Company software still on computer

Question

I bought an iMac from a company that was upgrading their computers. They assured me that it was clean of their applications. Just to be safe I did a wipe of the hard drive and reinstalled macOS High Sierra.

A problem arose when I was setting up the computer after the install. It asked me if I wanted the company to configure the Mac for me. I kind of ignored it since that was the only time I saw anything related to that in the weeks I've had it, until today when a notification popped up asking if I want to automatically configure my settings.

I called the company who patched me through to IT who assured me several times that everything was ok. To be honest, it has worked just fine. No issues at all - I'm just a little on edge. When I was setting up the computer it stated that the admin (company) would have access to files and apps, and can even see my Web traffic. Apple stated there's nothing that they can do. I'm stuck.

Here's what I've done to try to fix the problem:

• Tried a clean install of macOS High Sierra again, with no luck.

• Upgraded to macOS Mojave which didn't resolve the issue.

The only thing I can think of is the macOS base system (I'm assuming that has stayed the same.)

So what can I do? Everything I try doesn't get rid of the notification to set up my computer for the company. Somewhere there is some pre-installed software that won't go away.

Answer 1

There is no company software leftover on your iMac that is prompting you. The most likely explanation is that the iMac that you bought is enrolled into Apple Device Enrollment Program.

DEP lets organization automatically enroll devices into a MDM (mobile device management) system even without touching the device. The devices are enrolled into DEP at the time of purchasing via Apple or partner. Basically, Apple or resale partner associate the device serial numbers with the organization that made the purchase. This will let otganization IT team supply a configuration profile over the air, without even physically accessing the device.

The enrolled device checks with the Apple's servers to see if its enrolled into a DEP. You'll need to contact and ask the organization (basically the IT team thereof) to un-enroll your device from DEP. They should have ideally done this as a part of handing over the device to you (as it is no longer the property of the said organization).

Once un-enrolled, you'll no longer see the message and can use your Mac normally just like any other Mac.