LukeMoss

Lightspeed MDM and DEP, definitely cloud is the way to go with DEP. We just use our Mac mini as our caching server now.

Ahh, I see... I was about to ask whether the devices weren't showing up on the teachers that's how it came across. Have you redeployed the Classroom configuration? By going to the group with Apple Classroom deployed, going to settings > Apple Classroom > Re-Sync

What do you use to manage the iPads?

Which MDM are you using? I haven't done it myself, but I've had a quick look on Lightspeed and you can configure the access to the CardDAV server on the Mac server and then apply the settings. It says "Use this section to configure access to CardDAV servers. (Users will not be able to modify these settings on their devices once the configuration profile is installed)" I'm not sure whether this would work as I haven't tried it myself, but it reads as if it's read only. Edit: Thinking about it and looking at some other settings it looks more like you can't edit the settings not the actual contacts list.

We use the FileBrowser for Business app, but that's because FileBrowser for education hadn't been released when we purchased. It allows you to save the settings from one device and load them onto your others saving you hassle. For staff we map their documents as well as other network locations and for students, just a folder on the network which everybody can access to store the photos until printed etc. It's worth mentioning that even though you don't currently use an MDM, we deploy the apps using Lightspeed and you can deploy the settings through a plist file automatically, saving a lot of time!

Access VPP by going to https://vpp.itunes.apple.com/?l=en then input your username and password. You need to log into your Apple School Manager to find your DEP number and you can see devices that have been assigned to your account. It's worth keeping in mind like above that if they haven't been added to DEP you can do this via AC2 , but the profile can be removed within 30 days.

So, you could use the Mac Mini as a caching server instead of using it for AC2. VPP you would still need to use as this is for the purchase of apps, I've not worked with Mostyle, but I assume its the same in the fact you link your MDM with your VPP account so your apps show up once you have purchased them. School Manager you only need really whilst linking your MDM to your Apple School Manager for the DEP of your devices. DEP allows the supervision of your devices straight out of the box and again I don't know Mostyle but you create configuration profiles within your MDM for the steps to follow during activation. Hopefully that makes some sense

Does the user show up under the Users on the C:?

I would suggest getting yourself on VPP and signing up for like mentioned to purchase all apps through that keeps with licensing agreements. You should be purchasing one licence per device as tempting as it is to buy an expensive app once and put it on all of them. I would also set your school for Apple School Manager and get yourself enrolled in DEP which supervises devices out of the box therefore if stolen the device will continually re-enrol back into your MDM to keep it managed and a continual stream of information (talking from experience). I use Lightspeed, you don't need Apple ID's as the app is pushed to the device and not the user which helps for student devices. It gives you much more control over the device which is massively helpful. It's £5 per device per annum. If I were you I'd do all the steps now rather than having more iPads which become increasingly hard to control. Let me know if I can help you with anything, I've set this up in two large primary schools covering about 300 devices.

Sophos works perfectly for this, like above peripheral control policy. Works very quickly and you can see the logs of who's trying to use what etc. If you need to unblock something then it's instantaneous.

I had this issue on a couple of computers running windows 10 also, by selecting that file explorer opens in new process rather than the one its running from the task bar has solved these issues. https://winaero.com/blog/how-to-start-file-explorer-in-a-separate-process-in-windows-10/

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Also, if you're starting from scratch I would highly recommend looking into DEP especially if you're likely to be increasing the amount of iPads you are using, I've done this with two schools using Lightspeed MDM and the Mac mini for content caching (so it isn't redundant). There's much easier ways than using Apple Configurator, but it does work if you want a free way. I would also agree with the trying on a mobile network outside of school or on your personal home Wi-Fi, we had an issue with activating on our school wireless as something was block, and oddly try another location in school.

When devices have had their screens replaced I have noticed that they don't work well with Griffin survivor cases after they have been replaced this may have something to do with the thickness of the glass, but I'm not sure. Just to bear in mind if you're using them.

If they are indeed being activated by the Mac mini then yes it should be switched on and connected to the internet to be able to activate... I would spend some time actually figuring out what has happened previously even if that means booting up the Mac mini and having a look... It sounds like it wasn't very well managed anyway, but the iPad should still activate via the apple activation service regardless if it has been restored to original factory settings. I take it these were probably set up via the apple configurator originally.

Have you any profiles actually installed on the machine? If you have these would be able to be viewed under System Preferences > Profiles. If you have no profiles installed you won't be able to find this sub-category.