Apple Configurator 2 and restoring backups

No problem, Zorran, glad to help.

On a side note, I am also looking at Ground Control as a Configurator alternative, primarily because the company I work for has locations scattered across 7 counties, so getting devices back to update and re-supervise them can be problematic, to say the least.

Zoran, I saw on edugeek that you seem to have things in order now. I'm pulling my hair out trying to get my school up and running with AC2. Sounds like we're in the same boat.

All I'm armed with is a Mac with AC2. No MDM (at this point, we have Meraki, but I don't have the credentials yet to be able to use their mdm), no Apple Profile Configurator. All I want to do is be able to add apps to the iPads and keep them all uniformly configured. We have folders for each grade with the apps that they use. All iPads in the school are the same with all the same apps, so it's pretty vanilla.

My biggest problem is that I can't seem to get past the initial wifi setup screen. I've tried backing up a supervised iPad that was connected, adding a profile with wifi credentials to the blue print. Nothing seems to let me restore backups and get right back to the desktop.

As a followup, I get to the end of a blueprint restore and inevitable, I get stuck with "Configurator requires user interaction to install the profile Untitled on iPad because it is unsupervised". Configurator won't do anything until I click "Stop", and the iPad is stuck at the Wifi screen.

If I stop it, I can run a "Prepare" blueprint which moves it to Supervised, then run a blueprint that installs the wifi profile. At that point, I can skip joining the wifi network, then tap "Get Started", and I'm at the desktop. The wifi kicks on, and everything is peachy. I've got my apps, my folders, etc.

Hi Jeremy,

Have you prepared (supervised) your 'master' iPad?

Prepare (supervise) your iPad, add apps and profiles in your blueprint.

Apply the same blueprint on your 'master' iPad.

Right click on your blueprint and select backup (this will backup your 'master' iPad into the blueprint.

Plug in an other iPad, and then apply the blueprint with backup preinstalled.

iPad should look exactly the same as your 'master' iPad.

Hmm, let me see if I'm following you...

1. Yup, right-clicking on an iPad that I'm choosing to be master, and selecting "Prepare". Go through the wizard and once its done, that iPad shows up in the Supervised section.

2. I'm adding apps via AC2, arranging those apps into the folders I want, and joining the wifi. That's about all we really care about. Having the same apps on each iPad, having the same folders on each iPad, and having the right apps in the right folders (one folder for each grade, along with a few other folders), and being on the wifi. Pretty vanilla, no email accounts, certificates, etc.

3. I don't think I'm doing this. Are you saying I need to make a Blueprint that only includes apps and profiles, with no "Restore from Backup" action, then apply that Blueprint to the master iPad? Currently, I'm...

-preparing / supervising the master, like in step 1.

-adding apps and setting up the master, like in step 2.

-backing up that master by right-clicking on the iPad and selecting "Backup".

-creating a Blueprint where the Action is "Restore from Backup", using the backup I just made. I've tried creating a Blueprint that only does the Restore action, the Restore along with apps, the Restore along with a wifi profile, the Restore along with apps and the wifi profile. Nothing seems to get me past the "Hello" and "Wifi" screens after the Blueprint is applied.

If I'm understanding your workflow, you're applying a Blueprint to the master that doesn't include any "Restore from Backup" action.

4. "Right click on your blueprint and select backup" Do you mean select "Restore from Backup"? That's what I've been doing thus far, editing the Blueprint and clicking "Restore from Backup" under the Actions menu, selecting the backup I've just made from the master iPad.

5. Yup, applying that Blueprint to a second iPad. Doesn't seem to matter if it's a blank slate, already supervised, whatever. I still always get stuck at the "Hello" and "Wifi" screens.

The big difference seems to be that you're creating a starter Blueprint to the already configured master iPad, then backing up that master iPad, then editing the Blueprint to include restoring that backup that was just made.

In some ways, this may be a moot point. Turns out I had beenusing an old version of AC1 (1.5, I think). When IOS 9 came out, the version of AC1 that I was using wouldn't work with it, forcing me to jump to AC2, which also required me to jump to El Capitan. After those upgrades, the version of AC1 that I had wouldn't open or update via the App Store.

I was able to copy the old version of AC1 to another Mac that hadn't been updated to El Capitan, update it via the App Store to 1.7.2, then copy that updated version of AC1 back to the school's Mac, which seems to open fine now. AC1 was quirky, but we had a system down that worked pretty well for our purposes.

Thanks for all the help in this thread so far!

Jeremy, you're not following my steps correctly 🙂

How do you connect to you wifi? Directly with your iPad? If yes, that is wrong!

How do you install apps? Directly with through your 'master' iPad? If hes, that is wrong too!

etc, etc.

As I've mentioned above.

0. In AC2.1, log in with your apple ID.

1. Prepare your 'master' iPad to be supervised.

2. Create new profile, with your wifi settings info.

3. Create new blueprint

4. Double click on your created blueprint to edit.

4.1 - Add apps (through your blueprint)

4.2 - Add profile (through your blueprint)

4.3 - Select Done

5. Apply your blueprint (with apps/profile) to your 'master' iPad

6. When finished, create folders on your 'master' iPad.

7. When done setting up your 'master' iPad,

8. Select your blueprint, right click on your blueprint, Apply - Backup (this will backup your 'master' iPad with all setting onto your blueprint.

9. Apply ONLY your blueprint to other iPads, as this blueprint will have, apps, profile and image of your 'master' iPad.

10. Before anybody starts doing anything, PLEASE read these steps again 🙂

Cheers

Hi Zoranp3

I have followed you description but have some difficulties doing item 8.

If you mean EDIT BLUEPRINT, right click, I don't find APPLY - BACKUP.

In stead I backed up my iPad after item 7 and went into my blueprint and applied "Restore from backup".

I then applied the blueprint to a unprepared iPad and got the following message:

Configurator requires user interaction to install the profile “All iPads, WiFi only, 2015.11.04” on “MTDKSVBIPADW-Master” because it is unsupervised.

I'm running El Capitan 10.11.1 (15B42)

and

Apple Configurator 2, Version 2.1 (3B42),

Installed Frameworks:

AirTrafficHost (580.5)

MobileDevice (823.10.3)

It would be nice with some help here.

Thanks in advance

/Soren

Hi Zoranp3,

could you explain me what do you mean by create folders in step 6 and how to do this.

Thanks in advance, Branko

Hi,

do you first supervise your "master" device, then install the required VPP apps, create the folders and settings and finally backup the device to be restored for others? Just wondering, how do you assign paid app licenses to other devices, if it is restored from the "master".

Is it possible to combine Configurator 2 with DEP? Like restoring the "master" image to other device, then setting up the device with DEP.

Are supervised devices updated automatically or do you need user action?

Thank you for your reply.

Hi sps039,

I´m facing the same problem.

Have you figured out the solution yet?

Any help would be most appreciated.

Regards, Branko

Did you follow zoranp3 's procedure in this thread. Here is the link:

Re: Apple Configurator 2 and restoring backups

In the typical ASC snafu, you will see the post briefly, the see a page up to the previous post. You need to scroll down to find zoranp3 post 😝.

R

Did that message to supervise appear on the iPad or through Configurator? I am having the same issue: following these steps but end up with an unsupervised iPad that will not accept my Profile because it's unsupervised.

On the iPad I was prompted to accept the Profile but, when I tried, it also gave me the "unsupervised" message.

Like many of you, I spent days trying to get these steps to work without ending up with unsupervised iPads. I tried so many combinations. It is incredibly and sorely understood that Apple did not fully test Configurator 2, and it is junk. It has so much potential to be great, but this is garbage.

I know Stealth and Zoran's steps seem right and should work, but there is no explanation why Zoran was in the same boat as us the day before, then it suddenly worked the next day. Was it a reboot, a night's rest, static electricity, who knows? Either way, we're all left with unsupervised ipads asking for user interaction to get the profiles installed. No good.

So, these are my steps that worked:

1) Restore an iPad to be your Master in Config2.

2) Prepare that iPad to be supervised in Config2.

3) Once it is Prepared, File > New Blueprint, and add apps and a profile for wifi, etc.

4) Apply that Blueprint to the Master iPad.

5) Physically take the iPad and arrange the apps into folders, open apps, and apply settings, etc.

6) Take a backup of that iPad through Config2.

7) This is where you would normally add this 'Restore from Backup' to the same blueprint, but no matter what, I kept ending up with unsupervised.

8) Therefore, just select the unsupervised batch of iPads you still want to setup and click Actions > Restore from Backup directly (no blueprint), and apply the backup you just took.

9) When they finish, click Prepare, and supervise them.

10) When they are in the Supervised list, select them all and apply a Blueprint of Apps and Profile only (no restore). This will put the apps in place and apply the profile without any prompt. I now have a working set of iPads, but not nearly as easily as it should have been completed.

I have a very thorough workflow, but this is the abridged version since I don't think it should be this way.

Pizzy: does this flow result in an iPad with the correct image on it, though? As in, all apps sorted into folders with applied settings etc?

When you Prepare and Supervise an iPad it wipes everything so I can't see the point to your step 8. I did it anyway, just to test.

Following your workflow (including step 8) I end up with a new, supervised iPad with the correct apps BUT the apps are not sorted or have any settings applied etc. The backup had no influence on the result as far as i can tell...