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iOS and iPadOS Software and Profiles

Deliver one approved app to one iPhone or iPad

Start with one harmless, approved free Apps and Books app that is not already installed on the test device. Choose an app that needs no personal sign-in, purchase, sensitive data, or special permissions for the demonstration. Your result is an app that the learner can find and open—not merely a saved Fileset or a higher model number.

This exercise uses Apple MDM, not the native Mac/Windows Client. A Fileset describes the managed content; a Deployment selects its targets and delivery settings. For Apps and Books, the device downloads the app from Apple rather than an app binary uploaded to the FileWave Server.

Before you change anything

  • Complete Apple prerequisites and either ADE or manual MDM enrollment. Match the exact approved test device in Central and on the device; confirm recent management information.
  • Acquire the app for the evaluation Location/token and correct platform, synchronize VPP, and confirm at least one available license and its app Fileset. Do not take ownership of another MDM's token or reserve a fleet's licenses for this test.
  • Review existing groups and Deployments. Use the individual test device or a group whose actual membership is just that device; do not target a platform-wide group or a Fileset group whose contents can grow unnoticed.
  • Agree that removing the managed app may delete its local data. Do not use an app the learner already relies on. Know how you will restore connectivity if a later profile test changes it.

1. Inspect the app Fileset

In Central Filesets, open the imported app Fileset and check the app's name, platform, version information, and associated token/license availability. In Details, review Remove App when MDM profile is removed, Prevent Data Backup, and Take management of this app if the user has installed it already. Do not accept defaults blindly: takeover and removal can affect an existing app and its data. Because the test app is not already installed, no takeover of personal content is needed.

Keep AppConfig and per-app VPN out of the first exercise. If a supported DDM app exposes Application update (DDM), review its setting rather than assuming every app has that control. Its choices and availability are documented in Apps and Books Filesets. Do not pin an arbitrary version or promise that the same controls exist on every OS.

2. Prepare, review, and publish the Deployment

  1. In Central Deployments, create a clearly named evaluation Deployment. Use + beside Clients to add only the verified test device, and + beside Filesets to add only this app Fileset. Review the resulting target count and identity; Fileset Creation and Deployment explains the shared editor.
  2. Inspect included targets, exclusions, content, activation timing, and delivery mode. Expand Options and choose Direct Installation rather than making Kiosk self-service another prerequisite. Confirm the license-distribution choice and leave optional scheduling unset unless timing is the approved test. Confirm no unexpected group or second app is included.
  3. Select OK to save the Deployment. Before Update Model, coordinate with the other administrators and review all pending work that will be committed. The update is shared; it is not confined to the device you selected.
  4. Confirm Update Server Model only after that review. The dialog confirms the update; it does not preview pending changes. Record the model number as publication evidence, not proof that the app installed.

3. Prove installation on the device

Keep the device online. Complete any legitimate on-device installation/management approval needed for its enrollment mode. In Central, inspect the device's app/Deployment result and any reported error, then find and open the app on the test iPhone/iPad. Record the app name/version where visible, device identity, and time of observation. Stop at the app's landing screen; no personal account or sensitive data is needed.

A license assignment, saved Fileset, model commit, or status alone is not proof the app opens. Active and a recorded script Success are FileWave work evidence, not independent current app-health checks. Desktop Client status screenshots do not prove an iPhone/iPad installation. Do not click Verify merely to refresh a view; it can trigger device work.

If it does not arrive: check the exact target, saved/published Deployment, activation timing, app-platform compatibility, token ownership/expiry, available licenses, device connectivity to Apple and FileWave, and any pending on-device prompt. Read the actual error before duplicating Filesets, changing token ownership, or adding devices. An offline device has not failed solely because the model was committed.

4. Clean up only this test

Remove this test app Deployment from the test target using the reviewed removal workflow, coordinate any required Model Update, and wait for the device result. Check the app is removed and inspect license availability after synchronization. App removal can delete local app data; it is not a backup operation. Do not delete a shared app Fileset, revoke the Location token, or unenroll the device just to undo this exercise. Uninstalling Filesets Safely explains why cleanup depends on the content and platform.

If you retain the app for further testing, record that decision and its remaining Deployment. The learning outcome is complete when you can show the selected target, the publication, and the actual installed/opened result—or explain the failure from evidence.

Optional: profiles and other content after the first app

A configuration profile applies Apple-supported settings; it is not an app installer. Test one approved payload per Profile Fileset. Review all configured values and defaults, platform support, removability, and effects on existing settings before targeting it. Wi-Fi, VPN, certificates, restrictions, passcode rules, and accounts are not harmless default exercises: they can remove access or change user behavior. Use the retained network screenshots only as editor examples, not values to copy. Verify both the installed profile and the intended setting on the device; plan removal without breaking the connection back to FileWave.

For a later document test, use a non-sensitive PDF/EPUB/iBooks file and confirm it opens in Apple Books. AppConfig requires the app developer's supported keys and values; the Zoom example below illustrates the editor, not an endorsed current configuration. Do not place passwords or certificates in ordinary AppConfig values; follow the app vendor’s secure configuration design. License splitting and duplication are optional allocation tools, not prerequisites for one app.

Kiosk boundary: Apps and Books delivery of the iOS/iPadOS FileWave Kiosk began in 16.3.0, not 15.3.0. The older automatic IPA behavior belonged to 15.3.0–16.2.x. That legacy IPA stopped working on July 30, 2026, and is not an alternative to the App Store Kiosk. Follow the Kiosk IPA EOL advisory for migration; do not infer replacement-app location-tracking parity. Valid organization-signed in-house IPA apps remain a separate workflow with their own signing and provisioning requirements.

Apple Vision Pro uses the FileWave mobile Fileset/Deployment workflow, but each profile payload, app, and content type must support the target visionOS version. The iPhone/iPad exercise is not a claim that every item works on Vision Pro.

Optional detail and preserved examples

Optional profile creation and older network editor examples

Use this detail only for the selected optional task. Older screenshots retain their original labels and examples; do not copy their values or treat them as current device-test evidence.

iOS Filesets

FileWave can deploy supported profiles, Apps and Books applications, custom applications, books, and documents to iPhone and iPad using Filesets.

Apple Vision Pro uses the same FileWave mobile profile, application, Fileset, and Deployment workflows. Before deploying, confirm that the payload, setting, application, or content type is supported by the target visionOS version.

After creating a Fileset, use Fileset Creation and Deployment to create a Deployment, choose target devices or groups, and deploy the content.

Manage iOS settings using Profiles

FileWave MDM can manage many iOS and iPadOS settings through configuration profiles. Configure each payload in its own Profile Fileset while testing—especially network settings—then combine payloads only after the configuration is proven. You can also create Parameterized Profiles to insert inventory data into profile fields using the %custom_field% (generic notation only, not a complete field token; select a real variable such as %custom_field.asset_tag% and verify its resolved value) format.

  1. Open FileWave Central and navigate to "Filesets".
  2. Click "New Mobile Fileset" from the black menubar and select "Profile".
  3. Name the Profile from within the "General" section and review other settings.
  4. Select your desired Profile Payload and verify it is compatible with your intended operating system.
    • Each Profile Payload is organized by supported platform, as indicated by the section headers.
  5. "Configure" the Profile Payload with any required fields.
  6. "Save" changes.
  7. You should now see the Profile Fileset in the "Filesets" view, ready to add to a Deployment.
    • The Fileset will be labeled as "Modified" indicating pending changes that have not yet been committed.
  8. Review the Fileset and its scoped Deployment, save, then coordinate Update Model to publish shared pending changes. Verify the device result separately.

Profile General.png

Network Profile.png

Optional license reservations and vendor AppConfig

Use this detail only for the selected optional task. Older screenshots retain their original labels and examples; do not copy their values or treat them as current device-test evidence.

Deploy Apps and Books (VPP) applications

FileWave deploys App Store applications through Apple Apps and Books, historically called the Volume Purchase Program (VPP). Apps and Books Filesets use the normal Deployment workflow, while their license settings control how purchased licenses are allocated.

If you have not already configured Apple integration, review Apple Client Prerequisites to sync Apps and Books tokens and create application Filesets.

Reserve VPP Licenses for Fileset

FileWave allows you to duplicate a VPP Fileset even when all its licenses come from a single VPP Token. You can then split the licenses for that application among its Filesets to allocate them to different groups. For example, if you purchase 100 Duolingo licenses through one VPP Token, you can allocate 50 to the 1st-grade group and 50 to the 2nd-grade group using separate Filesets.

  1. Open FileWave Central and navigate to "Filesets".
  2. Duplicate your desired VPP Fileset.
  3. Double-click on one instance of the VPP Fileset.
  4. Check the box for "Reserve a maximum of" and fill out the maximum licenses available for that instance of the VPP Fileset.
  5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the other instance of the VPP Fileset; otherwise, that instance may reserve the remaining available licenses. Reservation is not proof of installation; review actual allocation before deployment.
  6. Organize each Apps and Books Fileset as needed, then add it to the appropriate device or group Deployment.

VPP Max Licenses.png

iOS App Configuration

FileWave supports managed iOS and iPadOS app configuration (AppConfig) for Apps and Books applications before or after initial deployment. The application developer defines the supported keys and values. See the AppConfig Community and the vendor's documentation for each app.

  1. Open FileWave Central and navigate to "Filesets".
  2. Duplicate your desired VPP Fileset.
  3. Double-click on one instance of the VPP Fileset.
  4. Navigate to the "Configuration" tab.
  5. Add keys manually or import an XML file provided by the application developer.
  6. Click "OK" to save the changes.
  7. The configuration changes can be applied during initial deployment or afterward.

Zoom App Config.png

Organization-signed enterprise apps and retired Kiosk boundary

Use this detail only for the selected optional task. Older screenshots retain their original labels and examples; do not copy their values or treat them as current device-test evidence.

Deploy IPA to iOS devices

FileWave can deploy organization-signed in-house applications as IPA files when the app is not distributed through the App Store. Confirm that the signing and provisioning remain valid for the target devices.

FileWave Kiosk is not an enterprise IPA workflow. Beginning with FileWave 16.3.0, iOS and iPadOS Kiosk is distributed through Apple Apps and Books. The older IPA-based App Portal/Kiosk reached end of life; see IPA-Based FileWave Kiosk for iOS/iPadOS EOL.

  1. Open FileWave Central and navigate to "Filesets".
  2. Click "New Mobile Fileset" from the black menubar.
  3. Click "Enterprise" from the "iOS" section.
  4. Make sure "Import a local file" is selected, click "Browse", and choose your IPA.
  5. Name the Fileset, click "Import", and wait for upload to complete.
  6. Click "Done".
  7. Your IPA Fileset is now ready to add to a Deployment.

IPA Import.png

Optional document delivery to Apple Books

Use this detail only for the selected optional task. Older screenshots retain their original labels and examples; do not copy their values or treat them as current device-test evidence.

Deploy documents to iOS (PDF, ePub, iBook)

FileWave can deploy PDF, EPUB, and iBooks content to supported iPhone and iPad devices. Users access the deployed documents in Apple's Books app.

  1. Open FileWave Central and navigate to "Filesets".
  2. Click "New Mobile Fileset" from the black menubar.
  3. Click "Document (iOS 8+)" from the "iOS" section.
  4. Make sure "Import a local file" is selected, click "Browse", and choose your .pdf, .epub, or .ibooks file.
  5. Name the Fileset, click "Import", and wait for upload to complete.
  6. Click "Done".
  7. Your Apple document Fileset is now ready to add to a Deployment.

iOS Document.png

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