Skip to main content
Question

: New MacBook Neo unexpectedly enrolled in Jamf MDM — looking for an Apple/Jamf admin’s advice

  • October 1, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 37 views
Chins11

Title

Hi Apple/Jamf admins,

I purchased a MacBook Neo advertised and sold as brand new from a third-party seller.

During initial setup, I discovered that the Mac is enrolled in Jamf/MDM and is showing organisation-management information. I was not informed before purchase that the device was managed by an organisation.

I have contacted the seller and they have offered to exchange the device, but I’d like to understand what has happened before returning it.

From an IT/admin perspective:

  • What are the legitimate ways to determine whether the Mac is registered in Apple Business Manager/Automated Device Enrollment?
  • How can I distinguish between a locally installed MDM profile and Automated Device Enrollment?
  • If the device is in Apple Business Manager, does removing the MDM profile locally actually resolve the underlying enrollment?
  • Can an Apple/Jamf administrator release the device from their organisation remotely?
  • Could a genuinely unused/new Mac have been purchased by a reseller and subsequently enrolled in an organisation’s MDM?
  • Is there anything I should document before returning the device (screenshots, profiles information, enrollment status, etc.)?

I’m not looking for instructions to bypass or circumvent MDM. I want to establish the legitimate ownership/enrollment status and understand what the seller needs to do to provide an unmanaged personal Mac.

I can provide screenshots of the Jamf/MDM screen with serial/order information redacted.

Thanks in advance to anyone with Apple Business Manager or Jamf experience.

please help me 

    2 replies

    _Daley
    Forum|alt.badge.img+7
    • _Daley
    • Contributor
    • October 1, 2026

     

    You can use the following command in your terminal to see how the device was enrolled in the organization: profiles status -type enrollment 

    This will tell you if it was a DEP enrollment or not. 

    You can run the following command to check if the device is in an ABM instance: 

    sudo profiles show -type enrollment

    If this returns a config, this means that it is in an instance and is assigned. If nothing is returned, it’s either not in an instance or unassigned. 

     

    You can also see a more basic version of this information on the device management settings pane. 

     

    If you remove the MDM profile, but the device stays present and assigned in an ABM instance, you’d be prompted to re-enroll the device when you erase it, or on more recent MacOS versions you might be prompted during use. 

     

    Whomever has access to the Apple Business Manager instance in question is able to release the device. They’d also need to remove it from their MDM, and then generally you’d need to erase the MacBook to fully get rid of the management status of the device. 

     

    I’d take a screenshot of the settings pane for device management, as well as the output of the console commands and the serial number of the device. 

     

    With how assignments work, by apple resellers, it’s possible this is a mistake and not anything shady. I am not entirely sure what it looks like on their end, but they might have just assigned the serial number to one of their other customers, leading to it being enrolled in their MDM and ABM. Hope this helps! 

     

      a_govind.sharma
      Forum|alt.badge.img+1

      Hi ​@Chins11 - A Mac being presented as "new" should not already be enrolled in an organization's management system. To answer your questions:

      1. How can I determine whether a Mac is enrolled via Apple Business Manager (ABM) / Automated Device Enrollment (ADE)?

      If the Remote Management screen appears during initial setup or immediately after activation, the Mac is likely enrolled through Automated Device Enrollment (ADE) rather than having a locally installed MDM profile.

      You can also verify the enrollment type with:

      Sudo profiles status -type enrollment

      This shows whether the device was enrolled through ADE/DEP.

       

      2. How do I distinguish between a locally installed MDM profile and ADE?

      Locally Installed MDM Profile

      • Added manually after macOS setup.
      • Visible in System Settings > device management.
      • May be removable by the user unless restricted.
      • Does not typically display the Remote Management screen during setup.

      ADE-Enrolled Device

      • Enrollment is linked to the Mac's serial number in Apple Business Manager.
      • Displays Remote Management during Setup Assistant.
      • Automatically re-enrolls after erase/reinstall if still assigned to the organization.
      • Indicates organizational ownership, not just a locally installed profile.

      Check ADE status with:

      sudo profiles show -type enrollment

       

      3. If the device is in Apple Business Manager, will removing the local MDM profile resolve the issue?

      Usually not.

      Removing the profile only affects the current macOS installation. If the Mac remains assigned in Apple Business Manager:

      1. The device is erased.
      2. macOS is reinstalled.
      3. The Mac contacts Apple activation servers.
      4. ADE/Remote Management enrollment is presented again.

      The device must be removed from Apple Business Manager to prevent future automatic enrollment.

       

      4. Can an Apple or Jamf administrator release the device remotely?

      Yes.

      An administrator with the appropriate permissions can release the device from the organization's Apple Business Manager instance. Once released and processed, the Mac should no longer automatically enroll after being erased and reactivated.

       

      5. Could a new or unused Mac be enrolled in an organization's MDM?

      Yes. Common scenarios include:

      • A reseller accidentally shipped inventory assigned to a business customer.
      • The Mac was purchased through Apple Business Manager but never deployed.
      • The device was resold without being properly released from Apple Business Manager.

      Thanks

       

        Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement