Deploying Profiles in Unsupervised Mode with Configurator 1.0.1

It has been my experience that once you take the devices out of the cart you will be able to tap and install the profile and everything will be set up the way you wanted it to be. It is still a pain to have to do this for each device. Apple's ingrained philosophy is oriented around individual ownership and these types of hassles are the result.

"tap" to install profile. I have to go through the steps too. I keep the devices connected but have never tried doing it unconnected. Just noticed that IOS 5.1.1 is out...........

Why did you choose not to supervise these devices? This seems like the classic use case for supervising.

I have a similar problem- can't install the profiles error if I wait too long to tap the devices. In fact I have two profiles to install, and it seems like if I don't immediately respond to the "tap to install profile" prompt, then the second profile doesn't even try to install. Apple configurator throws the error.

I'm doing these unsupervised, with two profiles (wireless and calendar). The wireless profile install comes up on the five devices I'm testing right now. I tap to install while still plugged in. Wireless profile installs. But tapping twice on five machines takes a minute or so, and by the time I'm done I've got the error message saying the profiles can't install, and the second profile (and renaming process) doesn't load up to install.

Any ideas? Help? I started with a third profile too for a passcode, but took it out of the mix to keep it simpler.

You can set up a single profile that includes passcode, wireless settings, calendar, etc.. I don't understand why you would want to separate these out..........I have set up email, calendar, wireless, passcode, etc. in a single profile with no issues installing. If you have devices that require different settings just set up a different specific profile for those.

I have the same setup as the OP, but I connected one ipad to the mac with the configurator so I COULD tap once, to see what it would do next. When I did, nothing happened. I also tried to step through the setup screens, but can't complete that before the configurator times out.

In answer to potential questions, I set them up as unsupervised because they're going to teachers. I just want to update iOS, set up the wireless, add a web clip that points to our student information system, and preload a couple of apps I think everyone should have. I don't want the teachers to not be able to sync to iTunes.

So what gives? I tells me to tap, but doing so does no good.

All the profile does is set up the wireless and load the web clip. The configurator will do the rest without loading a profile. Is loading a profile simply incompatible with not supervising the iPad?

Setup one iPad with the profiles you want. Backup that iPad (Menu -> Devices -> Backup) and then Restore with that backup (Erase before installing is optional).

If you add a profile requiring a passcode, when the new user logs in, they haveup to 60 minutes to create the passcode ... nice.

I think layering the profiles is a good idea. For example, if you need to change a wireless password, you can just email that to your users and they can remove the old one and install the new one.

Message was edited by: SEG-IT

This doesn't address the issue that I can't seem to put a profile on an unsupervised machine at all, even one of them.

Can you put a profile on an unsupervised device after the 'Setup Assistant' on the device has been completed?

How? You can load profiles in the configurator under prepare, which is what doesn't work, and then under supervise, but only if the machines are supervised.

1. Create (or import) a profile in prepare mode.

2. Check the profile to install it

3. Set the iOS popup to 'No Change'

4. Connect a device that has completed the setup assistant

5. Press the 'Prepare' button.

Results:

A UI will be displayed on the device to confirm the profile installation.

What I have done with Configurator:

1. Setup one iPad.

2. Gone through the setup assistant.

3. Then installed profiles for wireless, passcode and webclips with Configurator.

4. Then backed up that iPad with Configurator.

5. Then used Configurator to deploy that image onto an iPad as unsupervised.

The setup asisstant runs and the wifi worked, the passcode was requested and the webclips were on the desktop.

Works for me ...

Ah, so the key is to set up unsupervised iPads with the configurator, you have to go through the setup assistant on the ipad BEFORE you connect it to the configurator. That's a bit of a pain, since I want the end user to make the decisions that the setup assistant requires, I was hoping I never had to run it at all.

Just for everyone's FYI, when the configurator is run on a machine that's already had the setup assistant run, the ipad will display a message asking you if you want to install the profile. That's what the tap the device message is expecting you to tap. That message does not appear if the setup assistant isn't complete before the ipad is connected to configurator, though. It'd be kind of nice if the configurator told you the profile can't be loaded because the ipad is neither supervised, nor set up. Strikes me as a bug, if you're listening, Apple.

I'd hate to have to run the setup assistant on all the ipads, though. I don't mind doing it once on the master. If I go to settings, general, and reset the ipad, but don't erase data, so that the setup assistant has to be rerun, before backing it up, will the profile settings get wiped by the reset, which wouldn't do me any good? Can you even back up an ipad that's in an unsetup state?

Can you apply the backup to an unsetup, unsupervised ipad?