Mobile Device Management (MDM) configuration profiles let you define and enforce settings, security policies, and restrictions across your Apple device. By using Device Settings in Addigy, you can standardize device behavior, reduce manual setup, and improve security and compliance for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS devices.
Overview
MDM configuration profiles are XML files (typically with a .mobileconfig extension) that bundle one or more settings “payloads,” such as Wi‑Fi, VPN, restrictions, and security policies. When deployed via MDM, these profiles tell managed devices how to behave by automatically configuring system preferences and enforcing controls that users cannot easily change, helping IT teams maintain consistent, secure configurations at scale. In Addigy, configuration profiles are referred to as Device Settings. You can use Device Settings to deliver Apple-supported MDM payloads to devices and, where supported, to specific users on those devices.
For more information about the Device Settings available within the Addigy platform, please see the following documentation: Addigy MDM Configurations
Benefits
- Automated configuration: Configure Wi‑Fi, VPN, certificates, and other settings automatically instead of relying on end users to set them up.
- Stronger security and compliance: Enforce password requirements, FileVault, restrictions, and other security controls consistently across all managed devices.
- Scalability: Use profiles to configure many devices at once, streamlining mass deployment and ongoing management.
Prerequisites
Before you start working with Device Settings in Addigy, make sure the following requirements are met.
- Your devices are enrolled in MDM so they can receive and apply configuration profiles remotely.
- You have appropriate user permissions in Addigy to create, edit, and assign Device Settings to policies or devices.
- Your environment meets Apple’s platform requirements for the payloads you want to use (some payloads are specific to macOS, iOS, iPadOS, or tvOS versions).
How Device Settings Work
When you create a configuration profile in Addigy, you select one or more payloads (such as Wi‑Fi, VPN, Restrictions, or Certificates) and define the settings for each payload. After you assign the Device Setting to a policy or directly to devices, Addigy’s MDM service delivers it to each target device, which then installs the Device Setting and enforces the configured settings automatically, sometimes immediately and sometimes after a restart depending on the payload. See How to Create, Import, and Export Device Settings to get started setting up Device Settings in your organization's environment.
Note: Devices can have multiple Device Settings installed at the same time. If profiles define conflicting settings, Apple’s platform-specific precedence rules determine which setting ultimately applies.
Device Channel vs. User Channel Profiles
Device channel profiles apply to the entire device and affect all users, making them ideal for core security controls, Wi‑Fi, VPN, and system-wide restrictions. User channel profiles, available on supported macOS configurations, apply to a specific user account on the device, allowing per-user settings such as user-specific certificates or application preferences without impacting other users.
Note: On macOS devices not bound to a directory service, only one “managed user” can have a user channel at a time, and changing which user is managed may require removing and reinstalling the Device Setting.
Best Practices for Using Device Settings
- Keep profiles focused: Use multiple, smaller profiles (for example, separate Wi‑Fi, Restrictions, and Certificates profiles) instead of one large profile, which makes troubleshooting and updates easier.
- Plan and test: Define your configuration and security goals up front, then test new or updated profiles on a test device before deploying to an entire policy.
- Review regularly: Update profiles as OS versions, apps, and security requirements change, removing obsolete payloads and deprecating older configurations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are configuration profiles the same as MDM enrollment profiles?
No. MDM enrollment profiles are used to enroll a device into MDM so it can be managed remotely, while configuration profiles are used to apply specific settings and policies to already-enrolled devices.
Can a device have multiple configuration profiles?
Yes. Devices commonly have several profiles installed at once, such as separate profiles for Wi‑Fi, VPN, certificates, restrictions, and app settings; together they make up the device’s effective configuration.
What happens if two profiles configure the same setting differently?
When multiple profiles define the same setting, Apple’s configuration precedence rules determine which value takes effect, and in general, device management solutions should avoid conflicting definitions by designing clear, non-overlapping profiles.