macOS Mojave Spring Update

The macOS Mojave 10.14.4 update dropped on Monday night, along with iOS 12.2. Like last year’s 10.13.4 update, these updates didn’t only bring the usual “bug fixes and improvements” but new features, both user facing and “under the hood.”

Apple even put a section on the ‘Enterprise Content’ of the updates in the macOS release notes!

What’s new in the updates for macOS Mojave:

Enterprise content:

• Fixes an issue that could prevent mobile accounts from logging in from an off-network Mac after changing their network account password.
• Fixes an issue that intermittently prevented apps from downloading from the App Store or installing via MDM.
• Mobile Active Directory accounts that have used their personal recovery key (PRK) to unlock a FileVault volume are no longer required to continue using the PRK to unlock, but can use their login password instead.

The macOS Server/Profile Manager release notes, provide more information on some management related features:

macOS

• Export a predefined set of device information values for specified devices using a new command-line tool, exportDeviceInfo
• Skip True Tone pane in Setup Assistant
• Configure new restrictions: screenshot and remote screen observation
• Configure Exchange Web Services authentication certificate
• Configure Apple Remote Desktop access
• Configure managed classes on student Mac computers
• Configure Certificate Transparency payload

iOS

• Enable or disable Voice and Data Roaming and Personal Hotspot
• Configure new restrictions: Personal Hotspot modification (supervised only), disable server-side Siri logging
• Display phone number, ICCID, and IMEI details of enrolled Dual SIM devices
• Configure Certificate Transparency payload

tvOS
– Configure Managed Software Updates

While I do not recommend to macOS Server/Profile Manager as a production MDM, it is useful for testing new features and as a reference implementation.

We didn’t get new, disrupting features on the scale of user-approved MDM this year, but the spring update still warrants extra attention and preparation from system admins.