macOS manual enrollment fails with “Profile Installation Failed – The network connection was lost” on Apple Silicon MacSolved

Hi @remi,

This error is commonly caused by a local SSL trust or certificate validation issue on macOS rather than a Hexnode license or enrollment configuration problem.

For Apple Silicon Macs, try the following checks before reinstalling macOS:

1. Restart the Mac to trigger the built-in NVRAM check.
2. Confirm that automatic date and time is enabled. If it already is, toggle it off and manually set the correct date/time once, then retry enrollment.
3. Test enrollment from a different network, such as a mobile hotspot, to rule out firewall, proxy, VPN, or network inspection issues.
4. Flush the macOS trust validation cache by running this in Terminal:
   macOS trust validation cache

   <code></code><code>bash sudo killall trustd </code><code></code>

   1 2 3

   bash sudo killall trustd

   This does not delete certificates. It only forces macOS to re-evaluate certificate trust chains.

5. Open Keychain Access and check the System and System Roots keychains for certificates related to Apple Device Management, Hexnode, or any previous MDM enrollment. If any stale enrollment certificates or certificates with custom trust settings/red trust indicators are present, remove or correct them.
6. Retry manual enrollment using Safari and complete the profile installation from System Settings > Profiles.

If the issue persists and a terminal test against the enrollment endpoint still shows an SSL handshake failure, the macOS certificate store or trust evaluation components may be corrupted. In that case, reinstalling macOS from Recovery can refresh core system files and certificate stores without deleting user data. A full erase and fresh macOS installation should be considered only if the non-destructive reinstall does not resolve it or if the device can be wiped.

Regards,
Sienna Carter
Hexnode UEM