For Automated Device Enrollment (ADE) to function, each device must be assigned to a specific, linked Mobile Device Management (MDM) server within Apple Business Manager (ABM). If a default MDM server assignment has not been configured for new purchases of a specific device type (e.g., iPhone), the devices will be added to ABM but will not be assigned to any MDM. During activation, Apple's servers will not have instructions to redirect the device for enrollment, causing the device to proceed with a standard consumer setup and skip the mandatory enrollment prompt.

A. Devices purchased through official channels are automatically added to ABM. There is no per-device "approval" step that would prevent the enrollment prompt.

B. A reset is a corrective action for a device that has already been set up, not the root cause of why a new device fails to enroll.

D. Locations in Apple Business Manager are for organizing assets and content, but the MDM server assignment is what triggers the actual enrollment process.

1. Apple Platform Deployment Guide. (2024-02-27). "Assign devices to an MDM server in Apple Business Manager." Apple Inc. In the section "Set a default MDM server for device types

" it states

"You can set a default MDM server for each device type... This means that any new device... is automatically assigned to that specific MDM server." This implies that without this setting

automatic assignment and subsequent enrollment will not occur.

2. Apple Business Manager User Guide. (2023-12-12). "Assign devices to an MDM server in Apple Business Manager." Section: "Set a default assignment." Apple Inc. The guide explicitly instructs administrators to "select a default MDM server for each device type

" confirming this is a required configuration step for automation.

3. Stanford University

University IT. "Automated Device Enrollment for Apple Devices." Stanford University. The documentation outlines the process

stating

"The device serial number must be assigned to the Stanford MDM server in the Apple portal... When the device is unboxed... it receives the command to enroll in MDM." This highlights that assignment is a prerequisite for the enrollment command. (Reference available through Stanford's public IT service documentation).