Automatically enroll devices in DMA

You must enroll Apple devices in Device Management for Apple (DMA) before you can install configuration profiles and send commands to them.

You can automatically enroll devices in Device Management for Apple if your customer has an Apple Business Manager (ABM) account, and the devices are new purchases or if they are existing devices that are wiped. You can also manually enroll devices with end user approval.

Before you enroll devices in Device Management for Apple, ensure the Requirements for DMA are completed.

Apple School Manager functions the same as Apple Business Manager when interacting with Device Management for Apple. You can use the tasks in this section for Apple School Manager.

To automatically enroll customer macOS devices or iOS devices in Device Management for Apple:

  1. Ensure the customer has an Apple Business Manager account.
  2. Sign in to N-sight RMM with a user role that includes the Apple Business Manager permission.
  3. Add an ABM token in Device Management for Apple for the customer.

You cannot move devices between Sites if an Apple Business Manager account is present.

Benefits of using automatic enrollment

If your customer has an Apple Business Manager (ABM) account, the following benefits are possible when you help them configure their ABM account to use Device Management for Apple as their MDM server:

  • New device purchases made by the customer are assigned to the customer's ABM account (existing devices can be wiped and also assigned to the ABM account).
  • When new devices power on and activate with Apple, the devices automatically enroll in Device Management for Apple and display in N-sight RMM. For an example, see Example: Automatic device enrollment using ABM.
  • If the new device is a macOS device, the latest Mac Agent installs on it and the device registers with N-sight RMM.

    In some instances, the Mac Agent install can take up to 20 minutes to install on the device.

  • All the configuration profiles, which enable Device Management for Apple to work without prompting the end user for permission, install on the device.
  • End users cannot unenroll the device.

When to use automatic enrollment?

You determine for each customer whether to enroll their macOS and iOS devices manually or automatically in Device Management for Apple. We recommend automatic enrollment in the following situations:

  • The customer already has an Apple Business Manager account.
  • Most, or all, of the customer Apple devices are new.
  • When a device is company owned and you must prevent the end user from unenrolling it from management.

What do you want to do?

Updated: Mar 28, 2024