macOS Sequoia with Fusion | Omnissa Workspace ONE


Use macOS Sequoia with Fusion

With macOS Sequoia released, you would want use this in VMware Fusion to enroll and test it with Workspace ONE UEM. 

VMware Fusion 13.6 added support for macOS Sequoia and with last years announcement it's free for everyone with personal use:

https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2024/11/11/vmware-fusion-and-workstation-are-now-free-for-all-users/ 

Requirements

First of all this is an approach that used for Intel Macs only, Apple Silicon Macs currently are unable to run macOS in VMware Fusion.

Below is the list of hardware requirements to keep in mind, make sure you have the right level of hardware where you want to run your VM on:

Check the Supported systems article from Apple if you system is able to run Sequoia

https://support.apple.com/en-us/120282 


Download macOS Sequoia

To start we need the installation of macOS Sequoia. Use this link to download option from the Mac App Store:

macOS Sequoia on the Mac App Store

 



 

 

 




 

 

 

 

Other option is to use Terminal and download the full installer with a command:

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer     






 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both options will download the installer in /Applications in the following format:

 

/Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sequoia.app/

 

 

You could drag and drop this in VMware Fusion, but probably the best approach is to convert it into an ISO file. This can be done by a couple of macOS integrated terminal tools. Follow the below steps 1 by one to get your Sequoia.app converted:

hdiutil create -o /tmp/Sequoia -size 17650m -volname Sequoia -layout SPUD -fs HFS+J  

hdiutil attach /tmp/Sequoia.dmg -noverify -mountpoint /Volumes/Sequoia

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sequoia.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Sequoia --no interaction

sudo hdiutil detach /Volumes/Install\ macOS\ Sequoia -force

hdiutil convert /tmp/Sequoia.dmg -format UDTO -o ~/Downloads/Sequoia.cdr  

mv ~/Downloads/Sequoia.cdr ~/Downloads/Sequoia.iso

rm /tmp/Sequoia.dmg 



Create your Virtual Machine:

In Fusion go to File and then New to create a new VM:

 



 

Find your Sequoia.iso file in de ~/Downloads folder and drag and drop it on top of the above screen.


Click continue on the next screen and make sure you select Sequoia.iso:






 


 

After that make sure you choose 'Customize Settings':







Save the file to a good location on your Mac and click Finish

 

This will bring you to the settings page. A couple things to adjust before starting the VM:

 

- Adjust the Processors and Memory (Depending on your Mac i suggest minimum of 4 cores and 8GB of memory)

- Make sure full resolution for Retina Display is turned off in the Display settings.

- In Network Adapter make sure Internet Sharing is enabled.

 

Last part is to add some lines in the VMX config file:

Right click on your created Virtual Machine and press and hold the 'option' key on your keyboard. This will change Show in Finder to Open Config in Editor.






 

 

Go to System Information of your Mac (to the top right, Apple and hit option) and grab you hw.model and serial number. 

hw.model = "MacBookPro16,1" 

serialNumber = "C0XXXXXXXX"

This will make sure the correct Hardware model will be enrolled in the MDM and not a iPhone or iPad for example. 

Note: If you use a serialnumber and hw model from a device from Apple Business Manager, the Virtual Machine will be prompted for Automated Device Enrollment.

 

Find the below line:

ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000e"

And change it to:

  • ethernet0.virtualDev = "vmxnet3"

Save the File.

 

If everything works out well, an Apple logo will show and macOS will boot in the installation menu:





Follow the Setup instruction to finish up the installation.

After the installation has finished, go through the Setup Assistant:



 

 


If you have used a serialnumber registered  Apple Business Manager, Remote management screen will prompt:

 



 

This will take you through the MDM management enrollment. After the enrollment with Workspace ONE, the Post Enrollment Screen will be prompted in the Intelligent Hub.



 

 

 

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