You’ve set up your Jamf Prestage Enrollment, added your device serial numbers, and everything looks ready to go. But then you notice something frustrating: the devices aren’t showing up in Apple Business Manager, or the sync between Jamf Pro and Apple seems stuck.
This is a common headache for IT admins and Apple device managers. The good news is that most syncing issues have simple fixes you can try yourself. In this guide, you’ll learn why Prestage Enrollment fails to sync and exactly how to get it working again.
What Happens When Prestage Enrollment Won’t Sync
Prestage Enrollment is the feature in Jamf Pro that lets you automatically enroll Apple devices into your management system. It connects to Apple Business Manager (or Apple School Manager) and pulls device information so new Macs, iPhones, and iPads can be set up with your company’s settings right out of the box.
When syncing stops working, your devices get stuck in limbo. A brand new MacBook arrives at your office, but Jamf doesn’t know it exists. Or you’ve added serial numbers to a Prestage profile, but they never appear on the Apple side. Sometimes the sync seems to run, but changes you made hours ago still haven’t gone through.
The effects can ripple across your whole setup process. Employees waiting for new devices face delays. Your zero-touch deployment breaks down, and you end up doing manual enrollments instead. For schools or businesses with dozens or hundreds of devices, this quickly turns into a time-consuming mess.
A few key things happen during a normal sync:
- Jamf Pro contacts Apple’s servers to exchange device and enrollment information
- Serial numbers get matched between your Prestage profile and Apple Business Manager
- Enrollment settings transfer so devices know which MDM server to contact during setup
- Scope assignments update to reflect any changes you’ve made
When any part of this chain breaks, the whole sync can fail or hang indefinitely.
Jamf Prestage Enrollment Not Syncing: Likely Causes
Before jumping into fixes, it helps to know what usually causes this problem. Here are the most common reasons your Prestage Enrollment sync might be stuck.
1. Expired or Invalid Apple Push Certificate
Your Apple Push Notification service (APNs) certificate is like a handshake between Jamf and Apple. It proves that your Jamf server has permission to talk to Apple’s systems.
These certificates expire every year. When yours lapses, the connection breaks silently. Jamf might not throw a big error message, but syncs will fail.
Even if your certificate hasn’t fully expired, it can become invalid if someone renewed it using a different Apple ID than the original. This creates a mismatch that Apple’s servers won’t accept.
2. Apple Business Manager Token Issues
The server token that links Jamf Pro to Apple Business Manager needs to stay fresh. Apple requires you to download a new token from ABM and upload it to Jamf periodically.
If this token expires or gets corrupted, Jamf loses its ability to communicate with Apple’s enrollment services. You might see sync errors, or syncs might simply stop happening without any obvious warning.
3. Network or Firewall Blocks
Jamf Pro needs to reach several Apple domains over the internet. Your company firewall or network security tools might be blocking some of these connections.
This is especially common in corporate environments with strict outbound traffic rules. A recent security update or firewall change could suddenly cut off access that was working fine before.
The tricky part is that partial blocks can cause weird behavior. Jamf might connect to some Apple services but not others, leading to incomplete syncs.
4. Serial Number Conflicts
Each device serial number can only belong to one Prestage Enrollment profile at a time. If you try to add a serial that’s already assigned elsewhere, the sync will fail for that device.
This often happens when devices get moved between departments or when old Prestage profiles weren’t cleaned up properly. The conflict prevents Apple’s system from knowing which enrollment settings to apply.
5. Apple Server Delays or Outages
Sometimes the problem isn’t on your end at all. Apple’s backend services occasionally experience slowdowns or temporary outages.
During busy periods like back-to-school season or after major product launches, Apple’s Device Enrollment Program servers can get overwhelmed. Syncs that normally take minutes might take hours, or they might time out completely.
Jamf Prestage Enrollment Not Syncing: DIY Fixes
Now that you know what might be causing the problem, let’s walk through the fixes. Start with the first solution and work your way down until your sync starts working again.
1. Check and Renew Your Apple Push Certificate
Open Jamf Pro and go to Settings > Global > Push Certificates. Look at the expiration date listed there.
If your certificate expires soon or has already expired, you’ll need to renew it:
- Log into the Apple Push Certificates Portal with the same Apple ID used originally
- Download the signed certificate
- Upload it back to Jamf Pro in the Push Certificates section
After uploading, give it a few minutes and try syncing your Prestage Enrollment again. Many admins find that a certificate renewal fixes the issue immediately.
2. Refresh Your Apple Business Manager Token
Head to Settings > Global > Device Enrollment Program in Jamf Pro. Check when your server token was last updated.
To refresh it, log into Apple Business Manager, go to your MDM server settings, and download a new token file. Then upload that fresh token to Jamf Pro. This reestablishes the trust between the two systems and often clears up stubborn sync issues.
3. Verify Network Connectivity
Your Jamf server needs unrestricted access to several Apple domains. Work with your network team to confirm that outbound connections are allowed to:
- albert.apple.com
- deviceenrollment.apple.com
- mdmenrollment.apple.com
- iprofiles.apple.com
If your organization uses a proxy server, make sure Jamf Pro is configured to route traffic through it correctly. A quick test is to temporarily bypass proxy settings and see if syncing starts working.
After making firewall or proxy changes, restart the Jamf services and attempt a manual sync.
4. Remove Duplicate Serial Number Assignments
Go through your Prestage Enrollment profiles and look for any serial numbers that might be listed in multiple places. Jamf Pro’s inventory search can help you find devices and see which profiles they’re assigned to.
Remove duplicates by editing the conflicting profiles. Keep each serial number in only one Prestage profile. Once the conflicts are cleared, run a sync and check if the affected devices now appear correctly.
5. Force a Manual Sync
Sometimes Jamf’s automatic sync schedule gets stuck. You can kick it back into action by triggering a manual sync.
In Jamf Pro, navigate to your Prestage Enrollment profile and look for the sync or refresh button. Click it to force an immediate connection to Apple’s servers.
Watch the sync status for a few minutes. If it completes successfully, your problem might have been a temporary glitch. If it fails, the error message can give you clues about what’s really wrong.
6. Contact Jamf Support or Apple Business Support
If you’ve tried everything above and your Prestage Enrollment still won’t sync, it’s time to call in the experts. Jamf’s support team can look at your server logs and identify issues that aren’t visible from the admin console.
For problems that seem related to Apple Business Manager itself, Apple’s business support channel can investigate on their end. Sometimes the issue is a stuck record in Apple’s database that only they can fix.
Wrapping Up
Prestage Enrollment sync issues can throw a wrench into your device management workflow, but most problems come down to expired certificates, stale tokens, or network hiccups. By checking each of these areas, you can usually pinpoint the cause and fix it without too much trouble.
Keep your certificates and tokens updated on a regular schedule to prevent future headaches. And when things do go sideways, a systematic approach will get your zero-touch enrollment back on track faster than random troubleshooting.