macOS Upgrades and Updates Using a Mass Action Command
You can update macOS on an individual computer or group of computers by sending a mass action command to computers. You can use a mass action command to update macOS on target computers with macOS 10.11 or later, supervised or enrolled via a PreStage enrollment in Jamf Pro. This method is recommended for computers with Apple silicon to install macOS updates without the need for a user with volume ownership privileges to authorize the updates using their password. Instead, macOS requests a previously-escrowed Bootstrap Token from Jamf Pro to authorize the update.
For more information on volume ownership and Bootstrap Tokens, see Use secure token, bootstrap token, and volume ownership in deployments in Apple Platform Deployment.
To use the mass action command workflow, you need to identify target computers. You can do this using one of the following methods:
Simple search
Advanced search
Static group
Smart group
You can increase software download speeds for computers when content caching from Apple is enabled on your network. For more information, see Intro to content caching in Apple Platform Deployment.
Using an Advanced Search to Identify Target Computers
Best practice workflows cover common scenarios; however, the following recommendations may not apply in your environment.
Updating macOS by Sending a Mass Action Command
When you use a mass action command in Jamf Pro to update the operating system for computers not using the desired macOS target version, a workflow is initiated where multiple commands are used to query the device for available updates before a specific macOS update is scheduled in a separate command.
Target computers are instructed to scan for available software updates. Between 5-7 minutes after the scan is initiated, an AvailableOSUpdates
command is queried. Then, Jamf Pro sends a ScheduleOSUpdate
command.
For more information about how Jamf Pro manages software updates, see About software updates for Apple devices in Apple Platform Deployment.
Scheduling a macOS update with a mass action command overrides any deferral restrictions that may have been enforced by a configuration profile.
Jamf Pro 9.96 or later
Target computers with macOS 10.11 or later, supervised or enrolled via a PreStage enrollment in Jamf Pro
A valid push certificate in Jamf Pro
To have the update for computers with Apple silicon (i.e., M1 chip) installed automatically without user interaction, a Bootstrap Token for target computers must be escrowed with Jamf Pro. macOS will automatically request the Bootstrap Token from Jamf Pro to authorize updates that were scheduled to install.
Install Actions Available in Jamf Pro
The following table lists the install actions and where they are available in Jamf Pro.
For information on the user experience of different install actions, see Installing software updates and upgrades in Apple Platform Deployment.
For information on deploying macOS upgrades and updates using the Jamf Pro API, see macos-managed-software-updates in the Jamf Pro API Reference.
Apple Install Action | Where Available in Jamf Pro | Notes |
---|---|---|
|
| |
|
| Requires macOS 12 or later. Earlier versions of macOS will attempt to schedule an update without deferral options to enforce it. |
|
| When targeting a major macOS upgrade, |
| Jamf Pro API | Warning:
|
* When updating macOS using individual computer management commands, Jamf Pro will schedule the latest available non-major update. To specify target versions, deploy updates using computer mass action commands or the Jamf Pro API.