ADE Profiles

What

The ADE (formerly known as DEP) Profile section allows us to create, edit and remove ADE (Apple Device Enrollment) profiles.

When/Why

There are a lot of different reasons for creating and editing ADE profiles, but in general ADE profiles control device setup behavior for Apple devices.  With these profiles we can control what dialogs users see during device setup, force devices to enroll in our MDM environment, and even control device naming.  ADE profiles are a critical part of setting up automated device enrollment and setup.

Starting in FileWave 16.3.x, ADE profiles also support do_not_use_profile_from_backup, which lets a restored device ignore the ADE profile embedded in a backup and pull the current ADE assignment instead. FileWave 16.3.x also adds the Age Based Safety Settings skip key, while still keeping AdditionalPrivacySettings available because Apple's documentation is not yet fully consistent on whether the newer key fully replaces it.

Managed Migration Assistant for macOS in FileWave 16.4

FileWave 16.4 adds Managed Migration Assistant settings to macOS ADE profiles. These settings let an organization control Mac-to-Mac data migration during Setup Assistant instead of leaving every migration choice to the user.

The same Apple capability is available through a FileWave DDM Migration Assistant configuration. Use the ADE profile integration for the initial Setup Assistant experience and review DDM Configurations for the declaration-based controls and conflict-avoidance guidance.

Test the complete migration on representative source and destination Macs. A successful ADE enrollment does not prove that every selected account, file, privacy setting, or third-party application migrated as intended.

How

The below is a quick run-through of creating (and editing) a new ADE Profile targeting AppleTV devices.


Revision #7
Created 2023-07-10 19:25:19 UTC by Josh Levitsky
Updated 2026-07-12 01:36:04 UTC by Josh Levitsky