SimpleMDM Dynamic Groups & New Groups Interface Preview FAQs

What is changing?

We will be releasing complete refresh of how groups work in SimpleMDM. This update includes the following new features and enhancements:

Dynamic Groups: automatically update group membership based on customizable filters.
Multi-Group Membership: devices can now belong to multiple groups at a time.
New Groups Interface: a refreshed, streamlined admin interface for managing groups - including device, profile, app and media, and custom attribute assignments from a single screen.
Devices List filter: create custom filters to search the Devices list.
One group, all app types: all types of apps and app install methods (MDM, Munki Managed, Munki Self-Serve, etc.) can be assigned to the same group, consolidating the number groups needed to manage different app assignments.
Review & Save Panel: a new component to quickly review any and all changes being applied to groups before pushing out updates (with optimizations for performance as well!).
User Roles (RBAC) for Groups: updated User Roles for more granular permission sets relative to managing group assignments.
Device Details > Groups tab: group assignments for individual devices can now be viewed/managed easily from this tab.

Currently, SimpleMDM supports two concepts for grouping devices - device groups and app assignment groups. These group objects will be merged into a singular concept called Groups.

There will be two types of groups: static groups and dynamic groups. Static groups work similar to groups today with the exception that devices will now be able to be members of multiple groups (or no groups). Dynamic groups will allow devices to join or leave groups based on customizable filters and will update group membership automatically.

Devices, profiles, apps, media, and custom attributes will all be assignable to the same group object through a single view in the admin interface. Additionally, apps of all types and installation methods (MDM and Munki) can now be assigned to the same group object. A Group Priority setting will be available to handle potential configuration conflicts by setting order of priority for devices in multiple groups.

For a deeper dive on these updates, see our updated guides here: Groups Overview.

When are the changes taking place?

Starting today, a technical preview is available for those that wish to test this ahead of the official release. If you are interested, please sign up via this form.

Once you have opted in, our team will enable this on your account within a few business days.

Please note that once enabled for your account, it cannot be reverted back to the old interface. During the Preview stage, we recommend current customers use a dedicated testing/development account separate from your production account. If you are a current customer and would like to set up a dev account, contact support for more information. At the time of the Preview release, the new Groups interface will also be enabled on all new trial accounts.

We are targeting an official release for all existing production accounts within approximately 1-2 months of the Preview release. We will send an official release announcement email to all customers at that time, and will start rolling it out to all accounts shortly after.

How will this impact my current group configurations?

While the admin interface will look different, all of your existing configurations will remain in place. Your existing device groups and assignment groups will become groups in the new interface. Device groups will become static groups, and assignment groups will become dynamic groups with pre-configured filters to maintain current device and static group assignments. This will ensure that there is no change in behavior for your account unless you decide to update your groups yourself.

What do I need to do?

Technically, nothing. All existing functionalities will continue to work with the new Groups concept and interface - no action is required to maintain your current management workflows. However, we do suggest reviewing and familiarizing yourself the new capabilities to see if they can be used to improve and/or simplify your workflows.

Can we switch our account back once it has been converted?

No, accounts cannot be switched back the old interface once updated. However, if you have feedback, we would love to hear it so that we can continue to iterate and improve the product.

What resources are available for this change?

We have added a significant amount of new documentation covering this change:

For technical questions/issues and guidance with implementation, please contact support.

For improvements and feature requests, visit our Suggestions page.

To schedule time with a product manager to provide product feedback and discuss the product roadmap, visit this link.

How is the API impacted?

Generally, the SimpleMDM APIs will continue to function as they do as we have worked hard to provide backwards compatibility where possible. If you are currently using APIs to automate aspects of your workflow, the vast majority will continue to work as they have and will not require any immediate action on your end. However, there are some new options that have been added and some that have been deprecated. If you are using the API, we recommend reviewing the full list of changes in the API change log. These changes have also been called out in the official API docs.

Here are the highlights:

Assignment Groups API

Creating an assignment group via API now creates a static group
Install method and type have been moved from the Create Assignment Group API to the Assign App endpoint
Assign and unassign device group API has been removed.
There is not yet an API to configure dynamic group filters.

Device Groups API

The Device Groups endpoints are now deprecated. Going forward, it is recommended that you use the Assignment Groups endpoints to manage groups.

Devices API

Creating a device no longer requires a group ID, but a static group ID can be optionally specified.
Assigned static and dynamic groups will now be returned.

Custom Attribute Values API

New endpoints added to get and set custom attribute values for static groups.

Profiles API

Assigned static and dynamic groups will now be returned.
"Assign to device group" and "unassign from device group" are deprecated in favor of using the Assignment Groups API to assign and unassign profiles. To ensure backwards compatibility for V2 Groups enabled accounts, device_group_id will map to the static group that was created from the original device group.

Script Jobs API

group_ids is deprecated in favor of assignment_group_ids
To ensure backwards compatibility for V2 Groups enabled accounts, group_ids will map to the static group that was created from the device group.

For more information and updates regarding the API, please see our API documentation here.

Next Steps for the API

We understand that these changes leave some potential gaps in functionality for users of the current Device Groups API relative to the admin interface. As part of a broader effort to improve and modernize the API and it's documentation, we are working on a new Groups API that will support and be optimized for all new groups-related functionality. We anticipate the release of the new Groups API soon after the new Groups interface update is released. We will continue to post updates related to these changes in our release notes and update our documentation accordingly.

Why is this changing?

At SimpleMDM, we are constantly collecting feedback from our users and incorporating this feedback to drive our product roadmap. These changes are a direct result of user feedback, providing new, frequently requested functionality and simplifying the management process. This update also provides the necessary building blocks for many more new capabilities to be delivered down the road.

Common Themes of Feedback:

“Single group membership is limiting - I need devices to belong to multiple groups.”

“My organization needs to create hundreds of groups to match requirements of each location, department, team, role, etc.”

Forcing devices to only belong to single a device group, and only be capable of receiving profiles from a single device group, resulted in very complex group configurations for certain use-cases. Organizations with unique configuration requirements for many overlapping business segments (location, department, role, etc.) could mean creating and managing excessive amounts of groups. Multi-group membership allows for more logical alignment of groups with organizational units.

“The different group types are a bit confusing. It took me a while to figure out how app assignments work.”

“Navigating to different sections of the UI to view and update configurations is tedious.”

The new Groups interface has merged device, profile, and app management into a single, simpler interface with even more control and functionality. This allows admins to more easily view and manage all of their devices and the apps and configurations assigned to them in one place.

“Managing device group assignments manually is tedious and not feasible at scale.”

“I want automatically group devices based on similar attributes, and have these update when something changes.”

Dynamic groups allow you to quickly create filters that will automatically update devices’ group membership based on customizable criteria. Devices will automatically be added and removed from groups if their state changes relative to the filter criteria and have their apps and configurations updated accordingly.

Combined with SAML authentication for device enrollments to sync custom attributes from your identity provider, dynamic groups can be especially powerful for automating configurations and deployments.

New Documentation for SimpleMDM Groups:

Eric McCann

Updated March 25, 2025 15:40