Enroll iOS Device in Lightspeed Systems MDM with Configurator

Since we manage nearly 2000 iOS devices, I prefer to have my deployment as streamlined as possible.  I prefer to touch the devices as little as possible.  Nothing bothers me more than having to manually input settings on each device.  To ease management of our iOS devices we purchased an MDM solution that Lightspeed Systems offers.

We are currently using Configurator to supervise the iOS devices and enroll them in the MDM.  Lightspeed also allows devices to be enrolled in the MDM via a web link if you are using a BYOD model.  Again, since we are going for the least number of steps it works best to have Configurator perform the enrollment.

Download Enrollment Profile

Before we can perform the enrollment we need to download the enrollment profile from the Lightspeed Mobile Manger.

1.  Login to the Lightspeed Mobile Manager.

2.  Click on the chain icon to the right of your organizations name.

Mobile Manager should now display two enrollment options as pictured below.  Bulk Enrollment is for use with Apple Configurator and Individual Enrollment is for enrollment via Safari.  For this scenario we want to use the Bulk Enrollment option.

3.  Click on Download Profile to download the enrollment profile..  The filename will include your organization name with the extension .mobileconfig.

Install Enrollment Profile

4.  Open Apple Configurator.

5.  Click the + under the profile section and select Import Profile...  Browse to the enrollment profile that was downloaded previously and select open.

6.  Check the box next to the imported profile.

Now you can hook up your iOS devices, set your desired options and click Prepare.  The device should then be enrolled in Lightspeed Mobile Manager.  This does require some patience and is by no means an exact science.  You must also have a wireless profile set to install on your iOS device while being prepared.  If you do not the enrollment will fail.

I have found that it works best to apply the Enrollment Profile after preparing/supervising the devices.  After the device has successfully been prepared/supervised it is easy to apply the enrollment profile.  This method ensures that the wireless profile has a chance to be applied and gives the device time to connect to the wireless network.

The following steps outline how to apply the Enrollment Profile after supervising the devices.

Apply Enrollment Profile

1.  Click on the Supervise tab.

2.  Select the device(s) that you want to apply the Enrollment Profile to.

3.  Check the box next to the Enrollment Profile and click Apply.

Configurator should now enroll the device in the Lightspeed MDM.

Create Supervised Backup in Configurator

This post will cover creating a backup of a supervised iPad for use configuring other iPads.

1.  Prepare and Supervise Device

First we want to connect an iPad that has not been supervised yet.

Enter the name of your device, turn Supervision ON, change the Update iOS drop down to When Update is Available.  Erase before installing will be checked by default.

**Note:  Supervising the device will erase all content!**

Set the Restore drop down to Don't restore backup.

I usually apply my wireless profile just to make sure it is working.  This isn't something that will be retained when you make the backup.  In other words, when restoring the backup to another iOS device, the wireless settings are lost.

Click Prepare.

If you haven't entered your organization's information yet, you will be prompted to do so.


If this is the first time you have installed a particular version of iOS on a device, this may take some time since it has to download the IPSW.

2.  Disable Lock Screen Text

I recommend disabling the lock screen text.  In the past I have had the device name be saved as an image when taking the backup.  When this happens all the devices have the same text on the background as well as the text that Configurator adds.  It can easily be enabled after the backup is complete.

To disable lock screen text:

Go to the Apple Configurator menu and click Preferences.

Click the lock screen icon.

Change the Text: radio button to None.

3.  Creating the Backup

When the device has finished the supervision process it should be listed under the Supervise tab in Configurator.

Go through and configure your iPad options such as icon placement, lock screen and home screen picture, etc.

Reconnect the iPad if it isn't already connected.

Click on the Supervise tab.

Select the iPad you wish to backup.

Click on the Restore: drop down menu and select Create Backup...

Enter the name for your backup when prompted and click Create Backup.

4.  Restoring the Backup

Now you can apply the backup to new devices you are supervising.

From the Prepare tab, be sure to change the restore drop down to the name of the backup that was created in step 3.

Be sure to enable the lock screen text that was disabled in step 2 before starting the prepare process.