Add a Mac to Apple Business Manager Without Erasing It First | Clicpomme

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Add a Mac Computer to Apple Business Manager or Apple School Manager Without Erasing It First

Traditionally, to manually add a Mac to Apple Business Manager or Apple School Manager, you would need to erase all content and settings on the Mac to re-run Setup Assistant and utilize Apple Configurator for iPhone. This guide breaks down the process to add the Mac without erasing it.

Contents

0. Check the activation lock status first
1. Create a temporary partition on your Mac
2. Reinstall macOS on the temporary partition
3. Add the Mac to Apple Business Manager
4. Delete the temporary partition you created
5. Enroll the Mac into your MDM

Requirements

• Mac running macOS Sonoma (various versions) with at least 50 GB of available storage
• Apple Configurator for iPhone
• Apple Business Manager account with a minimal role of Device Enrollment

Section 0: Check the activation lock status first

Before starting, confirm that the Mac is not held by Activation Lock. If it is, Apple Configurator cannot complete the provisional enrollment and returns a misleading error (DEP code 33007, CloudConfigurationFatalError, "Provisional Enrollment failed"). The whole point of the partition method below is that it lets you keep the existing system running, so you can check this status without erasing the Mac first.

1. Start the Mac on its normal partition and reach the desktop.
2. Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings, then General > About, or open the Apple menu and hold Option to reveal System Information.
3. In System Information, select Hardware and look at the Activation Lock Status line, or check Find My under the Apple ID in System Settings.
4. Alternatively, run this command in Terminal:

   system_profiler SPHardwareDataType | grep -i "activation"

If Activation Lock is enabled: the Mac is tied to an Apple ID and must be released before it can be added to Apple Business Manager. If the device is already in your ABM, you can turn off managed Activation Lock from ABM under Devices. Otherwise you need the personal Apple ID that locked it, or the bypass code from your MDM. Do not erase the Mac before releasing the lock, or you may be stranded at the activation screen.

Trace the source. Once released, confirm the Mac is fully signed out of the personal Apple ID (System Settings > Apple ID > Sign Out). If the lock came from a former employee's personal account, the problem can return the next time the Mac is erased.

Section 1: Create a temporary partition on your Mac

1. Open your Applications folder.
2. Open your Utilities folder.
3. Launch Disk Utility.
4. In the sidebar, select Macintosh HD - Data.
5. Click Partition in the toolbar.
6. Click Add (+) below the pie chart.
7. When asked whether to add a volume or divide the container's storage, click Add Partition (not Add Volume).
8. Configure the new partition:
   1. Enter a name, for example macOS Reinstall.
   2. Enter 50 GB for the size.
   3. Leave the format as APFS, then click Apply.
9. Click Partition to confirm. The dialog states that the partition will be added and Macintosh HD will be resized. No partitions are erased.
10. Click Continue on the warning about resizing the startup volume.
11. Wait for the partition process to complete. The Mac will stop responding during the resize, which can take several minutes to a few hours. Do not power off the computer.
12. Click Done.
13. Click the Apple menu in the upper-left corner and select Shut Down.
14. Click Shut Down to confirm.

Section 2: Reinstall macOS on the temporary partition

1. Start the Mac in recovery mode.
   Note: On Apple silicon, press and hold the power button until "Loading startup options" appears, then select Options and click Continue. See the Apple support documentation.
2. In the Recovery assistant, you may be asked to sign in to an admin account.
3. Select the admin user.
4. Click Next.
5. Enter the password for the admin user.
6. Click Continue.
7. Once in the Recovery app, select Reinstall macOS Sonoma.
8. Click Continue.
9. Follow the prompts and agree to the software license agreement.
10. When asked where to install, select your temporary partition, for example macOS Reinstall. Be careful not to select Macintosh HD.
11. Click Continue.
12. Wait for macOS to complete the installation.

Note: The computer should automatically reboot into the new partition. If it does not, you can select it manually. On Apple silicon, press and hold the power button until startup options load, then select your new partition.

Section 3: Add the Mac to Apple Business Manager

1. On an iOS device, open Apple Configurator for iPhone.
2. Tap Continue on the welcome screen.
3. Sign in with a Managed Apple ID that has a minimal role of Device Enrollment.
4. When prompted to let Configurator access the camera, tap OK. The camera is used to scan the pairing code displayed by the Mac.
5. On the Mac, go to the Setup Assistant screen showing "Add this Mac to Your Organization", then use Apple Configurator for iPhone to scan the animated image inside the frame.
6. Adding the Mac to Apple Business Manager or Apple School Manager may take a few minutes.
7. Confirm the Mac has been added successfully. The Mac displays a "Mac Added" confirmation and the iPhone shows the device status.
8. Click Shut Down on the Mac.
9. Sign in to Apple Business Manager or Apple School Manager, go to Devices and confirm that your Mac appears in the list.

Important: If you did not choose to automatically assign newly added devices to an MDM server when you added the Mac, the device must be manually assigned to the MDM in order to be connected with Automated Device Enrollment.

Section 4: Delete the temporary partition you created

1. Start the Mac from the original partition, Macintosh HD. Refer to Section 2 if you are unsure how to select the correct partition.
2. Open your Applications folder.
3. Open the Utilities folder.
4. Open Disk Utility.
5. In Disk Utility:
   1. Select your temporary partition in the sidebar.
   2. Click Partition in the toolbar.
6. Select your temporary partition within the pie chart.
7. Click Remove ( - ).
8. The partition is removed from the pie chart and the space returns to Macintosh HD.
9. Click Apply.
10. Click Partition to confirm.
11. Click Done once the new partition scheme has processed.

Section 5: Enroll the Mac into your MDM

1. Open the Terminal app.
2. Run the following command:

   sudo profiles renew -type enrollment

3. Type in your admin password when prompted. Nothing appears as you type.
4. A notification appears in the upper-right corner prompting you to enroll into your MDM.
5. Click on the notification to bring up the System Settings window.
6. System Settings opens on the Profiles pane.
7. Confirm that a message appears to Allow Device Enrollment.
8. Click Allow.
9. Enter your admin credentials.
10. Click Enroll.
11. The MDM profile installs, along with any other configuration profiles pushed by your MDM.

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