3. Choosing An Enrollment Method
Available Enrollment Methods
There are three methods for enrolling devices in SimpleMDM, outlined below:
| Enrollment Method | Procedure | Supports Enabling Supervision? | Supports Unremovable MDM Enrollment? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Device Enrollment Program (DEP) | Device automatically enrolls during initial startup and setup | Yes | Yes |
| Apple Configurator | Device is connected to macOS computer via USB | Yes | No |
| Enroll by Link | Link is sent via SMS, email, etc to device and then opened in Safari | No | No |
Method 1: Apple Device Enrollment Program (DEP)
Apple DEP is the best way to enroll newly purchased devices in SimpleMDM. Apple DEP allows you to preconfigure the setup experience on devices. When devices are unboxed and turned on for the first time, they will show the setup screens you've permitted, optionally enable supervision, and enroll in SimpleMDM automatically.
Apple DEP is the only way to optionally configure a device so it cannot be unenrolled from SimpleMDM by the user at a later time.
Apple DEP is for newly purchased devices through an Apple Business account, cellular business account, or 3rd party business equipment reseller. In some cases, previously purchased devices can also be added to a DEP account.
Setting up an Apple DEP account with Apple can take a few days and requires that your organization has a D.U.N.S. number.
Further Reading
- (Apple) Apply for the Device Enrollment Program
- (Article) How to Enroll in MDM with Apple DEP
- (Article) Add Existing Apple Devices to Your DEP Account
Method 2: Apple Configurator
Apple Configurator is a macOS application provided freely by Apple. After setting up Apple Configurator, an administrator can connect an iOS device via USB, optionally place the device in supervised mode, and enroll the device in SimpleMDM.
The process of enrolling a device using Apple Configurator is more time intensive, per device, than the Apple DEP method. We generally suggest the Configurator method when Apple DEP is not a possibility but supervision is still needed.
Further Reading
Method 3: Enroll by Link
"Enroll by Link" is the easiest method for enrolling a device or two. Devices are enrolled by opening a link in Safari. SimpleMDM allows these links to be sent by SMS or email. Links can also be sent to devices via an alternate out-of-band method or via QR code.
The "enroll by link" method does not allow an administrator to enable supervision on a device. However, if a device is already supervised, SimpleMDM will still be able to take advantage of supervised features.