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

Hi, I might be a bit late to the party, but Apple has added several SkipKeys such as: TapToSetup and SafetyAndHandling. I want to make sure that the keys is working properly, so I want to do the before-after comparison, however I just can't seem to show pages related to those keys. Just for information, I'm based in Japan and I've been using iPhone pro 16 and M2 iPad Pro for the testing. I believe that TapToSetup is apple tv-related, so I've tried various things such as having it in a same network or using the same apple account both in Apple TV and the iPhone/iPad but I can't get it to show. Any ideas?

I am trying to correctly manage about 20 Mac, iPhones and PC inside a Wi-Fi network built through System Settings > Sharing > Internet Sharing To achieve this task I defined a complete configuration file: /etc/bootpd.plist which is used by /usr/libexec/InternetSharing. But every time /usr/libexec/InternetSharing is starting the file /etc/bootpd.plist is overwritten by another file and my configuration is thus fully lost. How to set a correct /etc/bootps.plist file and avoid its total overwrite by /usr/libexec/InternetSharing? Is it necessary to write this bootpd.plist in some other directory for /usr/libexec/InternetSharing to load it without destroying it? I got the same configuration total erase on macOS Big Sur and Sequoia.

Hello, I am trying to authenticate to the Apple Business Manager API to retrieve device information and ingest it into ServiceNow. I am following the documentation here. The first step is to create an API account and download the private key used to create a JWT client assertion. The guide linked above gives a python script to create a client assertion. Below the first python script, the following description is given for the "kid" variable: "The value is your keyId that returns when you upload a public key." This is the first time that a public key, rather than a private key, is referenced. Where is the public key supposed to be uploaded? Later in the guide, a public key is referenced again, in the section describing the client_id Request parameter: "(Required) You receive your clientId when you upload a public key." I have tried to create a client assertion using the keyId that is associated with the API account. When I try to request an access token, however, I also get an "invalid_client" error back. I am wondering if I'm using the wrong values for both key_id and client_id due to not creating and uploading a public key. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

Hi, I’m testing the ClearPasscode MDM command: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicemanagement/clear-passcode-command Question: If a user enters the passcode incorrectly multiple times and the device becomes temporarily locked (e.g., “Try again in X minutes”) or reaches “Security Lockout”, can ClearPasscode still be executed successfully while the device is in that state? {'ErrorCode': 5013, 35708 'ErrorDomain': 'MCPasscodeErrorDomain', 35709 'LocalizedDescription': '\xe3\x81\x93...x89', 35710 'USEnglishDescription': 'The passcode cannot be cleared (-1)'} If it depends on conditions (e.g., supervised vs. user enrollment, availability of UnlockToken, network/check-in state), could you clarify which conditions are required? Thank you.

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.

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.

We are moving to Apple Business Store for our b2b customers. On the "residential" apple store side there is testflight. What process would one test an app we provide to a b2b customer when using apple business store publishing? (I don't see any sort of test flight for apple business)

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!

I have created a configuration profile which basically just turns off notifications for Shortcuts app but I am unable to install it on my iPhone as I am getting the following error “This profile can be installed on a supervised device only” can someone please help me with this? Would also appreciate if you have another way to turn off shortcuts notifications permanently since when I turn it off via screen time it keeps turning itself ON every couple of days.

Hi,team: I need to distribute an mdm configuration file containing the "ServiceManagementManagedLoginItems" service to a large number of company-supervised computers, where com.apple.servicemanagement only supports macOS 13.0+. However, I cannot effectively distinguish whether the device system where the mdm configuration file needs to be installed is greater than 13. Can I directly install the mdm configuration file on all devices? Will installing the mdm configuration file on devices less than 13 have any impact on the system or other configuration items in mdm? The description link of ServiceManagementManagedLoginItems is: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicemanagement/servicemanagementmanagedloginitems

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.

We are experiencing a lot of problems deploying an enterprise app for in-house use since late January. All our iPads are managed by an MDM solution. It can take 10 or more attempts to successfully deploy the app. The deployment usually fails with the message "ASDErrorDomain error 854" among other messages. The company providing the MDM solution has no idea what causes this message or what it means. I suspect the error message is not generated by the MDM solutiion but rather gets passed through from iOS. After many attempts the installation may succeed suddenly, though, and the apps works as expected, but this may take weeks. I have not done any changes to my development system. 'I am running XCode 15.3 with SDK version 17.4, the iPads are on iOS 18.3

私は現在Intuneを使ったAppleIntelligenceの機能制限方法を調査しております。 AppleIntelligenceの機能のうち、以下5点を制御したく、その方法について教えてほしいです。 ・作文ツール ・Gen文字 ・写真(クリーンアップ機能等) ・さまたげ低減モード(通知の要約・優先順位機能含む) ・ChatGPTのサインイン(同期)・使用 今回ここに聞いた経緯としては、Microsoft社に本調査の確認をとったところ、 「制御後のデバイスの動作についてはAppleのペイロードを使用した制限のため、Appleに確認をとってほしい」 と伝えられたからです。 以下サイトではIntuneのAppleIntelligence機能の制御項目(MDM)が17項目ありますが、 ところどころ実動作について文章では理解ができない部分がありました。 ・https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/intunecustomersuccess/microsoft-intune-support-for-apple-intelligence/4254037 AppleDeveloperサポートにも確認をとりましたが、以下サイトを紹介のみで、 特に追加の情報はありませんでした。 ・https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicemanagement/restrictions 上記５機能を制限するためにはどの制限項目を使用すればよいでしょうか。

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?

We have couple of devices that are registered into Platform SSO, and we have been noticing an issue when the user tried to login. After the users enters the password and hit the return key nothing happens, they need to hit the return key probably 10-15 times in order for the login to happen, the password entered is the correct one and it's just that hitting the return key doesn't invoke the login. On checking the log of the device one unusual thing that we noticed as compared to a different device where the login is working in a single go is that the AppSSOAgent or AppSSODaemon process were not getting invoked

Apple iPad Air device failing to enroll through ABM with "failed to retrieve configuration" error. This error occurs while reaching Apple ABM for fetching MDM server enrollment details. When we checked console logs when enrolling the device we found following error: ​default 13:54:07.229022+1000 teslad Error: Error Domain=MCCloudConfigurationErrorDomain Code=34004 "The cloud configuration server is unavailable or busy." UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=The cloud configuration server is unavailable or busy., CloudConfigurationErrorType=CloudConfigurationFatalError} default 13:54:07.229120+1000 Setup Service completed default 13:54:07.230096+1000 Setup Could not retrieve cloud configuration. Error: <Error domain: MCCloudConfigErrorDomain, code 33001>\ Feedback raised along with screenshot and console logs as well : FB17785513. Please analyse this issue and reply back to us.

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

This is in reference to the feedback ticket : https://feedbackassistant.apple.com/draft/57929340, we would like to know if there are any test enterprise websites that Apple can suggest to test passkeys declaration.

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.