Adding iPhone/iPad to Apple Business Manager with VMware Workspace ONE and AC2

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I used to create a bogus MDM server in Apple Configurator 2 (AC2) and later re-assign the device in Apple Business Manager (ABM). This doesn’t seem to work anymore. I will see the device in ABM, re-assign it, but Erase All Contents & Settings would remove the Automated Enrollment flag from the device.

I later used to get the Apple Configurator 2 URL “MDM Server URL” (available from Settings > Apple > Automated Enrollment in VMware Workspace ONE), and this seemed to be working well.

Today, I downgraded an iPhone 6s from iOS 13 beta to iOS 12.4.1 to test the beta profile, then hit Prepare > Manual Configuration > Add to Device Enrollment Program, and got multiple errors, like “Invalid Profile” or another error saying it couldn’t connect to the MDM server.

I deleted the MDM server from AC2 Preferences > Server, copied the “MDM Server URL” (available from Settings > Apple > Automated Enrollment in VMware Workspace ONE) and got the error: “Unable to verify the server’s enrollment URL. Unable to read provided data.”

After much trial and error, I found another way to prepare a device, by exporting the enrollment profile (available from Settings > Apple > Automated Enrollment > Export in VMware Workspace ONE), open it in AC2 and copy the MDM Enrollment URL from the profile into AC2. This worked like a charm.

As a reference (obfuscated):

  • MDM Server URL: https://ds618.awmdm.com/DeviceServices/Enrollment/DeviceMdmConfiguration.aspx?shid=aw1v2%3Akv0%3AyD9Yev1YunO%2FiKO%2F%3AEEaLwxtAFgwdnICjXqJ%2FTtrVttLIF1iq3raYJDsUaP%2By1dX4MQCBoXsgOGc91j0xhBcdd11%3D

  • MDM Enrollment URL (profile): https://ds618.awmdm.com/DeviceServices/Enrollment/DeviceMdmConfiguration.aspx?shid=27914285-2738-488d-9217-ad517ecc51d8

As a quick reminder, here’s the workflow to add an iPhone/iPad to Apple Business Manager with VMware Workspace ONE and AC2:

  1. Download and Install Apple Configurator 2

  2. Create a Wi-Fi configuration profile (File > New Profile)

  3. Go to Preferences > Organizations and login with your Apple Business Manager Apple ID

  4. Open VMware Workspace One, and export the enrollment profile (available from Settings > Apple > Automated Enrollment > Export in VMware Workspace ONE)

  5. Open enrollment profile in AC2

  6. Copy “MDM Enrollment URL”

  7. Go to AC2 Preferences > Servers and add a new server, paste the MDM Enrollment URL.

  8. Create a new Blueprint (or connect a device), right click > Prepare…

    1. Prepare with: Manual Configuration

    2. Select “Add to Device Enrollment Program”

    3. Click Next

    4. Select your MDM Server

    5. Select your Orgnization

    6. Skip Setup Assistant steps as needed

    7. Select Wi-Fi profile (created on step 2)

    8. Click Prepare