Onboard Apple® iOS devices with Direct Profile. With the Direct Profile method, you’ll have the ability to onboard devices that aren’t in Apple Business Manager (ABM), giving you full coverage when it comes to your iOS devices.
Requirements:
- Apple Push Notification (APNS) Certificate
- Apple Configurator App
- A Mac® Computer
In this article:
ABM and Direct Profile Onboarding
Onboard iOS devices in Esper with a QR code or ABM. If you already have an ABM account, onboarding with ABM will save you time, as you can seamlessly onboard and sync any devices in your ABM with Esper. Learn more about ABM Onboarding.
You can also onboard your devices with Esper by scanning a QR code available on the Esper platform. You’ll need to supervise the device first with the Apple Configurator app. Devices onboarded this way do not need to be in your ABM account.
Not sure if your device is supervised? On your device, go to System Settings (also known as General Settings) > Privacy & Security > Profiles. You'll see a message saying, “This Mac is supervised and managed by {organization name}.”
If your device is already supervised, you can start at Step 2 of this guide.
Onboarding and Provisioning with a QR Code
An Apple Push Notification Certificate is required before onboarding an iOS device. Learn how to set up tokens and certificates in Apple MDM Management.
iOS devices can still be enrolled without ABM but will need to be manually enrolled.
Step 1: Setting Up Supervisor on a Device
To get started without ABM, you’ll need to install the Apple Configurator App for your macOS® computer which allows you to supervise the device. You should also factory reset your device. Then, connect the device to that computer.
Right-click on the device and select Prepare.
On the Prepare Devices screen, select:
- Prepare with: Manual Configuration
- Supervise devices
- Allow devices to pair with other computers (optional)
Select Do not enroll in MDM. Since we are preparing the device at this step, we will not enroll it in MDM yet.
If this is your first time using the Apple Configurator app, the next screen will then ask you to sign in with your Apple School or Business Manager account. Press Skip to set up your organization. If this isn’t your first time, you should be able to select your organization from the list.
Then, choose one of the following options:
- Generate a new supervision identity: If this is your organization’s first time onboarding a device through Esper, you will need to generate a new identity. Only the Name field is required.
- Choose an existing supervision identity: If your organization has already onboarded devices, but you couldn’t select that organization from the previous screens, you may choose a new identity.
If you are unsure of which identity to choose, select the question mark (?) to learn more about this option.
If you generate your own identity, you’ll choose the steps for the device’s Setup Assistant. Users will be asked these steps during setup. Do not choose Passcode.
Then press Prepare.
You may be asked to enter your computer password to update these settings. You may also be asked to erase the device if the device was previously prepared. Select Erase to continue.
You may also be asked to select a Wi-Fi access point.
Once the device restarts, it will be Supervised.
You can check its Supervised status from the Supervised tab.
Step 2: Downloading the Configuration Profile
After the device has been supervised, ensure that the device is connected to Wi-Fi.
Then, go to your Esper console and go to the Provision tab.
Then select the following:
- Device Platform: Required. Choose iOS.
- Provisioning Method: Required. Choose QR code Provisioning.
- Provisioning Group: Optional. Choose a group for the device.
- Provisioning Blueprint: Required. Choose the blueprint for the device.
A QR code should appear.
With your device, open the Camera app, and point the camera at the QR-code. Tap on the QR-code button and select Open in Safari®.
Then press Allow.
The configuration profile will download to the device.
Step 3: Installing the Profile
Now you’ll need to install the profile.
On the Apple device, go to Settings. You should see the profile appear beneath the user profile.
Click on Profile Downloaded.
Then press Install.
Press Install on the next screen as well. Then press Trust.
Then, navigate to your Esper Console and go to Devices & Groups.
Search for the device's serial number in the Directory. Your device should appear in the device list.
Your device is now onboarded and provisioned.