Device Actions Device Actions are all of the "actions" or "commands" that you can execute against an endpoint from the FileWave WebAdmin. Actions are taken from the (...) button in the Devices view, or from the detail view of any particular device. Having inventory devices is never quite enough. We will frequently want to do something to the devices in the field immediately, and the Actions list is a way to do that. Note that all actions have some degree of pre-requisite...i.e the device might need to be supervised, or a certain command can't work if the device is BYOD user enrolled for instance. Some pre-requisites are accounted for in the UI and those commands won't show if not applicable. For instance, Wipe Device won't show if the device happens to be user enrolled. Device Actions Overview What Device Actions are the commands you can send to a device from FileWave WebAdmin. Open the three-dot menu in the Devices view, or open the device details page, to see the actions available for that device. When/Why Use Device Actions when you need to do something on a managed device right away, such as locking it, sending Verify, or clearing supported settings. The available actions depend on the device and its management state. For example, some actions require supervision, and others are hidden when they do not apply. A user-enrolled device, for example, will not show Wipe Device. How In Devices, click the three-dot menu next to the device, or open the device details page and use the same menu. Clear Activation Lock What The Clear Activation Lock command removes Apple Activation Lock from an eligible managed Apple device. Activation Lock is tied to Apple ID and Find My, so this command is the admin recovery path when a locked device needs to be erased, reassigned, or returned to service. When/Why Use Clear Activation Lock when Activation Lock would otherwise block setup or reuse. In FileWave Anywhere, Clear Activation Lock is available as an option in Wipe Device and as a direct command from the device actions menu: How To send the direct command, select the device, open Clear, and choose Clear Activation Lock. You can also configure Activation Lock behavior in the DEP/ADE profile. Clear a Device Passcode in FileWave Anywhere What The Clear Passcode action asks an MDM-enrolled device to remove its current passcode. FileWave Anywhere shows the action only when the selected device reports a passcode that can be cleared. When to use it Use this action when an authorized administrator needs to restore access after a user forgets the device passcode. Clearing the passcode does not reveal the old passcode. How In FileWave Anywhere, open View - Devices. Use the ellipsis ( ) to the right of the device, then select Clear Passcode. Clear Restrictions Passcode What The Clear Restrictions Passcode command removes a passcode that was set to prevent restrictions from being changed. A restrictions passcode must already be set on the device for this command to appear in FileWave Anywhere. You can also deploy an Apple Profile that prevents a restrictions passcode from being set. When/Why Use this command when a restrictions passcode was set and is unknown or forgotten. The device must be managed in a way that supports this command; for example, it cannot be sent to a User Enrollment BYOD device. How In FileWave Anywhere, go to View - Devices, open the ellipsis (...) menu to the right of the device, and select Clear Restrictions Passcode. Copy to Group What Copy to Group creates another group membership for the same device in FileWave Anywhere. It does not create a new device record, erase inventory, or remove the device from its existing groups. When/Why Use this action when a device should appear in more than one group. For example, you might keep a device in its normal location group and also copy it into a temporary testing, repair, or rollout group without moving it out of the original group. How Open the Devices view in FileWave Anywhere. Find the device, open the ellipsis menu (...) to the right of the row, and choose Copy to Group(s). Select the destination group or groups, then confirm the copy. Edit Device Fields What A device record can include both built-in inventory fields and custom fields. When/Why Use this option when you need to update fields for one device. For bulk changes, use the Upload Devices and/or Data workflow instead. For changing many devices at once, see Upload Devices and/or Data. How In View - Devices, use the ellipsis ( ) to the right of the device and select "Edit Device Fields". In the Edit Device Fields window, add, edit, or delete field values as needed. Select "Save" when you are done. Lock Device What You can use Lock device in FileWave Anywhere to remotely lock a managed iOS device. If the device already has a passcode, that same passcode is still required to unlock it. If no passcode exists, the device can be unlocked without one. When/Why Use this action when you need to lock a device immediately or confirm that the device can receive MDM commands. How In View - Devices, click the three-dot menu to the right of the device and select "Lock device". Move to Group What The Move to Group command moves a selected device or group to another group. It is related to Copy to Group, but it changes the object's current group placement instead of adding another membership. Objects that come from Smart Groups can be copied, but not moved, because Smart Group membership is controlled by criteria. When/Why Use this command when you are reorganizing static groups or moving device records into a different location. Check assignments first: moving a device can change which Filesets, profiles, or deployments it receives when those items are assigned through group membership. Quick answer: Move to Group changes the selected object's group location. If you only need the device to appear in an additional group while keeping its current placement, use Copy to Group instead. How Use the ellipsis ( ) to the right of the device in View - Devices, then select Move to Group... and choose the destination group. Performing Actions on Multiple Devices What FileWave Anywhere can run one supported device action against several selected devices at once. When/Why Use bulk actions for work such as restarting or wiping a set of iPads, or updating the same Custom Field on several devices. Check the selected device list carefully before confirming an action that erases data or interrupts users. How In the Devices view, select the checkboxes beside the devices you want to manage: Open the Action menu to see the actions available for the full selection: FileWave Anywhere shows only actions supported by every selected device. For example, selecting two iPads can show Wipe and Restart. If the selection also includes a Windows device, iPad-only actions are omitted. Remove from Group What Use "Remove from Group" when you want to remove one copy of a device from a manual group without deleting the device from FileWave. When/Why This is useful when a device no longer belongs in a specific manual group, or when that group should stop applying deployments to that copy. The device record remains in FileWave, other copies of the same device remain unchanged, and inventory data is preserved. If the group copy was receiving content through a deployment, removing the copy from the group also removes that group-based deployment path for the device. Use "Remove from system" only when you intend to delete the device record from FileWave. How Select a device copy in a manual group, open the (...) action menu, and choose "Remove from Group": Remove from System What The "Remove from System" command is what you might remember from the native FileWave admin as "Delete", and it has the same consequences.  But, in the native admin Delete was the same for the original object and the copies, even though the result was different.  The WebAdmin has split this into two commands to help clarify. When/Why The "Remove from System" command entirely (and destructively) removes a device and all of its copies from the system.  Any payloads through deployments will be lost, and all inventory from this object will be removed from the system.  In the case of an MDM-enrolled device, the deletion acts as an unenroll and can not be reversed. The model has to be updated in order to fully remove the device from the system. An un-enrol will be triggered, only if the following FileWave Central preference is enabled:       Preferences > Mobile > 'Remove MDM profile from devices removed from FileWave model' This preference will send a command to remove the enrolment profile, which should be honored by devices, even if the enrolment profile is configured to be non-removable in DEP settings. For client devices, they will check in again as long as a client remains installed but has to be onboarded again. Note; Remove from System is a destructive command, and should only be done when you are certain. How To perform this action, choose "Remove from System" from the Device action menu (...) and Update Model when finished. Rename What Use the Rename device action when you need to update a device name from FileWave Anywhere. The result depends on the device platform, MDM restrictions, and whether FileWave can rename the device itself or only the FileWave record. When/Why For supported iOS/iPadOS devices, FileWave sends an MDM command to rename the device and also updates the FileWave device record. If the target is a computer client or an iOS/iPadOS device where renaming is restricted, FileWave updates only the record name. Use that record-only path carefully because a FileWave name that differs from the device's actual name can confuse troubleshooting. Plan bulk rename work before you run it. Test with a small set first, especially when device names are used for groups, reporting, certificates, or support workflows. How To send the command, choose Rename from the device action menu (...): FileWave then prompts you for the device name to apply: Restart (Windows) What Use Restart Windows Devices when you need FileWave to remotely reboot one or more managed Windows computers from FileWave Central or FileWave Anywhere. When/Why A remote restart is useful when a Windows device needs to finish an installation, recover from a known issue, or complete an admin-approved maintenance task. How The action is available in both FileWave Central and FileWave Anywhere. There is no confirmation dialog when you issue the restart command. Choosing the command immediately starts the restart workflow. FileWave Central In FileWave Central, right-click one or more devices and choose Restart Windows Devices: FileWave Anywhere In FileWave Anywhere, the same restart action is available from the device details action menu: From the Devices view, select multiple Windows devices to restart them in one action: After FileWave issues the restart command, any logged-in user sees a warning dialog similar to the first example below. The screenshots are from Windows 11, so the prompt may look slightly different on Windows 10. Three minutes after the first warning appears, FileWave shows a second warning. That second warning tells the user the Windows device will restart in 2 minutes. Send Verify Command What Use Send Verify when you want a managed device to check in, refresh inventory, and process the inventory or MDM requests FileWave sends for that platform. When/Why Send Verify asks the selected device to report current inventory and process the relevant verify commands. The exact requests depend on device type and enrollment method, so a macOS client, a Windows client, and an MDM-enrolled mobile device will not all receive the same sequence. How Run Send Verify from the Device action menu (...) or from the device detail views ( ): Note that we can watch the progress of this (and other) MDM commands from the Device Detail View Command History tab. Related Content NAT Support for Client Monitor/Verify NAT Support for Client Monitor/Verify What FileWave can send a Verify command to managed devices even when the admin workstation does not have direct network line-of-sight to the client. This is useful for remote devices behind NAT, at home, or on networks where the admin console cannot directly reach the device. When/Why Use Verify when testing a new payload or Fileset, troubleshooting check-in behavior, or prompting a remote client to re-evaluate assigned content. Historically, Client Monitor workflows depended on direct network reachability. Current FileWave workflows provide a remote-friendly path from FileWave Anywhere, and the 16.0+ Client Monitor adds broader NAT-compatible monitoring. How From the Devices pane in FileWave Anywhere, open the device action menu and choose Send verify command for a single device: You can also select multiple devices and send the same Verify command to the selected devices: From an individual device page, use the Verify action in the device toolbar: Client Monitor includes additional troubleshooting tools beyond the Verify workflow shown here. For the current 16.0+ Client Monitor behavior, including NAT-compatible monitoring through the newer connection model, see the related Client Monitor article. Related Content Performing Actions on Multiple Devices Client Monitor (16.0+) Set Tracking Mode What Tracking Mode controls whether FileWave requests location information from a managed device. Location availability depends on the device platform, enrollment type, operating-system privacy controls, and user choices on the device, so results can vary. When/Why Some organizations use tracking for ongoing device-location visibility, but the most common practical use is Missing mode for supervised iOS and iPadOS devices that have been misplaced. FileWave Missing mode uses Apple's Lost Mode functionality to lock the device and help locate it. How From the device actions menu, choose Set tracking mode, then select one of these modes: Untracked: The default mode. FileWave does not request ongoing location data. Tracked: FileWave performs occasional location lookups when the platform and device settings allow it. Missing: FileWave places supported supervised Apple devices into Missing/Lost Mode. Location data is treated as personally identifying information by operating systems and may require specific permissions, supervision, enrollment types, and end-user consent. Review Location Tracking Setup before relying on tracking for a workflow. When FileWave receives location data from the device, the device appears on the map in the Location tab of Device Detail. Wipe a Device in FileWave Anywhere What Wipe Device sends a destructive erase command to the selected managed device. On iPhone and iPad, it is the remote equivalent of Erase All Content and Settings. When/Why Use this action when a device must be erased before reassignment, return, or re-enrollment. Confirm that any required data is backed up and that you selected the correct device before sending the command. Wipe permanently erases the device. Review the target and every option in the confirmation dialog before selecting OK. How Open the device action menu (...) and choose Wipe device: FileWave then shows the available wipe options. The list varies by platform and OS version: When Remove Activation Lock is available, select it if the device should return ready for reassignment. Otherwise, the device may still request the previous user's Apple Account (Apple ID) during activation. Activation Lock behavior can also be controlled in Automated Device Enrollment (ADE, formerly DEP) profiles. Related Content Apple ID prompt still appears even when Activation Lock Bypass Code is used during Remote Wipe Windows MDM Wipe Command What FileWave Anywhere can send a Wipe command to Windows devices that are enrolled through Windows MDM. Windows MDM is separate from a standard FileWave Client ( fwcld) enrollment; for enrollment context, see Manually enrolling a device into FileWave Windows MDM. When/Why Use the device action menu when you need to wipe an MDM-enrolled Windows device. The Wipe option is visible only for Windows devices that are enrolled through Windows MDM. How Select the Windows device. Open the ellipsis action menu. Choose Wipe.