Troubleshooting the "Pending" App Installation Status

Updated: 22 April 2022
Product: Jamf Pro
Jamf Pro displays the status of an app installation in computer and mobile device inventory information. Unless the app installs successfully or fails to install, the app's status remains as pending.
Note:

If there is an app update available, the app's status is pending until the app update is distributed and installed.

In some situations, the message "Pending - Application is not available to install" status can be displayed in Jamf Pro. This can happen for the following app distributions:

  • Managed Distribution

  • In-House App Distribution

Note:

The message is initially displayed while the license is being assigned to the app. The message may display up to several minutes while the license is being assigned to the app.

Managed Distribution

If your environment uses managed distribution (device- or user-assigned managed distribution), there are environmental factors that can cause the app installation to remain in a pending state. The app installation status may display as "Pending-All licenses are in use or the license is not assigned yet" in this situation.

The following table explains scenarios that could cause the pending app status for managed distribution:

SymptomResolution
There are no available licenses to use to distribute the app to users, computers, or mobile devices.
You can purchase additional licenses for the app that has the pending app installation. You can determine if you need to purchase additional licenses by doing the following:

  • View the licenses in use for the pending app

  • Perform a simple or advanced volume content search for the pending app

For information about purchasing additional licenses, see the following Apple documentation:

View the licenses in use

You can view the licenses in use for the volume purchasing location that was used to purchase the pending app. This allows you to determine if all licenses for the app are in use.

  1. Log in to Jamf Pro.

  2. In the top-right corner of the page, click Settings.

  3. Click Global Management.

  4. Click Volume Purchasing.

  5. Click the location that was used to purchase the app.

  6. Click the Content tab. A list of purchased content is displayed.

  7. Locate the pending app.

The "Total" column displays how many licenses have been purchased for the app. The "In Use" column displays how many licenses are in use for the app.

Perform a simple or advanced volume content search

You can perform a simple or advanced volume content search for the pending app. This allows you to view the users, computers, or mobile devices that the app is assigned to or to view the volume assignments that the app is associated with. If the app is not assigned to a user or device, or not associated with a volume assignment, there are no available licenses for the app.

See the following sections in the Jamf Pro Documentation that apply to your environment:
A computer or mobile device is in scope of a paid app and the license is being assigned to the app via a user-assigned volume assignment.
Since the license for the app is being assigned via a user-assigned volume assignment, check the following for the user assigned to the device in the scope of the pending app:

  • The user has accepted the volume purchasing invitation and is associated with the user-assigned volume assignment. For more information, see User-Assigned Volume Purchasing Registration in the Jamf Pro Documentation.

  • The Apple ID used to accept the invitation matches the Apple ID that was used to install the app. You can view this in the Volume Assignments category in user inventory information. For more information, see User Inventory Information in the Jamf Pro Documentation.

  • The user is in scope of the user-assigned volume assignment. For more information, see User-Assigned Volume Assignments in the Jamf Pro Documentation.
    Note:

    In some cases, the user is in scope of the volume assignment, but the VPP license monitor has not run yet. This monitor collects information from Apple's Volume Purchasing API on a scheduled basis.

In addition, if your environment has moved from user- to device-assigned managed distribution, ensure that the transition was complete. For more information, see the Moving from User- to Device-based Volume Purchasing Assignments article.

In-House App Distribution

If your environment distributes in-house apps to mobile devices and uses a cloud distribution point, the app may not be available on the cloud distribution point. The app installation status may display as "Pending-Application is not available on cloud distribution point" in this situation.

To mitigate the issue, ensure the following:

  • Your cloud distribution point is configured as your principal distribution point in Jamf Pro. For more information about configuring the cloud distribution point, see Cloud Distribution Point in the Jamf Pro Documentation.

  • The app you want to distribute is hosted on the cloud distribution point. For more information, see In-House Apps in the Jamf Pro Documentation.