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macOS 26 Restrictions Profile Compatibility Issue with Pre-24.0.1 DEP Enrollments

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Overview

In previous Silverback releases (prior to Silverback 24.0 Update 1), devices enrolled through Apple’s Device Enrollment Program (DEP) were managed using Device Scope only, since the activation of the User Channel was not part of the DEP enrollment workflow at that time. As a result, these devices continue to receive all configuration profiles in the Device Scope. Starting with Silverback 24.0 Update 1, the enrollment process has been enhanced to automatically activate both the User and Device channels for all new DEP enrollments, allowing profiles to be installed in the correct scope as required by Apple. With the introduction of macOS 26, Apple has made significant changes to how restriction keys are handled. Except three restrictions, the restriction payload keys must now be installed within the User Scope instead of the Device Scope.

Impact

Devices that were enrolled via DEP before the update to Silverback 24.0 Update 1 will not support configuration profiles that require the User Scope. This particularly affects the Restrictions profile on macOS 26 and newer, as Apple now enforces User Scope for most restriction keys. For existing, already managed devices, this means: After updating to macOS 26, devices will remain managed. However, changes to the Restrictions Profile will no longer be applied.

Resolution / Workaround

Unfortunately, there is no way to enable the User Channel retroactively for previously enrolled DEP devices under Silverback 24.0. Update 1 and older. You have three options:

  1. Keep affected devices below macOS 26 by advising your users not to update, or
  2. Accept that Restriction Profile changes will not be applied, or
  3. Reset the affected devices to factory defaults and re-enroll them through DEP using Silverback 25.4.0.29 or newer. This ensures both the User and Device channels are active and restrictions can be applied successfully.

Recommendation

For all new or re-enrolled macOS devices, we recommend using Silverback 25.4.0.29 or later to ensure full compatibility.