Understand what your users will experience during the Managed OS for macOS update process
When a new update is released, it will be automatically cached on your users’ devices 5 or 6 days before the enforcement deadline (the variability is due to time zone calculations). Users will be notified of the pending installation after the macOS installer is successfully cached. They will continue to be notified each day leading up to enforcement. The Kandji menu app displays rounded days (so if an update will be enforced in 5.6 days, 6 days is displayed).
Update Notifications
Users will receive a banner notification starting 5 or 6 days before the enforcement deadline. Clicking on the notification will open the Kandji Menu Bar App.
Updating macOS Inside the Kandji Menu Bar App
Users will notice the Kandji menu bar app has a red dot indicating that an action is required. This indicator will begin to appear 5 or 6 days before the enforcement deadline.
When clicking on the Kandji menu bar app dropdown, users will see the available macOS update and its version.
The update will be visible in the Kandji menu bar app starting 5 days before the enforcement deadline.
Update Confirmation: Once a user clicks the Update button in the menu bar app, they will be presented with the update information and the option to start the update immediately. Once the user clicks Start Update, all open apps will be forcibly closed and kept closed until the update is finished.
Install in Progress: After a user starts an update via the Kandji menu bar app, they will be shown the following Install in Progress window. The Mac will automatically reboot to complete the update installation.
Enforcement Deadline Reached
Once the enforcement deadline has been reached, the Kandji menu bar app will open, displaying a 30-minute countdown, giving the user time to close all programs and save their work.
If the user does not click Start Now by the end of the countdown, Kandji will forcibly close all apps and begin the upgrade.
In cases where the deadline for an enforced version has passed for a Mac running an older incremental version of macOS, the latest released version of macOS approved by Kandji will always be installed when updating. The enforced version only sets the "floor" used to determine if an update is required; it does not set the version that gets installed.
Delay 1 hour: Users will also have the option to delay the enforced install by one hour, each hour, for up to an additional 24 hours. This helps prevent installations from disrupting critical activities during the working day.
Installation Failure
When a user uses the menu app to allow Kandji to update or upgrade macOS, and that MDM-initiated update or upgrade cannot complete successfully, the menu app guides the user to manually complete the update or upgrade via System Settings (in macOS Ventura) or System Preferences (macOS Monterey or earlier). If the user ignores that initial prompt, the Kandji menu app will continue encouraging the user to complete the task, with increasing frequency over time. This helps ensure that all users update to the appropriate macOS version as soon as possible.
To learn more about Managed OS, please see our other support articles:
Configuring Managed OS for macOS
Managed OS for macOS Compatibility and Installation Mechanisms