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I’m remotely helping a new user set up a provisioned Mac. During first-time setup, the device is having trouble connecting to the network, so the user can’t get past the initial login/work account step smoothly. Is there a way to let the user create or use a local admin login first, then connect to the internet afterward? We seem to run into network issues often during the first login on Macs.
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Marked SolutionPending Review
Hexnode Expert
2 hours ago
Sep 18, 2026
Marked SolutionPending Review
Yes. If a Hexnode Access policy is applied to the Mac, enable the Fallback to Local Login option in that policy.
When this setting is enabled, the user can sign in with a local macOS account, such as a local admin account, even if the Mac does not have internet connectivity at the login stage. This is useful during remote provisioning when Wi-Fi or network access is not available immediately.
Recommended flow:
1. Enable Fallback to Local Login in the Hexnode Access policy.
2. Make sure the policy is applied to the Mac before handing it over or before the device loses connectivity.
3. Let the user sign in with the local account if the network is unavailable.
4. After login, connect the Mac to the network and continue with the work account or cloud login flow.
This setting does not fix the network connection itself, but it prevents the user from being blocked at login when the Mac is temporarily offline.
Regards,
Mary Romero
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