jamf prestage enrollment skipping setup assistant steps

TL;DR

Prestage settings only apply at activation to devices that were assigned in Apple Business Manager before first boot. If the Mac was activated before the assignment, or the prestage scope missed it, Setup Assistant runs with defaults. Fix the ABM assignment and prestage scope, erase the Mac, and let it activate again. The prestage cannot be applied to an already-activated Mac.

Steps

1. In Apple Business Manager, confirm the Mac's serial number is assigned to your Jamf MDM server. Expected: the assignment is correct. Prestage does nothing for devices assigned elsewhere or not assigned at all.
2. In Jamf Pro, open the prestage enrollment and check its scope. Expected: the Mac is in scope (by serial, order, or group). A prestage with no matching scope is the most common cause of skipped steps.
3. Check the prestage's Setup Assistant settings: which panes are set to show or skip. Expected: the settings match what you want. Sometimes the prestage is fine and the "skip" is actually the configured behavior.
4. If the Mac was activated before steps 1-2 were correct: erase it. Expected: the Mac returns to the Hello screen. Prestage is read once at activation; fixing the backend afterwards changes nothing on an activated Mac.
5. Activate the Mac with network access. Expected: Setup Assistant follows the prestage (your skipped/shown panes, account creation, enrollment). Verify in Jamf Pro that the device enrolled under the prestage name.

Use this when

• New Macs skip Setup Assistant steps the prestage should enforce
• The prestage was edited but existing Macs ignore the changes
• Devices enroll but land outside the expected prestage

Not for this skill when

• Macs were never in ABM (prestage requires Automated Device Enrollment)
• You need to change Setup Assistant on already-deployed Macs (use policies, not prestage)
• Enrollment itself fails (different skill)

Compatibility

• Jamf Pro with Apple Business Manager Automated Device Enrollment; macOS 12+

Variants

Prestage applies but one pane still shows

Some panes cannot be skipped on certain macOS versions (Apple reserves a few). Check the prestage editor's notes for the OS version; it flags non-skippable panes.

Macs from a new vendor order miss the prestage

Vendor orders need to be linked to your ABM. Until the order's devices appear in ABM, no prestage can touch them.

Why it happens

Prestage is a one-shot configuration delivered during activation. Apple hands the Mac its prestage at the moment it activates, based on the ABM assignment at that instant. Anything fixed later, or any Mac activated earlier, never sees it.

Edge cases

• Erasing via Find My remote wipe also re-triggers prestage on next activation. Useful for remote re-enrollment.
• If multiple prestages could match, Jamf applies the first match in scope order. Overlapping scopes produce surprising results; keep them disjoint.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_JrTC16XoivDQDmM7XyUKQA