Cannot remove MDM profile from iPhone after removal from Intune

Anon Account 31 Reputation points
2022-01-19T19:39:22.87+00:00

I have a corporate issued iPhone that's controlled by a MDM profile via Intune. The company agreed to remove the MDM profile to let me have the phone as a personal device. They said they removed the phone from Intune. However, the MDM profile is still there. There's no option to delete it. I've tried the following:

  • Remove all managed apps and rebooted: MDM still there
  • Erase iPhone and restore from backup: MDM still there
  • Erase iPhone and use as new device: No MDM!

How can I remove MDM but still keep my existing data? The company hasn't done this before so they may have hit the wrong button. What should they do in Intune?

Microsoft Security | Intune | Configuration
Microsoft Security | Intune | Enrollment
Answer accepted by question author
Lu Dai-MSFT 28,536 Reputation points
2022-01-21T02:55:44.747+00:00

@Anon Account Thanks for your update. From the information you provided, the iPhone is an ADE enrollment device.

For ADE enrollment device, if the IT configure the setting "Locked enrollment" to "Yes" in the Apple enrollment profile, we can't remove MDM management profile manually in the iPhone.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/mem/intune/enrollment/device-enrollment-program-enroll-ios#create-an-apple-enrollment-profile

If we want to we want to completely remove an ADE device from management by Intune, it is needed to unsigned the device in Apple Business Manager.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/mem/intune/remote-actions/devices-wipe#retire-an-apple-ade-device-from-intune

Hope it will help.

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  1. Alaric Bowen 0 Reputation points
    2026-06-04T19:25:50.3866667+00:00

    I ran into a similar issue a while back, where the device was removed from the management portal, but the MDM profile stayed on the iPhone because it was still linked through Apple's enrollment system. In my case, a simple removal from the dashboard wasn't enough and the IT team had to fully release the device before the profile disappeared.

    It's interesting how these management profiles can remain attached even when everything appears to be removed. I recently came across a guide on Snap planets order that discussed how system-linked settings can sometimes persist after account-level changes, and it reminded me of situations like this where the device and management records aren't completely synchronized.

    Hopefully the original poster was able to get the device fully released and keep their data intact.

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