Historical Migration to VPP Location-Based Tokens

With Apple School Manager you can:

• Transfer licenses­ This feature will allow you to transfer licenses from one location to another
• Share licenses ­ Share licenses between purchasers that have been assigned, and have access, to the same location
• Simplified Purchasing of Apps & Books ­ Ability to search and browse content directly in the “Apps and Books” section of Apple School Manager. You will also be able to manage all your Volume Purchase Program (VPP) credit and update billing information from within Apple School Manager (ASM)

Historical migration guide. This article documents the transition from account-based legacy VPP tokens to location-based Apps and Books tokens in Apple School Manager and Apple Business Manager. Use it when reviewing an older environment that still carries legacy-token assignments; do not repeat completed migration steps in an environment already using location tokens.

Plan token changes before proceeding. A mismatched or incomplete migration can leave apps without available licenses, remove managed apps, or affect locally stored app data. If the current token and purchaser layout is unclear, review it with Apple or FileWave Technical Support before changing assignments.

Migration

Check for legacy redemption codes

How to identify code-based purchases

To see if you have any codes in your account before migration, log in and go to “View Purchase History”
If any previous purchases have “Download Codes” in the last column you will need to request those be migrated to managed distribution.

How do I migrate codes to Managed Distribution?

1. Visit https://www.apple.com/support/itunes/vpp/ and for “What do you need help with?” select “Other”
2. Use the same institution name (and ideally the same email) as it shows in your Account Summary section
3. Describe your issue and a representative should be in touch.

Invite VPP Purchasers

If you have purchasers with existing VPP accounts that aren't in Apple School Manager or in Apple Business Manager, invite them to join your organization before you migrate to Apps and Books.

One Purchaser per location

For the best migration experience, migrate only one purchaser per unique location. You can do this in one of the following ways:

• By restricting account access in Apple School Manager or in Apple Business Manager to the appropriate location for each purchaser.
• By directing each user to the specific location that they should choose.

If each purchaser migrates to a unique location, all licenses — assigned and unassigned — will move to Apps and Books.

Initial migration

All licenses that move during migration will be associated with the new location token to which they move. Any assigned licenses that don't move during migration remain associated with the purchaser's legacy token. All tokens that have associated licenses must be uploaded in MDM.

Location-­based tokens

Apps and Books uses location-based tokens. Licenses purchased for or transferred to a location are associated with that location's token. Legacy VPP portal tokens are account-based. Purchasers can access location tokens from Settings → Apps and Books in Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager. Legacy tokens are no longer needed after every license has moved to a location.

When you create a location, the location is in an "untouched" state, which allows Apple to transfer all licenses, including licenses currently in use, from a legacy token. As soon as anything is done on this location (buy apps, transfer token, change permission...), the location is not "untouched", therefore only unused licenses are transferred. So it's critical to NOT do anything with a location before migration happens.

Migrate all VPP purchasers

When you're ready to migrate to Apps and Books in Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager, all purchasers should migrate at the same time. Each purchaser must migrate their account. Migrate by clicking Get Started in the Apps and Books section of Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager, then selecting the appropriate migration location.

After all purchasers migrate, the organization can use the location-based Apps and Books workflow.

Historical deadline. Apple's legacy VPP portal remained available only until December 1, 2019. Do not use the former portal as a current workflow.

Assigned book licenses can't be moved and remain assigned to a user.

If assigned licenses don't transfer

Only unassigned licenses will move to a location if any of the following scenarios occur:

• Licenses are purchased or transferred to a location before a purchaser migrates to the new location.
• Someone downloads the location's token before the first user migrates to it.
• A new Content Manager is created in a location after another user opts into Apps and Books.
• Multiple purchasers migrate to the same location.

If assigned licenses don't transfer, they remain associated with the purchaser's legacy tokens which should remain uploaded to MDM with the location token. After you unassign an app from the legacy token, you can transfer the licenses to a location in Settings > Apps and Books in Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager.

Historical token update in FileWave Admin

After the historical Apple-side migration completed, administrators downloaded each new location token and replaced the corresponding legacy token in FileWave. The following labels match the FileWave Admin interface used for this migration.

Downloading New Token(s):

1. Log into your ASM/ABM instance
2. Click "Settings" on the lower left
3. Click "Apps and Books" in the center column
4. Scroll down on the right to find the Locations Table
5. Click "Download" next to each location needing to be updated in FileWave 

Updating in FileWave:

1. Connect with FileWave Admin and open the preferences
2. Click on the VPP & DEP tab
3. Click on "Configure tokens"
4. Double-click on the VPP token you need to update
5. Click the "Import" button and select your new location-based VPP token