Activation Lock settings

You use Activation Lock to generate a unique value that must be used before anyone can erase and reactivate a supervised iOS device with iOS 7.1 or later installed. This unique value is stored in Profile Manager and can be used until the device is unlocked following an erase.

Allow Activation Lock during enrollment

You can configure Profile Manager to automatically send the Allow Activation Lock command to a supervised device after it has been enrolled. By default, the command is only sent when a bypass code has been obtained from the device. You can do the following for any user or group.

  1. In the Profile Manager sidebar, select Groups.

  2. Select Everyone, then click the Settings tab.

    Allow Activation Lock is a group setting because it lets an organization capture all users with supervised devices that configure Find My iPad or Find My iPhone with their Apple ID. There is no “All devices” group. The “Everyone” group in Profile Manager is used to cover all authenticated user enrollments.

  3. Enable “Send ‘Allow Activation Lock’ command after MDM enrollment (supervised only)” and decide if you want to make the command conditional on having a bypass code. Then click Save.

Allow Activation Lock

You can configure a device to allow Activation Lock outside of Enrollment Settings on a user or group by using the Allow Activation Lock command.

  1. In the Profile Manager sidebar, select Groups.

  2. Select Everyone, then click the About tab.

    Once devices are enrolled, the Allow Activation Lock command can be sent to the devices from the Action pop-up menu Action pop-up menu.

  3. Select the devices you want from the dialog that appears, then click Allow Activation Lock.

Use Activation Lock bypass code

You can use the Activation Lock bypass code in place of a password to unlock a device and erase it.

  1. In the Profile Manager sidebar, click Devices.

  2. Select a device, then click the About tab.

  3. Click the Security triangle, and locate the activation lock bypass code.

  4. Enter the bypass code in the password field of the Apple ID on the device you want to erase. Leave the Apple ID user name blank.

    The device is erased and can be set up again. You must set up Activation Lock again and generate a new code.

Clear Activation Lock bypass code

You can clear the Activation Lock bypass code. You should do this only on a device, not on a user or group.

  1. In the Profile Manager sidebar, click Devices.

  2. Select a device, and then select Clear Activation Lock from the Action pop-up menu Action pop-up menu.

    The Activation Lock is cleared on the device.