iOS 26: iTunes prompt on supervised ASM/Intune

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Level 1

16 points

iOS 26: iTunes prompt on supervised ASM/Intune

iOS 26.3 – “Log in to iTunes” prompt on supervised ASM + Intune devices at every sync (still not resolved)

Hello,

We are experiencing a persistent issue on supervised iPads since upgrading to iOS 26.x, and unfortunately this is still happening on iOS 26.3.

Environment:

Apple School Manager (ASM)
Automated Device Enrollment (ADE)
Microsoft Endpoint Manager / Intune
VPP apps using device-based licensing
App Store disabled
iCloud disabled
No Apple ID configured on the devices
Fully supervised devices

This setup has been working flawlessly for years prior to iOS 26.

Issue:

Since iOS 26, devices repeatedly show the following prompt:

“Log in to iTunes to allow [Organization Name] apps to be managed and installed.”

The pop-up appears:

Every time the device syncs with Intune
For every VPP app installation or update
When configuration profiles are pushed

Apps install correctly despite the message.

However, the dialog must be manually dismissed each time.

In practice, end users need to tap “Cancel” 10–15 times in a row during a sync cycle, which is extremely disruptive in a school environment.

Additional testing performed:

We have:

Verified the VPP token (valid and syncing correctly)
Confirmed all apps are assigned as device-licensed
Ensured no Apple ID is present on the devices
Re-synced tokens and redeployed profiles
Fully wiped and re-enrolled iPads from scratch via ADE
Set up devices again from zero configuration

Even after a complete erase and fresh ADE enrollment, the issue persists on iOS 26.x and 26.3.

This behavior started specifically with iOS 26 and did not occur on previous versions.

Has anyone:

Found a configuration change that suppresses the prompt?
Received official feedback from Apple or Microsoft?

At this point, this appears to be a framework-level issue introduced in iOS 26 rather than a configuration problem.

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

iPad (9th generation)

Posted on Feb 12, 2026 1:18 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

benjamien176 Author

Level 1

16 points

Feb 13, 2026 3:44 AM in response to benjamien176

After further testing, I need to clarify something important.

The issue was not related to VPP (Apps & Books) apps.

The apps that triggered the repeated “Log in to iTunes” prompts were standard “iOS Store apps” added in Intune (free App Store apps assigned as Required).

Once we deleted these iOS Store apps from the tenant:

The login prompts stopped immediately
No more repeated dialogs during MDM sync

This suggests that the presence of managed iOS Store apps (non-VPP) triggers a StoreServices validation loop during MDM reconciliation in iOS 26.x.

VPP device-based apps do not appear to trigger the same behavior in our testing.

For now, removing iOS Store apps has stabilized the environment.

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Answer 2

benjamien176 Author

Level 1

16 points

Feb 13, 2026 1:59 AM in response to benjamien176

Update – Potential Root Cause Identified (Built-in Apps Related)

We may have identified a reproducible trigger for this issue.

On a test device running iOS 26.3, we:

Temporarily allowed removal of built-in apps
Manually removed all built-in Apple apps (Tips, Photo Booth, etc.)
Reapplied our normal restriction policies
Triggered multiple Intune sync cycles

Result:

The “Log in to iTunes to allow [Organization] apps to be managed and installed” prompts completely stopped.

No more repeated dialogs during sync.

This strongly suggests the issue is not VPP-related, but instead linked to how iOS 26 handles built-in/system apps during MDM reconciliation.

Before removal:

During every sync, built-in apps visibly “blinked” or refreshed in the background
10–15 login prompts appeared per sync cycle

After removal:

No prompts
Normal MDM behavior restored

This behavior did not occur prior to iOS 26.

It appears iOS 26 may be triggering a StoreServices validation on built-in apps during MDM check-in, incorrectly prompting for an iTunes login even though no account is required.

If others are experiencing this, it may be worth testing removal of built-in apps to confirm.

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Answer 3

Apr 27, 2026 7:17 AM in response to celliott147

celliott147 wrote:

Do you have licenses for the free apps in ABM? If not, this can cause this behavior. Also, bugs have been reported when trying to deploy VPP iOS apps to macOS devices as not all MDMs pass the licenses properly.

celliott147, thank you for pointing this out, and apologies for being late to the party and reviving a dead thread!

We experience this issue every now and again, I guess at every sync interval, as benjamien176 noted, and we're getting to the point of needing to figure this out. I'm looking through our own App Catalog and, sure enough, we don't seem to be showing any licenses for the stock iOS Apps. I'm assuming that you, in fact, do have licenses for them and you don't encounter this issue?

Elementary question, but after purchasing the licenses needed, will we need to include those applications in our distributions, or will having the licenses be enough to resolve it?

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Answer 4

Apr 27, 2026 7:28 AM in response to benjamien176

benjamien176 wrote:

After further testing, I need to clarify something important.

The issue was not related to VPP (Apps & Books) apps.

The apps that triggered the repeated “Log in to iTunes” prompts were standard “iOS Store apps”• added in Intune (free App Store apps assigned as Required).

...

benjamien176,

Apologies for reviving a dead thread, especially when you've essentially provided the answer, but I had further questions.

We experience this periodically, as well, and the Users have to tap through about 30 popups before they finally stop appearing, so it's starting to become gain rank in priority.

Can you be a little more specific on "standard iOS Store apps"?

Is this referencing the built-in/stock iOS Apps, or just any apps from the App Store?

Also, when you note that it was free apps "assigned 'as Required'", is that a setting within the distribution via Intune?

We are using a different MDM tool, which may have dressed up the setting differently, and I want to make sure I'm looking at/for the correct settings.

Do you happen to have a list of the apps that you removed so that I can use it to compare with our own App Catalog?

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Answer 5

celliott147

Level 6

12,702 points

Feb 16, 2026 1:52 PM in response to benjamien176

Do you have licenses for the free apps in ABM? If not, this can cause this behavior. Also, bugs have been reported when trying to deploy VPP iOS apps to macOS devices as not all MDMs pass the licenses properly.

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Answer 6

celliott147

Level 6

12,702 points

May 1, 2026 10:31 AM in response to BackseatAdmin

Correct. You need licenses for all free apps except for the stock apps that are included with the OS (even if they are removable).

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iOS 26: iTunes prompt on supervised ASM/Intune

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