IT Admin Change Calendar Apple
Apple deprecated legacy MDM software update management — move to declarative management
Apple deprecated MDM software update commands, queries, and restrictions in the 26 releases. Updates must move to declarative management.
Product
Apple device management (MDM)
Announced
9 June 2025
Effective from
15 September 2025
Who is affected
Every organization managing iPhone, iPad, or Mac software updates through MDM — update deferral, enforcement, and cadence policies are all affected.
Admin roles to involve: Apple/MDM admin, Endpoint management admin, Security admin
What administrators should do
Migrate Apple software-update management from legacy MDM commands, queries, the com.apple.SoftwareUpdate payload, and update restrictions/deferrals to declarative device management (DDM) software update configurations. Apple announced the deprecation at WWDC25 (June 2025), it applies from the 26 releases (September 15, 2025), and Apple has confirmed the legacy mechanisms stop functioning entirely in the 27.0 operating systems. Check your MDM vendor's DDM support and rebuild update-enforcement policies declaratively.
What happens if this is ignored
Software-update policies silently stop being enforced once devices move to the 27.0 releases, leaving fleets unpatched or updating uncontrolled.
Official source
WWDC26 device management updates (Apple Platform Deployment)
Published by Apple · Source dated 8 June 2026 · Checked 24 August 2026
Last verified 24 August 2026