Airwatch Profile installation failed A connection to the server could not be established

Issue

• Enrollment of iOS devices in Mobile Device Connector fails in ESET Remote Administrator 6.3 and later with the error "Profile Installation Failed"

Solution

To troubleshoot your issue, please complete the following checklist:

• There should be no other MDM profiles enrolled on the device—remove any previous MDM profile from device settings.
   
• Communication between the device and MDM could be blocked—make sure all MDM ports are open.
   
• Make sure that you have valid HTTPS and APNS certificates.
  

  Warning:

  The Host in the HTTPS certificate must match the hostname that you set up in the ESET Mobile Device Connector policy.

• During the download phase of the enrollment profile, make sure that you are connected to the internet and the connection is not lost or interrupted while downloading the profile.
   
• Make sure that you have a valid URL and enrollment or re-enrollment token—or that your device is whitelisted (ERA 6.3 only).
   
• During the enrollment profile installation, make sure that the certificate chain is valid.

Last Updated: Mar 4, 2022

Additional resources

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More Information

During enrollment of Apple Devices for InTune, we have run into a Profile Installation Failed error message:

An unexpected error has occurred with “iPhone”.
Profile Installation Failed
A connection to the server could not be established. [MCInstallationErrorDomain – 0xFA1 (4001)]

The error appeared when I have tried to add an expired profile onto the Apple device using Apple Configurator 2. This is because downloaded profiles are valid for only 14 days.

In order to download a new profile navigate to portal.azure.com and click on Microsoft Intune | Device Enrollment | Apple enrollment | Apple Configurator

Select the wanted profile and Click on the Export profile button. Once downloaded try to add the profile again. Have in mind that you will not need to prepare this device again.

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Troubleshooting profile installation failed error on iOS or iPadOS devices

• Article
• 06/30/2022
• 2 minutes to read

In this article

This article gives troubleshooting steps to help you diagnose and resolve when a user receives a Profile installation failed error on an iOS/iPadOS device. Before you continue to scenario-specific troubleshooting steps, complete the general checks in Profile installation failed.

Error: Profile Installation Failed. A Network Error Has Occurred.

This error message indicates there's an unspecified problem with iOS/iPadOS on the device. Use these steps to back up device data and restore the device.

1. Back up device data to an alternative storage/cloud location. This will prevent user data loss from the next steps (restoring iOS/iPadOS deletes all data on the device).
2. Put the device in recovery mode and then restore it. Make sure that you set it up as a new device. For more information about how to restore iOS/iPadOS devices, see https://support.apple.com/HT201263.
3. Re-enroll the device.

Error: Profile Installation Failed. Connection to the server could not be established.

This error message can indicate a few different issues.

Scenario 1

Your Intune tenant is configured to only allow corporate-owned devices.

Solution:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center.
2. Select Devices > Enroll devices > Enrollment restrictions.
3. Under Device Type Restrictions, select the restriction that you want to set > Properties.
4. Choose Edit > Select platforms > select Allow for iOS, and then click OK.
5. Select Configure platforms, select Allow for personally owned iOS/iPadOS devices, and then click OK.
6. Re-enroll the device.

Scenario 2

You are enrolling a device that was previously enrolled with a different user account, and the previous user was not appropriately removed from Intune.

Solution:

1. Cancel any current profile installation.
2. Open https://portal.manage.microsoft.com in Safari.
3. Re-enroll the device.

Note

If enrollment still fails, remove cookies in Safari (don't block cookies), then re-enroll the device.

Scenario 3

The device is already enrolled with another MDM provider.

Solution:

1. Open Settings on the iOS/iPadOS device, go to General > Device Management.
2. Remove any existing management profile.
3. Re-enroll the device.

Scenario 4

The user who is trying to enroll the device does not have a Microsoft Intune license.

Solution:

1. Go to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, and then choose Users > Active Users.
2. Select the user account that you want to assign an Intune user license to, and then choose Product licenses > Edit.
3. Switch the toggle to the On position for the license that you want to assign to this user, and then choose Save.
4. Re-enroll the device.

Error: Profile Installation Failed. The new MDM payload does not match the old payload.

This error indicates a management profile is already installed on the device. Complete the following steps to remove the existing management profile.

1. Open Settings on the iOS/iPadOS device > General > Device Management.
2. Tap the existing management profile, and tap Remove Management.
3. Re-enroll the device.