Overview
Apple renamed Apple Business Manager to Apple Business in April 2026. Anything you read elsewhere that says "Apple Business Manager" or "ABM" means the same service.
You need Device Manager or Administrator rights on an Apple Business account before you start. If your company does not have one, create it at business.apple.com.
The connection is a one-off exchange of two files: you give Apple a public key from the platform, and Apple gives you back a token that proves the link.
How to use
Connect Apple Business
-
Get the public key
Open MDM > Settings > Apple Business and download the public key. Keep the file to hand.
- Register the platform as an MDM server in Apple Business.
- In Apple Business, click your account name at the bottom left and open Preferences.
- Find Device Management Services and click Add.
- Name the server something you will recognise later.
- Tick Allow this MDM server to release devices. Without it you cannot hand devices back out of management.
- Under MDM Server Settings, upload the public key from step 1 and save.
- Select the server you just created in the sidebar and click Download Token
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Upload the token.
Back in MDM > Settings > Apple Business, upload the .p7m file Apple gave you. The two systems are now linked.
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Point your existing devices at the new server.
Apple devices already in your account are still assigned to whatever server they were on before. In Apple Business, open Your Devices > All Devices, then use Edit MDM Server to move them all across.
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Make it the default for everything you buy next.
Still in Preferences, open Your MDM Servers > Default MDM Server Assignment and click Edit. Set every entry to the new server, then click Done. Skip this and tomorrow's delivery lands on the old server.
How to use
Get devices into Apple Business
A device can only use zero touch if Apple knows it belongs to your company. There are three ways to get it there.
Route |
What it takes |
Best for |
|---|---|---|
Buy through the platform |
Nothing — the devices arrive zero-touch ready |
New hardware |
Buy from an Apple-authorised reseller |
The reseller must register the devices against your Apple Business account at the point of sale |
Companies with an existing supplier |
Add by hand with Apple Configurator |
A Mac, a cable, and an erased device |
Small numbers, or devices bought outside both routes |
If you go through a reseller, agree the registration before you place the order. A reseller who is not Apple-authorised, or who forgets to assign the devices to your account, leaves you with hardware that can never do zero touch.
The Apple Configurator route is the fallback. The device has to be wiped and physically plugged into a Mac, which makes it fine for a handful of machines and painful for a hundred. Apple documents the procedure in Add devices to Apple Business Manager using Apple Configurator.
Tips and Best Practices
- Do the default-server step on the same day as the connection. It is the one everybody forgets, and you only find out weeks later when a new Mac fails to enrol.
- Put the Apple Business registration in your purchase order, in writing, every time. Chasing a reseller after delivery rarely works, and the alternative is unboxing each machine for Apple Configurator.
- Tick "allow this MDM server to release devices" at the start. Changing it later means going back into Apple Business when you are already under pressure to release a device.
- Zero touch is where you end up, not where you start. Roll out with employee enrolment, then put each new hardware order onto zero touch as it arrives.
Troubleshooting and FAQ
Troubleshooting
- A new Mac arrives and does not enrol itself. Either the device was never registered to your Apple Business account, or the default MDM server assignment still points at the old server. Check the device in Apple Business first — if it is not listed there at all, the reseller did not register it.
- Existing devices did not move to the new server. Reassigning in Your Devices > All Devices only covers the devices selected at that moment. Devices added since then follow the default assignment rule instead.
- You cannot upload the token. The .p7m file has to come from the server you created with your own public key. A token downloaded from a different server will not match.
- A device cannot be released from management. The MDM server was registered without Allow this MDM server to release devices. Edit the server in Apple Business and enable it.
FAQ
-
Can we add a device to Apple Business after we have already bought it?
Only with Apple Configurator, and only by erasing it and connecting it to a Mac. A reseller cannot register a device retroactively.
-
Do we have to buy hardware through the platform to use zero touch?
No. Any Apple-authorised reseller works, as long as they assign the devices to your Apple Business account when you buy them.
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Does zero touch survive a wipe?
Yes. That is the point of it — the device re-enrols on its own at the next setup screen, so wiping a machine does not take it out of management.
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Is "Apple Business Manager" something different?
No, it is the old name for Apple Business. The two refer to the same service.