[ipad] Managed Distribution

[Edu-IT]

With Managed Distribution, if I have 100 iPad's, can I make a single email address the 'owner' of all those devices and then push out the software that way? Or does each iPad device need its own email address? Confused.

[Shadow_Walker]

Try reading this Apple (United Kingdom) - iPad in Education - IT - Volume Purchase Programme

[Edu-IT]

It doesn't say there.

[Brimstone]

With Managed Distribution, if I have 100 iPad's, can I make a single email address the 'owner' of all those devices and then push out the software that way? Or does each iPad device need its own email address? Confused.

 

Yes you will require a unique Apple ID per iPad, this can be any Apple ID and does not need to tied to the school, with Managed Distribution the process is as follows;

 

Create Apple ID per iPad.

Download token from VPP and upload to your preferred MDM solution to link them

Send invite to iPad users

Invited users enrolled in your MDM to accept the invite (some MDM's send a push notification for this others send an email so you may need email accounts on each iPad), they will also need to sign in to the app store with Apple ID and password

If device are supervised and you have the account locked so users can not sign out you can now push apps silently to the iPads (again this will depend on the MDM you are using as to how well this works)

[Edu-IT]

So what stops me using the same apple ID on all the iPads?

[Brimstone]

So what stops me using the same apple ID on all the iPads?

 

The reason this will not work is,if you are using the same ID on every iPad how do you make sure every iPad has received the app you have pushed out? You do not want students and teachers coming to you saying they do not have the app.

 

When scaling iPads if you get a major problem and need some support from Apple the first thing they will tell you is you are not following the correct framework guidelines?

[Edu-IT]

If you are using an MDM you will see on the list of apps that its installed? Have you made a ton of Apple ID's then or do staff and pupils use their own?

[snagrat]

I'm looking at doing this. Is there a way to bulk create Apple IDs for the iPads?

[SYNACK]

I'm looking at doing this. Is there a way to bulk create Apple IDs for the iPads?

 

Ha, they require credit added to each account to unless you jump through ten minutes of hoops with each one, Apple hates sysadmins and would not do anything to make their lives easier.

[snagrat]

We can create the accounts within App store and create without credit cards can't we?

 

I know it'll take time but don't want to assign a credit card to the accounts

[SYNACK]

We can create the accounts within App store and create without credit cards can't we?

 

I know it'll take time but don't want to assign a credit card to the accounts

 

Yes but it will not allow you to tie an ipad to it till it has credit. The workaround it to trick it by logging in a copy of iTunes to it and buying a free app which then I think removes this lockout, its just another stupid hurdle they have put in.

[snagrat]

Ok. Can we have the same credit card assigned to multiply Apple ID?

[SYNACK]

Ok. Can we have the same credit card assigned to multiply Apple ID?

 

You can but I wouldn't put a credit card on one though - free-for-all comes to mind.

 

We do ours in batches with a zero credit AppleID for every 15 or so with the VPP tied in through Profile manager, that way we can buy enough licences for all of them and assign only as many as we need with that arrangement. It is a compromise between Apples nutbar our way or the highway one device per student model and one that is remotely workable. We did need to supervise the iPads via configurator beforehand to allow the silent app push though.

 

Also when working with the Apple server stuff, if it does not work first time reboot it a bunch of times, it may not throw any error messages but there is usually some unhandled nonsense going on in the background silently messing up the software.

[snagrat]

So you use one Apple ID for multiple devices? Is there a limit to how many you can do?

[Edu-IT]

@SYNACK I am confused. Are you saying you use 1 ID for 15 devices and still use VPP managed distribution?

[Shadow_Walker]

I'm looking at doing this. Is there a way to bulk create Apple IDs for the iPads?

No way of creating bulk apple ids, but be careful apple do check how many apple id’s have been made from an IP address and if you get found out you get put on the blacklist and all the id’s you made could be deactivated and also you can’t create anymore.

 

The way round this is to ask apple to put you on the whitelist which if I remember rightly this can take 6 weeks to do and you are not guaranteed to get on. If you do get on it you can make unlimited apple id’s from that certain IP address.

[Max_Power]

We use one Apple ID on all 120 of our ipads, along with Meraki and the Apple VPP

 

*edit - believe if you want merkai to push and silently install the apps, you have to have an apple ID for each iPad

 

As we use the same ID we can still selectively allocate the app to which ever ipads we want once weve bought the app in VPP but then have to type in apple ID password on each ipad.

Edited May 21, 2014 by Max_Power

[Edu-IT]

We use one Apple ID on all 120 of our ipads, along with Meraki and the Apple VPP

 

*edit - believe if you want merkai to push and silently install the apps, you have to have an apple ID for each iPad

 

As we use the same ID we can still selectively allocate the app to which ever ipads we want once weve bought the app in VPP but then have to type in apple ID password on each ipad.

When you say VPP, is that redemption codes or managed distribution?

[Edu-IT]

No way of creating bulk apple ids, but be careful apple do check how many apple id’s have been made from an IP address and if you get found out you get put on the blacklist and all the id’s you made could be deactivated and also you can’t create anymore.

 

The way round this is to ask apple to put you on the whitelist which if I remember rightly this can take 6 weeks to do and you are not guaranteed to get on. If you do get on it you can make unlimited apple id’s from that certain IP address.

 

I wonder if this works? Batch Apple ID Creator | Enterprise iOS

[Shadow_Walker]

I wonder if this works? Batch Apple ID Creator | Enterprise iOS

Never come across that before, but in my opinion I would stay away from that, especially if you are struggling at the moment just to push an app out as it may get a bit too confusing for you.

[SYNACK]

@SYNACK I am confused. Are you saying you use 1 ID for 15 devices and still use VPP managed distribution?

 

Yes, apps are pushed per user and since all ours need the same apps it works fine, we always buy the actual amount of licences needed for the physical iPad though that way we are covered. This is via managed distribution.

[Edu-IT]

Yes, apps are pushed per user and since all ours need the same apps it works fine, we always buy the actual amount of licences needed for the physical iPad though that way we are covered. This is via managed distribution.

So, you have all your apps pushed out to devices all using lets say [email protected] as the Apple ID. Do you do this through an MDM? I assume you can revoke licenses this way to get them back to use with other Apple ID's if you wish?

[SYNACK]

So, you have all your apps pushed out to devices all using lets say [email protected] as the Apple ID. Do you do this through an MDM? I assume you can revoke licenses this way to get them back to use with other Apple ID's if you wish?

 

 

 

 

Yes, they are all tied to a local user on the mac server which is tied to an apple id in profile manager mdm. We can add or remove apps as we choose.

 

There is one batch setup before management so those have individual accounts per ipad with all their previously brought apps then we vpp them to push out any new stuff we get so the new stuff at least is managable.

[Shadow_Walker]

Never come across that before, but in my opinion I would stay away from that, especially if you are struggling at the moment just to push an app out as it may get a bit too confusing for you.

 

Only joking

[internetuser]

No they don't.

 

You use your laptop to create the apple ID via itunes

 

The way to do it is load iTunes, but a free app, and at the end when it asks for payment options choose none.