+3Hello,
We are wanting to deploy software updates to our iPhones and iPads outside of business hours. However many of these devices use cellular when not onsite. A big concern is going over our data limit and being charged for overages.
Is there a way to restrict OS updates to only occur if a device is connected over wi-fi?
Best answer by angelohuang
As far as I know there isn't a hard "Wi-Fi only" switch for OS updates, but if you push them as a declarative (DDM) managed software update, which is what Jamf Pro uses for iOS/iPadOS 17 and later, the built-in behavior already covers most of this. Per Apple's deployment guide, when an update is declared and the iPhone or iPad is only on cellular, the user is prompted to confirm the download. If they don't confirm, the device waits and starts the download once it's on Wi-Fi: https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/install-and-enforce-software-updates-depd30715cbb/web
The remaining risk is users tapping confirm while on cellular. What helps: give the enforcement deadline a few days of lead time rather than same night, since the download starts when the update is declared, so most devices pick it up on office or home Wi-Fi first. Staging the rollout in smaller groups also lets you watch data usage before going fleet-wide, and a quick heads-up to users to skip the cellular prompt goes a long way.
I work on Swif, and we wrote up the DDM update flow, including this cellular behavior, here in case it's a useful reference: https://help.swif.ai/en/articles/8780462-apple-software-update-policy
As far as I know there isn't a hard "Wi-Fi only" switch for OS updates, but if you push them as a declarative (DDM) managed software update, which is what Jamf Pro uses for iOS/iPadOS 17 and later, the built-in behavior already covers most of this. Per Apple's deployment guide, when an update is declared and the iPhone or iPad is only on cellular, the user is prompted to confirm the download. If they don't confirm, the device waits and starts the download once it's on Wi-Fi: https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/install-and-enforce-software-updates-depd30715cbb/web
The remaining risk is users tapping confirm while on cellular. What helps: give the enforcement deadline a few days of lead time rather than same night, since the download starts when the update is declared, so most devices pick it up on office or home Wi-Fi first. Staging the rollout in smaller groups also lets you watch data usage before going fleet-wide, and a quick heads-up to users to skip the cellular prompt goes a long way.
I work on Swif, and we wrote up the DDM update flow, including this cellular behavior, here in case it's a useful reference: https://help.swif.ai/en/articles/8780462-apple-software-update-policy
+19I’ve checked into this before and unless something has changed
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