Is there a way to restrict an iPad to a single Apple ID?

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Level 1

8 points

Is there a way to restrict an iPad to a single Apple ID?

I would like to know if there is a way to lock a device to a single Apple ID so that the iPad user cannot log out and switch accounts. I have Profile Manager set up on Mac OS X Server and am currently looking into Apple Configurator, but I'm not sure either of these allow me to have this kind of control over my managed devices. I am currently running this off a Mac mini that is running Server and is running Mavericks. Please let me know if there is a way to do this! Thanks.

Mac mini, OS X Yosemite (10.10), with iPad airs, iPad 2s...

Posted on Nov 7, 2014 9:07 AM

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Answer 1

rccharles

Level 6

13,037 points

Nov 7, 2014 12:37 PM in response to logemon

When purchasing new ipads, you can buy them configured with DEP hence to an MDM. This locks down the device profiles issued with your MDM.

Quick overview of zero-touch MDM enrollment, DEP

http://www.apple.com/education/it/dep/

MDM -- Mobile Device Management

For a comparison see this page:

http://www.enterpriseios.com/wiki/Comparison_MDM_Providers

VPP -- Volume Purchase Program

http://www.apple.com/education/it/vpp/

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Answer 2

logemon Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 10, 2014 10:32 AM in response to rccharles

I guess I should have mentioned this, but I already have an MDM set up via Mac OS X Server's profile manager. I have all my devices (iPads) that I need to manage already enrolled in this MDM. However, I don't see any option to make it so that the users can't switch iCloud/Apple ID accounts on the iPad. I only want the iPads to be able to have one Apple ID so that users can't log into their own ID and download apps and such through their personal account. I currently do not have a DEP account, but is there a way to do this with just Apple's Profile Manager or Apple Configurator (which I just installed)? Thanks.

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Answer 3

Alex ES

Level 1

10 points

Nov 10, 2014 11:58 AM in response to logemon

After you have the devices set up, you can push out the restriction that disallows account changes - that will prevent end-users from changing what is entered - not exactly sure how it's shown in profile manager, but in Configurator it would be unchecking "Allow modifying account settings".

Note: this restriction only applies to supervised devices.

If you don't have supervised devices, you could set the restriction on each device.

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Answer 4

logemon Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 12, 2014 10:14 AM in response to Alex ES

Thanks for your answers. I was having issues using Apple Configurator in conjunction with Profile Manager. The iPads' current setup weren't allowing Configurator to supervise them.

What I had to do was wipe the iPad and set up as a new iPad (without restoring from backup!) from scratch. This wasn't a big deal for me since I have not deployed these iPads to any users yet, but I'm sure this would be a huge hassle for anyone else trying to do this with iPads that have already been in use for a while. It seems like there should be a way to do this without having to start from scratch? Anyway, after resetting, I prepared the iPad in Configurator (supervised on and disallowed change account settings), and after that was done I went back through the steps to enroll the device in Profile Manager. Success! Now the iPad cannot be logged out of the current iCloud/iTunes account.

Hopefully this will help someone else out. Also, is there a way to supervise an iPad that's already been in use without wiping it and starting from scratch (like I mentioned above)? It could be useful to know how to do this in the future if need be. It seems like their should be a way to do that.

Thanks!

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