Can not enroll Apple TV 2nd or 3rd gen devices

[RoboTech]

Setup
Computer running macOS 10.13.3 and Apple Configurator 2.6.1, connected to power and network.
Apple TV 3rd gen running iOS 8.4.2, connected to computer via mico USB, connected to power and ethernet.

Problem
In Configurator, selected device, then Profiles, add profile 'meraki_sm_mdm.mobileconfig' downloaded from Meraki, receive error message below. This previously worked, we have successfully enrolled hundreds of Apple TV 2nd and 3rd gen devices.

Error Message
An unexpected error has occurred with “Apple TV”.
Profile Installation Failed
Profile Failed to Install [MCInstallationErrorDomain – 0xFA1 (4001)]

[RoboTech]

Update
Enrolling Apple TV 4 and 4K devices work okay using Apple Configurator and Meraki MDM profile, problem only exists when enrolling Apple TV 2nd and 3rd gen devices.

We use Meraki for our iOS devices and Jamf for our macOS devices. Downloaded an enrollment profile from Jamf, tested on Apple TV 3 with Configurator, enrolled okay. Problem might be with Meraki enrollment profile, format or embedded URL.

[BlakeRichardson]

Have you opened a support ticket? 

[RoboTech]

Yes, I have. Just wanted to see if others out there are having the same issue.

[jared_f]

@RoboTech I have only enrolled the newer Apple TVs. Have use dropped a WiFi profile on that device and/or connected it via ethernet. From my knowlege, enrollment cannot take place fi there is no network connection.

Jared

[RoboTech]

I tried installing a wifi profile first, no dice. Also tried with ethernet connected to the device and nothing. Ethernet used to work for us but no longer. It does work when installing the Jamf profile, so there might be some changes on the Meraki backend, the MDM profile hasn't change. The Configurator logs show the following...

 Desc : A connection to the server could not be established.
US Desc: A connection to the server could not be established.
Domain : MCHTTPTransactionErrorDomain
Code : 23001
Type : MCFatalError
Params : (
"https://ios.meraki.com/apple_mdm/osx_checkin?org=123456",
403 

For Apple TV 4 devices we use DEP (if available) or use the MDM enrolment URL option in Configurator instead of a profile, both options work fine for newer devices.

[jared_f]

No Jamf server to compare it on. Meraki only here. That is the only thing I could think of. Could you add it to DEP or is that only for newer Apple TV's?

[RoboTech]

Unfortunately not, DEP is only supported on 4 and 4K devices 😞

This workflow has been working for the past few years but stopped recently. Really frustrating as we have not made any changes.

[jared_f]

@RoboTech

I have an older Apple TV and I will give it a go tonight and report back. 

On a side note and out of curiosity, have you played with Jamf Pro 10? I really liked the software when we tried it, but that was version nine. I have been debating whether to buy myself a personal license to play with, but I haven't seen anything on the iOS side of Jamf that really makes me want to switch. In my opinion, Meraki is close and catching up day by day to Jamf.

[RoboTech]

Thanks, that would be great.

I haven't touched version 10 yet as it breaks support for our current JDS (content distribution) servers, the upgrade from version 9 will be a bigger project for us. Comparing Meraki to Jamf for iOS management, I am happy with Meraki but am still missing the following features...

- automatic app updates

- scheduled iOS updates

- zero day support for new iOS features

- display device-name/serial-number/asset-tag on lock screen

- device groups vs meraki networks (for segmenting a large number of devices)

- smart groups (dynamic based on set criteria, iOS ver, storage usage, location, etc)

[jared_f]

@RoboTech

That is about my list. I did hear they were breaking JDS support, I am also active on Jamf Nation and there were some mixed responses to that one. 

I have noticed that Meraki has been getting better with supporting the new MDM features. One of the things I loved about Jamf was the smart groups, but most of the things I was doing could be covered by policies within dashboard. Similar to you, I really want Meraki to support the asset tag configuration profile and name enforcement at check-in. Luckily, these features have been discussed a lot on here (especially the naming/asset tagging) and I wouldn't be surprised if they start rolling these features out. 

I would love to have Jamf, but in my opinion their cost is inflated for iOS management and that JumpStart add on is ridiculous. When we did try version 9, I did not think it was as near polished as an interface as Meraki, but 10 seemed to fix that. Hopefully I can get Jamf soon, but Meraki seems to be catching up.