Whether you work with an iOS or a mixed iOS and Android fleet, you can provision and manage those devices with Esper. This article reviews the steps to begin onboarding and managing your iOS devices.
In this article:
- Step 1: Setting Up Certificates with Apple MDM Management
- Step 2: Determine How Your Device Will Be Onboarded
- Step 3: Consider What Apps Your Devices Will Use
- Step 4: Change Your Device’s Blueprint
- Step 5: Manage Your iOS Devices
Step 1: Setting Up Certificates with Apple MDM Management
Your first task when setting up an iOS fleet is to set up the certificates in Esper. You’ll need an Apple Push Notification certificate to start onboarding devices.
If you’re using Apple Business Manager (ABM), you’ll also need to set up a Device Enrollment program token and a Volume Purchase Program token.
If your network operates behind a firewall, you will need to add general and iOS rules.
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Step 2: Determine How Your Device Will Be Onboarded
Are your devices already in ABM? If so, change their MDM server to Esper.
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Devices not yet part of ABM? You’ll need to add them to ABM using the Apple Configurator app. Then, you’ll be able to assign them to your Esper tenant.
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What if you don’t want your devices in ABM? You can add your devices to Esper through a QR code.
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What is supervised mode? Devices in this mode allow administrators to access certain features remotely. You can learn more about supervised iPhones and iPads in Apple’s documentation.
While it's possible to take a picture of the QR code and download the profile without resetting the device, any unsupervised devices will have limited access to managed features. See Android and iOS differences for more information.
Step 3: Consider the Apps Your Devices Will Use
If you’re using ABM, you should have registered your Volume Purchasing Token. Doing so will allow you to obtain apps in ABM. These apps can then be managed in Esper, where you’ll be able to install them on devices.
If you’d rather not use ABM, Esper also allows you to upload applications to our Esper IOS Apps section.
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Step 4: Change Your Device’s Blueprint
When you first onboard a device through ABM, you might notice it’s assigned to a Default Blueprint. Default Blueprints are “blank” blueprints without any logic associated with them (besides hiding preloaded apps). To truly use the Esper experience, you’ll want to assign the device to a blueprint.
While creating a blueprint, you can specify the apps and settings you’d like the device to have. What’s more, the same blueprint can be applied to multiple devices, no matter their operating system.
Once your blueprint is ready, change the device’s blueprint and converge the changes. Converge is a special action in Esper that sends out the latest blueprint changes to a device.
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Step 5: Manage Your iOS Devices
Now that you’ve onboarded and provisioned your devices, it’s time to manage them. Need to update an app? Add the new version to a blueprint, and publish it to your fleet. You can also manage your iOS devices alongside your Android devices, allowing you to see your entire fleet from a single pane.