For businesses that use multiple Apple devices, Apple Business Manager can be hugely beneficial for management and collaborative purposes. This cloud portal style system provides management with a clear view of all their devices, with the ability to scale up or down when needed. You will also benefit from increased security and control over your devices, so if one of your company-owned Apple devices is lost, stolen, damaged or sold, you can easily remove it from the Business Manager account.
What is Apple Business Manager?
Apple Business Manager is a central management system that enables businesses to manage all their corporate owned Apple devices in one place. This web-based portal means you can automatically enrol devices, distribute content to employees and create managed Apple IDs without having to physically have the device in front of you.
Working seamlessly with your mobile device management (MDM) solution, businesses are able to have a higher level of control over corporate devices and assign role permissions to employees. You can also monitor usage and remotely lock or wipe devices, ensuring your business information doesn’t get into the wrong hands.
How do I remove a device from Apple Business Manager?
Whether your company-owned Apple device has been lost, stolen, damaged, sold or just upgraded, you may want to remove it from your Apple Business Manager. This is called ‘releasing’ a device and can be carried out directly through Apple Business Manager or your mobile device management (MDM) solution.
Once a device is enrolled using Apple’s Device Enrolment Programme, users cannot unmanage the device themselves, even if they perform a factory reset. The only way it can be removed is if the admin releases it from the account. This is a great benefit for businesses with several devices with different locations.
Any devices that you no longer own or have control over should be released, ensuring you’re in line with the terms and conditions of the Apple Business Manager agreement.
Release devices in Apple Business Manager
Once you have identified what devices need releasing from your Apple Business Manager, there are few simple steps to follow. It’s also important to note:
“If an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple TV is removed from Apple Business Manager, it can be added back using Apple Configurator 2.5 or later. Mac computers cannot be added back using Apple Configurator 2.5 or later. iPhone, iPod touch, Apple TV and Mac devices can be added back by participating Apple Authorised Resellers or network providers.” (Apple)
Release your devices
- Firstly, sign into Apple Business Manager with an account that has the role of Admin or Device Enrolment Manager.
- In the sidebar, click Devices and use the Search field to find and select the devices you want to release. You can locate the device using its serial number, order number or CSV file.
- Once you have located all of the devices you want to release, carefully read the dialogue and click ‘Release Devices’.
- The additional dialogue will now appear for you to read. This will explain how your device will be removed from Apple Business Manager and you cannot then assign it to an MDM server. Tick the ‘I understand that this cannot be undone’ box and click release.
- If you want to verify the devices have been removed, you can use the Search Field to search for the devices.
To find out more about getting started with Apple Business Manager and how it could be useful for your business, take a look at the Apple Business Manager Guide.
Here at Hardsoft, we provide the latest Apple Devices with a range of purchase options, including flexi lease and Devices for Teams. We also provide Apple Business Manager support and MDM solutions, which can be added to your account from just 0.70p per week. From the setup through to the support and advice on Apple Business Manager terminology when you’re getting started, our team of experts are here to help.
Check out our Apple Business Manager FAQs to answer any other queries you may have about its benefits and cost, or get in touch to find out more!