hoping to make certain in-house apps fail to launch by revoking the in-house certificate that they were built on. This is by way of encouraging users of these apps to download updates built on a new certificate.
How long will it take app built on a now-revoked certificate to no longer launch?
Also, what is Apple's process for checking the validity of an in-house certificate in an app built on that certificate, running on iOS devices?
I understand that provisioning profiles have built-in expiration dates, but will an in-house app that's built on a valid provisioning profile keep running even on a revoked certificate if the revocation happened before the certificate's own expiration date?
Craig Umanoff
During VPP app installation, the app-device asset association event took longer than the usual maximum of 30 seconds to complete, regardless of the number of app licenses involved.
We've disabled FUS through a config profile, but users can still access FUS by enabling the MenuBar/Control Center icons. My org would like to prevent access to FUS so I've created a config profile. But the profile doesn't seem to work.
Anyone have any ideas what I'm missing, or is this an OS bug?
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>PayloadDisplayName</key>
<string>macOS - Tahoe - Disable Fast User Switching Control Center</string>
<key>PayloadIdentifier</key>
<string>com.myorg.fast-user-switching</string>
<key>PayloadType</key>
<string>Configuration</string>
<key>PayloadScope</key>
<string>System</string>
<key>PayloadUUID</key>
<string>f1a2b3c4-d5e6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890</string>
<key>PayloadVersion</key>
<integer>1</integer>
<key>TargetDevmyorgType</key>
<integer>5</integer>
<key>PayloadContent</key>
<array>
<dict>
<key>PayloadType</key>
<string>com.apple.controlcenter</string>
<key>PayloadVersion</key>
<integer>1</integer>
<key>PayloadIdentifier</key>
<string>com.apple.controlcenter.57EBEF9E-E568-411E-AE27-500AD98C94F4</string>
<key>PayloadUUID</key>
<string>f1a2b3c4-d5e6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890</string>
<key>UserSwitcher</key>
<integer>8</integer>
</dict>
<dict>
<key>PayloadType</key>
<string>.GlobalPreferences</string>
<key>PayloadVersion</key>
<integer>1</integer>
<key>PayloadIdentifier</key>
<string>.GlobalPreferences.71DE1486-60BC-4CB9-890D-AD50A772890D</string>
<key>PayloadUUID</key>
<string>c5234012-e0sw-2066-6fl8-3bd5p8125op7</string>
<key>MultipleSessionEnabled</key>
false/>
</dict>
</array>
</dict>
</plist>
Topic:
Business & Education
SubTopic:
Device Management
In the RequestRequiresNetworkTether property, the definition of “network-tethered” is unclear, and there seems to be a discrepancy between the actual behavior and the description in the documentation.
We would like to clarify the definition of the connection state that “network-tethered” means and the specific behavior requirements when the property is set to true.
Explanation of the document
The description “If true, the device must be network-tethered to run the command.
I was not sure whether it refers to “network connection” or “tethered communication” as the Japanese translation.
Actual operation verification results
The error message was “The device is not tethered. (MDMErrorDomain:12081)”.
Error occurs when only carrier communication is used
The following connection conditions work normally (as in the case of false)
Wifi communication
Combination of carrier communication and Wifi communication
Tethering communication
Combination of carrier communication and tethering communication
Tethering connection (both parent and child devices)
Inconsistencies
Although the document description could be interpreted as a simple network connection requirement, actual operation is limited only to carrier communications alone
Error message uses language regarding tethering, but actual tethering connection works fine
Topic:
Business & Education
SubTopic:
Device Management
📱 [iOS 26.1 beta 2] allowCamera restriction not working properly on both supervised and BYOD devices
Details:
Device: iPhone 12 Pro Max
System: iOS 26.1 beta 2
Issue Description:
When testing MDM device restriction capabilities on iOS 26.1 beta 2, I found that the allowCamera restriction does not work as expected.
Observed Behavior:
• On a BYOD device:
When allowCamera is set to false, the Camera and FaceTime apps disappear from the Home Screen, as expected.
However, third-party apps (such as WeChat) can still access the camera and take photos.
• On earlier versions (e.g. iOS 26.0.1):
Setting allowCamera to false correctly blocks all apps, including third-party apps, from accessing the camera.
Initially, I assumed Apple might have changed this restriction behavior so that allowCamera only applies to supervised devices.
However, after testing on supervised devices, I found that even there, when allowCamera is set to false, the Camera and FaceTime apps are hidden, but third-party apps can still use the camera.
This indicates that the restriction is not functioning correctly in iOS 26.1 beta 2.
Expectation:
When allowCamera is set to false, all camera access — including third-party apps — should be blocked.
Request:
Could someone from Apple’s development or MDM team confirm whether this is an expected behavior change or a potential bug in iOS 26.1 beta 2?
Topic:
Business & Education
SubTopic:
Device Management
I'm writing to point out a potential structural error in an example of the DeclarativeManagement command. This could cause significant confusion for developers implementing the MDM protocol.
The standard structure for a server-to-device MDM command requires CommandUUID and the Command dictionary to be siblings under the top-level dictionary. The CommandUUID serves as a top-level identifier for the entire command envelope.
This is the correct, expected structure:
<?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>Command</key>
<dict>
<key>Command</key>
<dict>
<key>RequestType</key>
<string>DeclarativeManagement</string>
</dict>
</dict>
<key>CommandUUID</key>
<string>0001_DeclarativeManagement</string>
</dict>
</plist>
This is an example of the incorrect structure I've seen:
<?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>Command</key>
<dict>
<key>CommandUUID</key>
<string>0001_DeclarativeManagement</string>
<key>Command</key>
<dict>
<key>RequestType</key>
<string>DeclarativeManagement</string>
</dict>
</dict>
</dict>
</plist>
Topic:
Business & Education
SubTopic:
Device Management
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