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Mass deploy the Airtame app on macOS

  • Updated

In some environments with dozens to hundreds of employees, it becomes mandatory to ease the software deployment processes. To get the best experience out of Airtame during meetings or classes, it is preferred that computers already have the Airtame application installed on them. The Airtame. pkg has been created to silently pre-install the Airtame app on organizations' computers. From here you can download Airtame .pkg file. In this article, we’ll explore how to mass deploy the Airtame application on macOS devices using Jamf Now.

 

Have you ordered more than 10 Airtames for your office? Check The time-saving tips for deploying multiple devices.

 

1. Requirements

  • The Jamf Now Plus plan is required to deploy packages.

  • JAMF only supports .pkg installer packages extension. 

  • Packages need to be signed and built as a distribution package. For more information, see Tutorial: Building and Signing Mac Packages.

 

2. Deploying an Existing .pkg File

If you already have a .pkg file on your local machine, deploying with Jamf Now is easy. Follow the steps below to deploy your .pkg file.

 

  1. Log in to Jamf Now.

  2. Click on Apps.

  3. Click on "Add an App".

  4. Click on "Upload Your App".

  5. Drag your custom .pkg file onto the upload page or click Browse to search for it on your computer.

  6. Once the file successfully uploads, it will appear on your Apps page and is ready for deployment via Blueprint to enrolled devices.

 

 

3. Enrolling devices on Jamf Now

The easiest way to add the devices you wish to push the app to would be by setting up Open Enrolment 

 

  1. Log in to Jamf Now.

  2. Click Open Enrolment. 

  3. The switch on the right side of the window will toggle Open Enrolment on and off. Click on the switch to turn on Open Enrolment.

  4. Enter an access code. You will give this code to your users to enroll their devices in your Jamf Now account. They cannot enroll their device without this code.

  5. Choose how long you would like to have Open Enrolment stay on. After the specified time, Open Enrolment will turn off.

  6. Click Save Settings.

You can also set up Auto-enrolment if you have Apple Business Manager or Apple School Manager accounts. 

 

Now you have the required devices added to your account and a file with the Airtame application uploaded. Before you deploy the application to all devices in a Blueprint, we have to create a Blueprint. 

 

 

4. Creating a New Blueprint

You can create Blueprints from the Blueprint section of Jamf Now.

  1. Log in to Jamf Now. 

  2. Click on Blueprints.

  3. Click Create New Blueprint.

  • Each Blueprint must have a name.

  • A description is optional.

  • You can choose to make a Blueprint Private. Private Blueprints are not visible during Enrolment.

  • Each Blueprint is a self-contained configuration for devices. You can choose to define settings for security, email, and Wi-Fi within each Blueprint.


Now we are ready to deploy the application.

 

 

 

5. Deploying the Airtame application to all devices in a Blueprint

  1. Log in to Jamf Now.

  2. Click on Blueprints.

  3. Select the Blueprint you want to add apps to.

  4. Click on Apps inside the Blueprint.

     

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5. Click Add an App and select Airtame. 

 

 

 

6. Troubleshooting

If you are struggling with an App Install Failed error, you may have to wait for the device. Sometimes, the device may be busy with another system activity and you will have to wait and try the command again. Another common reason you will see an App Install Failed error is if your user tapped Cancel when prompted to install the app. If you continue to see a device with an App Install Failed error, you can try to remove the app from the device. Once the app has stopped trying to install and returns to the "Not Installed" status, you can attempt to deploy the app again.

 

 

 

7. Most common error messages

  • Installed, Not Managed: The app has already been installed on this device. For Jamf Now to manage the app, it needs to be installed with Jamf Now. Delete the app on the device and try installing using Jamf Now.

  • Deployed, Not Installed: Jamf Now has sent the command to the device to install the app, but the app has not finished install. The device may be busy or unable to install the app at this time.

  • App Install Failed: App installation has failed, Jamf Now will keep sending the command to install the app until the device accepts the install. The device may not have been accepted to the VPP invite or the device is currently off or unavailable.

  • Deploying...: Jamf Now is sending the command to install the app to the device.

  • Not Installed: This app has not been told to install on this device.

 

You can also analyze target Mac's Console log which will show Mac's system logs, specifically /var/log/install.log, or check messages under the "Devices" in the Console app during the time of the installation. 

 

If the MDM installation command is successful you should see these 3 messages amongst other system entries:

 

  1. Using MDM profile: <Payload: Mobile Device Management (********-****-****-****-************:********-****-****-****-************) from profile: Airtame Enrollment (com.bushel.encrypted-profile-service:********-****-****-*****-************)> (<DeviceEnrollment>)

  2. Handling an apps installed notification with bundle IDs ( "com.airtame.airtame-application")

  3. [AppStore]: Setting cached subscriptions for an account: (email address associated with the account + a unique ID)
    [TopApps]: Start for an account: (email address associated with the account + a unique ID)

 

Important notes

  • An Airtame application that was installed via Jamf Now will not auto-update itself. You would need to upload the updated version into Jamf Now as described at the beginning of the article and repeat the process.

  • The audio driver will be installed automatically following the procedure above. If this does not happen, please verify that no anti-virus software is active on the computer as it might be stopping the post-install script.

  • It is not possible to automatically allow microphone access permissions through a PKG rollout due to privacy concerns. As a result, the user will be asked to allow microphone access when wanting to send system audio. It is possible for a Standard user to consent to this permission even though the application and audio drivers have been installed through PKG.

  • The Airtame application will get installed with "Auto-Start" and "Streaming Notification" enabled.

  • Currently, there is no support for plist configuration files.
     

     

Disabling Auto Start

Here are the steps to disable Auto Start of the Airtame application when installed via PKG

  • If there is already an application version installed on the Mac, you will need to run the following command to reset the settings to default

<app install location>\Airtame.pkg --reset-default=true

  • Afterwards, you will need to create a file named default-settings.ini in the following path:

/Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/default-settings.ini

  • The file you created should have the following contents (in two lines):

[Settings] autostart=false

 

This should disable the auto_start for the application.

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