Intro to federated authentication with Apple Business Essentials
You can use federated authentication to link Apple Business Essentials to the following:
Google Workspace
Microsoft Entra ID Open ID Connect (OIDC)
Any identity provider (IdP) using OIDC or System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM)
Note: You can link to Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra ID, or your IdP, but only one at a time.
As a result, users can then sign in to their assigned iPhone, iPad, Mac, and to Shared iPad using their existing user name (generally their email address) and password. After they’ve signed in on one of those devices, they can then also sign in to iCloud on the web on a Mac (iCloud for Windows doesn’t support Managed Apple Accounts).
Important: When the connection has expired, federation and syncing user accounts stops. You need to reconnect to continue using federated authentication and syncing.
There are specific instances where you might use federated authentication:
Federated authentication only
When Apple Business Essentials and Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra ID, or your IdP are linked, Managed Apple Accounts are automatically created for users. They can then sign in using their existing user name (generally their email address) and password.
See the following:
Federated authentication with directory syncing
You can also sync user accounts from Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra ID, or your IdP to Apple Business Essentials. When you set up a directory sync connection, you can add Apple Business Essentials properties (such as roles) to user account data imported from one of those services. The services’ user account information is added as read-only until you turn off syncing. At that time, the accounts become manual accounts, and attributes in these accounts can then be edited. If a user account is removed from one of those services, that user account can be removed from Apple Business Essentials. See the following:
Before you begin
Before you use federated authentication with Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra ID, or your IdP, consider the following:
Requirements
Apple devices need to meet the following minimum operating system requirements:
iOS 15.5
iPadOS 15.5
macOS 12.4
You need to lock and turn on the domain capture process. See Lock a domain.
There are no Managed Apple Account conflicts. See Managed Apple Account conflicts.
User accounts with the role of Administrator or People Manager can’t sign in using federated authentication; they can only manage the federation process.
When using federated authentication, the Default Managed Apple Account Format setting doesn’t apply.
IdP-specific requirements
When linking to Google Workspace:
Federated authentication needs to use the user’s email address as their user name. Aliases aren’t supported.
When linking to Microsoft Entra ID:
You need to use a user with the role of Entra ID Global Administrator to complete the Approve federated authentication task, below. After the connection is successful, you can change the role of the user from Global Administrator to another role with required privileges to maintain the connection. For more information, see Microsoft default roles that support domains, directory sync, and domain read.
Federated authentication with Microsoft Entra ID requires that a user’s userPrincipalName (UPN) match their email address. userPrincipalName aliases and Alternate IDs aren’t supported.
When linking to an IdP, you need to have the following information:
A verified domain you want to use. See Add and verify a domain.
Sign-in method: Use Open ID Connect (OIDC).
Scope access: Access needs to be granted to
ssf.manageandssf.read.Shared Signals Framework (SSF) configuration URL: Consult your IdP’s documentation.
OpenID configuration URL: Consult your IdP’s documentation.
Automatic changes
For existing Apple Business Essentials users with an email address in the federated domain, their Managed Apple Account is automatically changed to match that email address.