One of the common tasks to perform when doing some larger iOS deployments is to restore an iOS device as part of setting the device up for users. Restoring a device will retain a few things like icon placement on a device. To restore a device, we’ll first create a backup, described here. As of Apple Configurator 2, you can use iTunes and Apple Configurator 2-sourced backups of devices. You can also now assign the restore task to a Blueprint or do so manually. To get started with restoring a device, first plug in a device and open Apple Configurator. Right-click on a device and then choose the Restore from Backup… option.…
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Install Apps To iOS Devices Using Apple Configurator 2
One of the primary use cases for Apple Configurator 1 and Apple Configurator 2 is to get apps on devices. Even with MDM, you can use Apple Configurator 2 for app deployment. The value here might be that you end up transferring 10 gigs of apps over a USB cable, rather than over the air in larger deployments. Here, we’ll look at a basic app deployment using Apple Configurator 2. To get started, first download the app and get it in iTunes. This can be accomplished by copying the .ipa file for an app onto a device, or syncing an iOS device with iTunes that has the app installed. Take care that…
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Rename An iOS Device Using Apple Configurator
Apple Configurator 2 can rename iOS devices. To use Apple Configurator to rename a device, first plug it into a Mac running Apple Configurator 2. From Apple Configurator, right-click on the device and choose Device Name… from the Modify menu. At the “Rename device” screen, enter a new name for the device and click on Rename. Alternatively, you can use the (+) menu to choose variables to use during the renaming process. Here, you can choose to base a name on a Serial number, the Number, the device Type, or the Capacity of the device. Once you enter new information, click the Rename button to change the name of the device.
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Automate MDM Enrollment Using Apple Configurator 2
I’ve written a number of articles on automating MDM enrollments using Apple Configurator in the past. In Apple Configurator 2, there are some new options that make the process much easier than it’s ever been in the past. To get started, let’s open Apple Configurator 2 and click on a Blueprint we’d like to apply to devices being prepared during a mass iPad or iPhone enrollment through Apple Configurator. Control-click on the Blueprint to set up for automated enrollment and click on the Prepare button. At the Organization screen, select the organization you’d like to enroll your device in and click on the Next button. At the Server screen, select…
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Restrict Access To Sites On iOS Devices Using Apple Configurator 2
One of the more common requests we get for iOS devices is to restrict what sites on the web that a device can access. This can be done in a number of ways. One is using the content filter option in Apple Configurator 2. The second is using a Global HTTP Proxy. We’ll cover both here, using custom profiles. Both require the device be Supervised. Use the Content Filter To enable the Content Filter, open Apple Configurator and click on the New menu. From there, click on Content Filter in the sidebar. You have three ways you can use the Content Filter. These include: Built-in: Limit Adult Content: A basic profile that…
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Migrate Settings From Apple Configurator 1 to Apple Configurator 2
The first time you open Apple Configurator 2, if you’ve been using Apple Configurator 1, your settings will be upgraded from the old sqlite3 database in Apple Configurator 1 into the Apple Configurator 2 decentralized file structure. To get started, first backup your computer. I’d recommend a clone as with certs and profiles and databases and all that fun stuff. Once you have a solid backup, open the new Apple Configurator 2 app and then click on the Next button at the Introduction screen. At the Library Migration screen, select each of the types of data that you’d like to migrate and click on the Next button. At the Device Backups screen, you will…
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Mac@IBM Presentation from JNUC
Two weeks ago, Fletcher Previn from IBM gave a great presentation at JNUC all about the Mac@IBM program. This is a great story that highlights the advantages of the Apple platform: user preference, easier deployment, and lower support costs. And they love the combination of IBM + Apple + JAMF so much that they decided to come to JNUC and make national tech news out of their deployment. Watch their video here! And keep in mind that they can transform your organization as well. Find out more about their Mac@Work MobileFirst offering here.
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Automating The Server.app Setup Using A Script
There are a couple of parts to this article. The first is to describe the server command, stored in /Applications/Server.app/Contents/ServerRoot/usr/sbin/server. The description of the command by Brad Chapman was so eloquently put on this JAMF Nation post that I’m just gonna’ paste it in here: So … I just installed Server 5.0.x tonight on my Mac Mini running Yosemite (10.10.5). There was a question that came up during JNUC about upgrading Server and having a way to accept the license agreement without going through the GUI. So for shits and giggles I tried: server setup It’s not documented. And lo and behold, I got the prompt to accept the license agreement just…
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Application Containment in the Post-PC Era
I had a very interesting debate with someone the other day. The debate was around the Total Cost of Ownership of an app on a desktop computer. Let’s say that you have a $5 app. Now let’s say that in order to package that app up and test it for end user deployment, that the cost to your organization is about $400. That’s going to seem high if you just look at it as a number. But when you consider that it takes time to customize an app package so that end user data is preserved and end users aren’t prompted a dozen times, then it takes time to test…
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Install Fonts on iOS Devices Using Apple Configurator 2
Apple Configurator 2 is an incredibly useful tool. One of the things you can do with Apple Configurator 1 and Apple Configurator 2 is to install fonts on an iOS device. To do so, first open Apple Configurator 2 and click on an existing profile or create a new profile for the font installation. Here, we’ll select New Profile from the File menu. At the Untitled screen, we’ll enter Fonts, as that’s all this profile will do. Next, scroll down in the list along the left sidebar until you see Font. Click on Font and then click on Configure. You are then presented with a dialog box to select a font file. Browse…