Anyone who has set up batches of iPads knows the most frustrating part of the whole affair is getting through the iPad consumer setup screens. Now there’s a solution!
If you’ve have to set up iPads in your school you’ve more than likely seen the screen below a hundred times. It’s the start of a series of screens that Apple calls the “device setup assistant” that exist to take the user step-by-step through the basics of setting up their iPad.
The problem is that what, for the home user, is a helpful feature, for IT support, becomes a frustrating hurdle.
Does this screen give you hot flushes? Does the thought of being asked if you’d like to enable Siri make you crave the moment when you can verbally admonish Apple’s lacklustre AI?
Well flush no more, we show you have to skip most of the consumer set up screens with Apple Configurator.
How to Skip the iPad Consumer Setup Screens
When you first start up an iPad, you’re asked to enter or enable the following information:
- Your language.
- Whether you want to use location services.
- Your Apple ID.
- Whether you want to restore data from a backup.
- Agree to terms and conditions
- Set a passcode to secure your iPad
- Whether you want to enable Siri
- Your WiFi settings
- Confirm you want to send diagnostic information back to Apple
The chances are any that information you enter on the device setup assistant screens will just be repeated or overwritten by Configuration Profiles you apply through Apple Configurator or MDM. So, not only does the device setup assistant make setting up multiple iPads a slow process, it’s also unnecessary.
Luckily, in the latest version of Apple Configurator you have the option to skip most of the device setup assistant screens reducing the amount of time it takes to setup your iPads.
To skip the device setup assistant screen when supervising your iPads in Apple Configurator, go to the Prepare tab and click Setup. On this panel you will find the following new options:
- Location Services
- Restore
- Apple ID
- Terms and Conditions
- Passcode
- Siri
- Diagnostics
Each checkbox represents one of the device setup assistant screens which will be skipped if the box is checked. Some screens are still required, such as your language and WiFi settings, but these take just a few seconds in comparison to the rest of the options. These few tick boxes take most of the pain out of configuring your iPads.
You can enjoy setting up iPads once more!
Is this specific to a certain version of Apple Configurator?
Yes, you need the most recent version.
You also apparently need Mavericks (10.9) to see this option as well. I just happened to see that yesterday when trying to set up a school’s iPad cart for supervision.
Thanks for spotting! I’ll update the article.
Does anyone else see an additional setup section below those options? On my Macbook (running 10.9.1 and AC 1.4.3 373) I see more Settings to allow Wi-Fi and Certificates, but on another school’s Macbook (running 10.9.1 and AC 1.4.3 373) it is missing….This is just one of the things that drives me crazy about Apple Configurator. AC is so inconsistent for us. What works one day doesn’t work the next.
I bought this iPad 3. I’ve done back up iTunes before. And also factory reset before. But this time it won’t let me go beyond configuration. The name of the school keeps popping up. And it keeps timing out during configuration. Now I’m stuck without an iPad cause I cannot get a hold of the school?
It displays even in OS 10.8.5. I’ve found that leaving Location Services unchecked is a much better option since many of the apps the teachers/students use require it. All others are pointless to leave unchecked. This was a great addition to AC. Also: side note: if you set up your master template iPad; Prepare it, and then create a Back Up in the Supervise tab, you’ll be able to skip all screens all together for the rest of the iPads. This is also true of setting your pre-determined Settings on the iPad including your Guided Access code.
Thanks for the tips!
Does this mean that if you skip Location Services during device setup, you can never go back and turn it on again later?
No, the options are still available as normal once you get to the Settings menu. This just let’s you skip having to manually enter the settings when setting up the iPad.
Interesting that you say that, because I skipped Location Services that way, and now it’s grayed out in the “off” position–I can’t seem to change it. Any ideas?
Do you have any Configuration Profiles installed that could be disabling it? If not I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t have that affect when we tested it here.
That was my thought, but I’ve combed through any profile settings I have in both Apple Configurator and Profile Manager, and I don’t see anything in there that would even be related to Location Services.