AirWatch managed iPad with no iTunes and iCloud backup - what happens when iOS is updated?

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andrewog Author

Level 1

0 points

AirWatch managed iPad with no iTunes and iCloud backup - what happens when iOS is updated?

Hi,

I'm using AirWatch MDM to control the configuration of iPads in use in a corporate environment.

Some of the devices aren't associated with a person, more a group of people.

I'm not allowing iTunes / App Store access on these devices and I don't want them to be personalised.

Part of not wanting them to be personalised means that ideally I don't want to configure iCloud Backups (because an Apple ID is then associated with a shared device) nor do I particularly want people to connect these to iTunes.

My question is this:

In an environment like mine, where iCloud backups and iTunes backups aren't in place / desired, what happens to our MDM iOS configuration profiles when iOS gets a major update?

Will the profiles be retained on the device and restored somehow? If we used iCloud would they be backed up there and restored?

I've searched extensively online and can't find an answer so i'm hopeful somebody here might know.

Cheers

Andrew

Posted on Jul 16, 2013 3:54 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 19, 2013 6:31 AM in response to andrewog

I use Mobile Iron as our MDM at my company and from my experience if there is an iOS update, the MDM configuration profiles will hold their configurations. They override anything else. Assuming the user hasnt removed themselves from the MDM profile.

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Answer 2

apgomez3

Level 1

8 points

Jul 20, 2013 4:28 AM in response to andrewog

@andrewog...I can confirm that none of your current profiles that you have pushed down to your device will get removed or changed with a new iOS. The only reason it would change is if Apple decided to remove that API in that version of iOS. In that scenario, you would simply not upgrade the iOS. You can also choose not to accept enrollment from that version of iOS.

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Answer 3

Xalio

Level 1

0 points

Jul 23, 2013 5:37 AM in response to apgomez3

It's a bad idea to not accept enrollment for new version of iOS because you can't downgrade.

In a configuration profile if their is a restriction that is not use by an iOS version (example: allow Youtube or not for iOS 6+) the OS don't apply this restriction but it applies all the other restrictions that are in the configuration profile.

By the way, for the initial question: If the user makes an upgrade of iOS (without erasing the system) the enrollment profile and all the other profiles are kept on the device.

Be careful to upgrade Airwatch to support the new iOS release.

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