This MD-102 practice question tests your understanding of manage applications. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Northwind Traders is a retail company with 500 employees. They use Microsoft Intune to manage iOS devices. The company has a custom iOS app for inventory management that they need to deploy to all store managers. The app is signed with an enterprise certificate. The administrator uploads the .ipa file to Intune and assigns it as 'Required' to a device group containing the store managers' devices. After 48 hours, several managers report that the app is not installed on their devices. The administrator checks the Intune console and sees that the app status for those devices is 'Pending install'. What should the administrator do first to resolve the issue?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Deploy a certificate profile that installs the enterprise root certificate to the affected devices.
The 'Pending install' status for an enterprise-signed iOS app typically indicates that the device does not trust the enterprise certificate used to sign the app. Deploying a certificate profile that installs the enterprise root certificate on the affected devices establishes trust, allowing the app to install successfully. Without this trust, iOS blocks the installation of any enterprise-signed app, even when assigned as 'Required' via Intune.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Deploy a certificate profile that installs the enterprise root certificate to the affected devices.
Why this is correct
The devices need to trust the enterprise certificate.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Create an app protection policy and assign it to the devices.
Why it's wrong here
App protection policies do not affect installation.
✗
Instruct the users to install the app manually from the Company Portal app.
Why it's wrong here
Required apps install automatically; manual installation is not needed.
✗
Re-upload the .ipa file to Intune with a different version number.
Why it's wrong here
The file was uploaded correctly; the issue is not versioning.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may assume the issue is with the app package or assignment, rather than recognizing that iOS's enterprise app trust model requires the root certificate to be explicitly deployed to devices before installation can occur.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
iOS requires that the enterprise root certificate (from the enterprise certificate chain) be installed and trusted on the device before any enterprise-signed app can be installed. Intune can deploy this certificate via a trusted certificate profile (using SCEP or PKCS) to the device's keychain. The 'Pending install' status often persists because the device is waiting for the trust relationship to be established; once the certificate is installed, the app installation proceeds automatically.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this MD-102 question in full detail.
Manage applications — This question tests Manage applications — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Deploy a certificate profile that installs the enterprise root certificate to the affected devices. — The 'Pending install' status for an enterprise-signed iOS app typically indicates that the device does not trust the enterprise certificate used to sign the app. Deploying a certificate profile that installs the enterprise root certificate on the affected devices establishes trust, allowing the app to install successfully. Without this trust, iOS blocks the installation of any enterprise-signed app, even when assigned as 'Required' via Intune.
What should I do if I get this MD-102 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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