Configuration Profiles

Configuration profiles are a must-have for anyone deploying district iPads to students. Profiles let you control what the end user can and cannot do. It also is used for assigning wireless configurations. Setting up the profiles are relatively easy and free.

The first you will want to do is download the iPhone Configuration Utility. This is a free download that works for iPads as well. There are specific versions for PC and Mac. Once loaded on your computer, you can then set your profile up. It's fairly self-explanatory except for one issue that caused me issues the first time around.

When you get started, the first piece you need to fill out is the profile name and identifier. Use a specific name because you might choose to make multiple profiles. The identifier was what through me off the first time. You have to name it in a specific manner. Here is the right way. In the identifier option, you need to add a ".profile" to the end. Notice there is a period before the word profile. For example, say you want to create a profile for a school named Wayside Elementary. Your identifier would be "wayside.profile". You can then add a passcode to it so only authorized users can mess with the restrictions.

From there, you just go through the different categories and turn off what you don't want students to have access to. For some of our schools, we turned off FaceTime, in-app purchases, game center, iTunes store, and adjusted the content ratings. If you are going to sync your devices through iCloud and want apps to install remotely, you'll need to allow the App Store.

I know that's a lot of information, so feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Good luck, and happy profiling!