In this guide, I will show you multiple methods to manually sync macOS devices with Intune. Syncing Mac devices with Intune ensures they receive the latest updates and deployments, meet organizational requirements, and stay connected with company communications.
After enrolling macOS devices into Intune, the Company Portal app regularly syncs devices when they’re connected to Wi-Fi. However, if you ever need to disconnect for an extended period of time, you can use the Company Portal sync action to reconnect and bring your device up-to-date.
According to Microsoft, the Sync device action forces the selected device to immediately check in with Intune. When a device checks in, it immediately receives any pending actions or policies that have been assigned to it. This feature can help you immediately validate and troubleshoot policies you’ve assigned, without waiting for the next scheduled check-in.
In my previous guide, I covered multiple ways to sync Intune policies on Windows devices. Windows devices provide a greater variety of options for policy synchronization with Intune compared to Mac devices. This guide has been revised to highlight the most effective methods for syncing macOS devices with Intune.
When should you manually sync macOS devices with Intune?
When addressing issues with a macOS device or testing script or app deployments, forcing an Intune policy sync can be a helpful troubleshooting step. This procedure is often the first action to take when apps fail to install or the latest policies are not updating on the device.
Syncing can help address issues with work-related downloads or stalled processes on mac devices. If you encounter slow performance or unusual behavior while installing or using a work app, try syncing your device to check for any missing updates or requirements.
Useful Read: Fix Intune Profile Installation Failed during macOS Enrollment
Device check-in Interval for macOS devices
An enrolled macOS device checks with Intune for the latest policies every 8 hours. This is also known as the default policy sync interval and it applies to various devices, including Windows, macOS, Android, and others.
Microsoft Intune management agent for macOS
The Microsoft Intune management agent must be installed on managed macOS devices to enable advanced device management features not supported by the native macOS.
This MDM agent application is automatically installed in the background on Intune-managed macOS devices to which you assign at least one shell script through the Microsoft Intune admin center.
This agent is installed at /Library/Intune/Microsoft Intune Agent.app. You cannot locate it from Finder > Applications on macOS devices. However, if you open the Activity Monitor, the agent appears as IntuneMdmAgent.
Also Read: Enroll iOS or iPadOS devices in Microsoft Intune
Method 1: Initiate Intune sync using Company Portal app
Mac users can initiate the Intune policy sync from the company portal app. The benefit of using this method is it initiates an MDM check-in as well as an agent check-in.
Launch the Company Portal app on a macOS device and click on Sign in. Select the Devices tab. Click More […] and then select Check Status. The Company Portal begins syncing the device with Intune and retrieves the latest policies and updates.
After you trigger a mac device check-in with Intune, the status changes to “Checking to see if this device meets company compliance and security policies. This might take a few minutes.”
After the device successfully completes the check-in process, the latest policies from Intune are synchronized, and the status updates to “In compliance.” You should also see a date and time when the last sync was completed.
The status now shows as “This device meets company compliance and security policies. You can access resources like company email with this device.” This is how you can initiate a manual policy sync using the company portal app on mac device.
Method 2: Sync Intune Policies using macOS Terminal
In this method, I will show you how to initiate an agent check-in manually on macOS via the Terminal. On the Mac device, launch the Terminal app. Run the sudo killall IntuneMdmAgent command to terminate the IntuneMdmAgent process.
sudo killall IntuneMdmAgent
Method 3: Sync MacOS devices from Intune Admin Center
The device check-in process can be manually initiated from the Intune Admin center for enrolled mac devices. With this method, you can sync either an individual Mac device or multiple Mac devices simultaneously.
The only caveat here is the Sync action for macos devices in the Microsoft Intune admin center triggers an MDM check-in but does not enforce an agent check-in. This should be ok if you want your Mac to get the latest deployments quickly.
To sync a macOS device, sign in to the Microsoft Intune admin center. Go to Devices > By Platform > macOS. Select the macOS device and on the Overview page, click on the Sync action. Click Yes to confirm the policy sync.
Initiating the sync action prompts Intune to communicate with the remote Mac device. A notification will appear in the top-right corner of the admin center, confirming that the sync has started.
Ensure the remote Mac device is online to process the sync action initiated from the Intune admin center. If the device is offline, the sync request will automatically be processed once it reconnects to the internet.
To confirm a successful sync, navigate to the Intune admin center, select the macOS device, and review the “Last check-in” column. This field should reveal the date and time when the device was last synced.
Method 4: Use Bulk Device Actions to Sync Policies on Mac devices
To initiate policy sync across multiple Mac devices in Intune, utilize the Bulk Device Actions. You can sync a maximum of 100 Mac devices with this method.
1. In the Intune admin center, go to Devices > macOS and select Bulk device actions.
2. In the Basics tab, click on the drop-down to select ‘macOS‘ as the OS and ‘Sync‘ as Device action. Click Next.
3. On the Devices page, click on Select devices to include and add the Mac devices to initiate policy sync. Click Next.
4. Finally, on the Review+Create tab, review the devices that you have added and click Create.
5. Shortly, a notification appears stating, “Successfully initiated sync on all devices.” That’s how you initiate policy sync on multiple Mac devices with bulk device actions in Intune.
Troubleshoot Policy Sync Failures on MacOS devices
On macOS devices, policy synchronization may sometimes fail due to various factors, such as unstable connectivity, unassigned licenses, or an inability to establish a connection with the Intune service.
You can try the following troubleshooting steps to resolve the sync issues:
- Review Logs: IntuneMDMDaemon.log and IntuneMDMAgent.log are two important logs that you must review for device check-in failures. Refer to the detailed guide on collecting Intune logs on macOS devices.
- Intune License: Confirm that the user account has an Intune license assigned in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
- Intune Configurations: Evaluate the Intune setup for macOS devices, focusing on device restrictions, compliance policies, and configuration profiles to ensure proper configuration.
- Restart macOS device: If the policies fail to sync on the Mac device, try restarting it. A simple restart can often resolve issues with policy sync failures on macOS devices.
- Internet Connectivity: Ensure the macOS device has a stable and reliable internet connection during policy synchronization.
- Contact Support: If the issue persists after troubleshooting, contact Microsoft Intune support for further assistance.
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