Affected Customers

University of Illinois faculty, staff, and students with Apple Enterprise Connect on their IT-managed Macs.

Actions

• General Information
• Getting Connected
• Additional Settings
• Getting Reconnected
• Password Changes
• Getting Help

General Information

Apple Enterprise Connect (AEC) is an application that helps keep Mac login passwords synced with the campus Active Directory, greatly reducing the incidence of keychain-related issues. Some campus IT Pros may choose to deploy Apple Enterprise Connect to the Macs they manage.

Please note that macOS 11 (Big Sur) is the last version of macOS on which Enterprise Connect is supported by Apple. If your Mac is running macOS 12 (Monterey) or above, contact your IT department.

Getting Connected

The first time you log in to the Mac after Apple Enterprise Connect is installed, you'll see a notification to set up Apple Enterprise Connect.

Select Set up and the Apple Enterprise Connect application will launch a connection window.

Enter your netID in the Username field (if it's not already there) and your campus password in the Password field, and click Sign In. The Password field will now display Password set.

Note: if your login password is not the same as your campus password, Apple Enterprise Connect will first notify you that your login and Active Directory passwords are out of sync, and will ask you to provide your login password.

Enter your login password and click OK, and Apple Enterprise Connect will sync your login password to your campus password.

Additional Settings

Clicking the arrow in the lower left-hand corner will display additional settings. Note: because Apple Enterprise Connect can't look up your campus password expiration date, you won't be able to enable password expiration alerts. You will continue to receive password expiration emails as before.

The Shares tab provides an opportunity to specify any network shares to be automatically mounted at login. Not all campus departments have network shares; ask your IT department if you are uncertain.

The Status tab displays your current Active Directory connection status.

• If you are on the campus network, your current status should be Connected.
• If you are offline or using an off-campus network without the campus VPN, your connection status will read No work network, and there will be a red button in the Domain field.
• Note: some mobile hot spots may prevent Apple Enterprise Connect from connecting due to mobile carrier policy.

Getting Reconnected

When you return from an offline or off-campus state to an on-campus state, Apple Enterprise Connect should automatically reconnect, but if it does not, go to the Apple Enterprise Connect icon in the top menu bar and select Reconnect.

Password Changes

After each campus password change, Apple Enterprise Connect will notify you that you are signed in with incorrect credentials and prompt you for your current password.

For local accounts only, Apple Enterprise Connect will next notify you that your login and Active Directory passwords are out of sync, and ask you to provide your login password in order to resync them. Because AD password syncing works only with local accounts, Apple recommends that existing mobile accounts be converted to local accounts. Mobile accounts using Apple Enterprise Connect will still encounter keychain issues following campus password changes. Your unit IT Pro can assist with mobile-to-local account conversion.

The Apple Enterprise Connect menu offers a convenient Change Password menu option, which will open the NetID Password Management page.

Selecting this option will result in an Apple Enterprise Connect prompt to sign you out.

Click Yes to continue, and Apple Enterprise Connect will sign you out and take you to the netID Password Management page.

After changing your campus password, sign back in to Apple Enterprise Connect and resync your passwords.

Getting Help

For questions about Apple Enterprise Connect, please consult your IT department.