Home
macOS
macOS ABM enrollment fails with “network connection was lost” during Setup Assistant

macOS ABM enrollment fails with “network connection was lost” during Setup AssistantSolved

Participant

2 weeks ago

Trying to enroll a brand-new Mac through Automated Device Enrollment. The device is assigned in Apple Business Manager and shows the enforced Hexnode enrollment screen during Setup Assistant, but enrollment fails with: “enrolling with the management server failed. The network connection was lost.”

I noticed the Mac’s date/time looked wrong, but since the device is still in Setup Assistant, there’s no local admin account yet. When I try to change Date & Time from settings, it asks for the _mbsetupuser password, and there isn’t one because the Mac has not reached user creation yet.

Is there a way around this without already having an admin password on the Mac?

Replies (1)

Marked SolutionPending Review

sienna_carter

Hexnode Expert

2 weeks ago

Marked SolutionPending Review

Hi @sybylla,

This behavior is commonly seen when the Mac’s system clock is incorrect during Automated Device Enrollment.

If the clock is too far off, macOS may fail to validate SSL certificates used for secure communication with Apple and the MDM server. The enrollment then appears as a network failure, even when Wi-Fi is connected.

For a Mac that has already completed setup, the usual fix is:

1. Open System Settings > General > Date & Time.
2. Turn off Set time and date automatically.
3. Manually set the correct local date and time.
4. Turn Set time and date automatically back on.
5. Retry enrollment.

However, in your case, the Mac is still in Setup Assistant and is Apple Business assigned, so enrollment is enforced before a user account exists. The _mbsetupuser account is a temporary macOS setup account and usually should not be treated as a normal admin account.

For a brand-new Apple Business-enrolled Mac stuck at this point, the practical workaround is to connect it to a different stable network or a mobile hotspot and restart the setup flow. If the Mac can reach Apple’s time servers during Setup Assistant, macOS should automatically correct the time, after which the Hexnode enrollment screen can proceed normally.

Regards,
Sienna Carter
Hexnode UEM

Save

macOS ABM enrollment fails with “network connection was lost” during Setup AssistantSolved

Tags

Replies (1)

Leaderboard

Popular Tags

macOS ABM enrollment fails with “network connection was lost” during Setup AssistantSolved

Tags

Replies (1)

Related Topics

Leaderboard

Popular Tags

Login to Hexnode Community