I'm having trouble trading in my iPhone 13 Pro Max, which I bought new in 2022. When I tried to trade it in at the Apple store, they told me the device is enrolled in Apple's Device Enrollment Program (DEP) and advised me to contact the Business Administrator to get it unenrolled. This phone has only ever been my personal device. I've dealt with corporate devices before and know the process, but this one shows no signs of being under management like a supervisory organization or VPN. The Apple support staff were confused and unable to help, and even their senior advisors are stumped and researching further. The only thing I found is that I used an employee purchase program discount at a consulting company when I bought it, but I never registered the device with them. I paid for it entirely with my credit card and have proof of purchase.
2 Answers
You’re right that when a device is purchased under a corporate EPP, it typically gets associated with the company’s DEP or ABM, regardless of who actually paid for it. This is why Apple views your iPhone as a company device. Unfortunately, they won’t be able to help you with the trade-in until it’s released from the company’s account. It really does sound like you might be in a tough spot if the company is no longer active.
It sounds like your iPhone may have been automatically registered in the Apple Business Manager (ABM) system when you purchased it through the employee purchase program. Even if you set it up normally, there might not have been any notice that it was tied to an MDM, or it could be that devices aren’t automatically enrolled in an MDM instance.
If it’s still associated with the ABM, you’ll need the original business admin to unassign it from there, as Apple isn’t able to assist you directly in this situation. Best case, you might want to see if you can reconnect with someone from that consulting company to help clarify your device status.
That makes sense! I’ve reached out to them but the company might be out of business, which is frustrating. I got a $60 discount back then, but now I’m left owing $350 for a trade-in Apple has paused for me. This whole process seems so flawed, especially since no one at Apple seemed aware this could happen.
I appreciate the insight! It's a real headache being in this situation, and it's disappointing that no one at Apple caught this initially. It makes me feel like I'm not the only one dealing with this kind of issue.