Automated Enrollment with Apple Business Manager (DEP Enrollment)

Connect a DEP Account

If you haven't already, the first step is to connect SimpleMDM to your Apple DEP or Apple Business Manager account. Read our guide on Connecting a DEP Account.

Associate Devices with SimpleMDM

Linking Apple Business Manager to SimpleMDM establishes a channel of communication between the two services. The next step is to make SimpleMDM aware of the devices in your Apple Business Manager account.

1. Within the Apple Business Manager Portal, assign your devices to the SimpleMDM server. This action grants SimpleMDM the ability to see these devices. If the SimpleMDM server is the default server, devices added to your ABM account will be automatically assigned. For reference, this article from Apple's documentation explains how to manage device assignments in Apple Business Manager.
2. Within SimpleMDM, navigate to Devices Enrollments, and then click the name of the server that your devices are assigned to. The 'Type' of enrollment should be "Automated Enrollment".
3. Click the “Sync with Apple” button. SimpleMDM will automatically sync devices every few hours, though a manual sync can be requested if you do not wish to wait.

This will cause SimpleMDM to sync with your Apple Business Manager account and become aware of any new devices you’ve added. Once this step completes, you should see the devices count in the SimpleMDM DEP interface increment to the correct count. These devices haven’t been added to SimpleMDM yet, but now SimpleMDM is aware of them in the ABM Portal. This step needs to be completed every time new devices are added to your ABM account.

Enroll Devices

Now that your devices are associated and SimpleMDM is aware of their records in Apple Business Manager, it’s time to start them up.

Note: Devices only check in with the DEP service when they are set up for the first time. If you’ve previously turned these devices on and completed the Setup Assistant screens on a device, per Apple's design, they will need to be erased to trigger the Automated Enrollment. 

To re-initialize an iOS device, on the device, go to Settings, General, Reset, and select “Erase all content and settings”. Your device will wipe itself and then restart, entering the DEP setup process.

1. Turn on your device for the first time. The device may ask a few initial setup questions.
2. If the device asks for WiFi information, be sure to select a wireless network that has internet access. Internet access is required to complete the Automated Enrollment process.
3. Once the device has gained internet access, the setup process will conform to the DEP settings you created.
4. When the setup process has been completed, the device will appear under Devices in the SimpleMDM interface.

At this point, the device has been fully initialized and enrolled in SimpleMDM. Congrats!