Jamf Locked M1 Macbook, stuck on Activate Mac - Failed to create activation request.

mvans14
New Contributor

We have 2 MacBook pros that were pre-stage enrolled with our JAMF profiles.  I needed to lock them remotely through Jamf.  When I gained access to the physical machine they were both stuck at the Recovery Assistant screen.  They both reboot and are stuck at a screen that says "Examining Volumes..." and then get stuck at "Failed to create activation request". The only option at this screen is to reboot and I am stuck in a loop.

Anyone come across this before and have advice for me.  These are two new machines.

3 REPLIES 3

Andrew_Kuntz1
New Contributor III

Do you have the ability to ethernet into these machines? If not, you might want to try reinstalling the OS on the Macs? M1's are a little weird to get to the "more options screen", you must hold the power button while powering the machines on, and you will see a message.

mvans14
New Contributor

I am able to  get to the screen where I can select options but it just restarts and puts me back in the "Failed to create activation request" screen.  I will have to see if I can find an adapter for ethernet.

mvans14
New Contributor

In case of anyone coming across this thread, be careful with the M1 MacBooks:

 

https://docs.jamf.com/10.31.0/jamf-pro/administrator-guide/Remote_Commands_for_Computers.html

Note: On computers with Apple silicon (i.e., M1 chip) with macOS 11.4 or earlier, the passcode configured in the "Lock computer" command is not set. The computer reboots to the Activation screen in macOS Recovery with the options to restart, shutdown, activate, or erase the computer. To activate the computer, the user must authenticate with an administrator account that has a SecureToken. If there are no administrators with a SecureToken, activation cannot complete and the computer must be erased. This activation step requires an internet connection.