Can I run Find my iPhone on supervised iPads?

Question

Can I run Find my iPhone on supervised iPads?

I have been reading around the forums for a while and noticed that many people had issues with Activation Lock on their supervised iPads. There have been the issue of them being locked out and needing to do a rather long and complicated reset to get them back to the way the organization wants them.

I've read the article: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5927

I am in a small school with only 15 iPads and I desprately need the capability to run Find My iPhone on these iPads, complete with the Activation Lock. We recently had a iPad stolen from us, where it was wiped and nearly sold. If it wasn't for the Police and the fact the thief changed their mind, the iPad would have been lost. If Find My iPhone was installed and working, I would have been able to track it down and lock it before anything could have happened. Therefore the stolen iPad would have been useless to the thief and we wouldn't have to rely on their conscious to retrieve it.

We don't allow the students to take home the iPads. We assign them based on class and students attending. They are checked in at the end of the class or day, therefore they can be checked out to any number of students. The rest of the school, if they need the iPads, receive supervised, non-checked out personalized iPads with different confifurations based on teacher need. (Some would be locked down on a singular app to ensure students don't go off topic, others have no internet access, etc.)

Is there a work around to have this work on the iPads running iOS 7.0.4 and the Apple Configurator 1.4?

I've heard people using Meraki is that better than Apple Configurator for my school's needs?

Posted on Feb 13, 2014 8:19 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 13, 2014 8:29 AM in response to Northern Mr J

You can run FindMyIphone on any ipad or iphone whether you have used configurator or not, whether you have used Profile Manager or not, whether it is supervised or not. However, it needs to have an AppleID entered to set it up.

Might be worth noting here that Apple doesn't intend FindMyIphone for institutions. It's designed for a normal user who has bought an iDevice for their own use.

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Answer 2

Feb 13, 2014 9:16 AM in response to Simon Slavin

When I am in a supervised iPad, the FindMyiPhone switch is off and grayed out. As is location services, so the entire thing is unworkable.

How do I get it to work?

I know that Apple doesn't intend FindMyiPhone to be used for institutions. But in this case I would very much like to use it as a major deterrent to theft. Considering the population here and the attempted theft that already took place, I'd like to install and use this feature. The students, knowing this step is in place would be deterred as well, and that is my main reason for wanting to install it. I figure seeing as we only have 15 iPads, this is more workable than in a larger institution.

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