Device Profiles

Profiles provide an easy way to define settings and restrictions for devices. Profiles can configure settings on your devices like Wi-Fi networks, restrictions, and email accounts. There are two different ways to distribute a profile to a device—install it automatically or allow users to install it (on-demand). When distributing profiles using Jamf School, you have the option to preconfigure your profiles with usernames, passwords, and other information created inside those profiles. For more information, see Payload Variables.

Before creating a profile, you should have basic knowledge of configuration profile payloads and settings, and how they affect devices. For detailed information about each payload and setting, see the following Apple documentation:

Creating a Profile

When distributing profiles, you must first create a profile before you configure the profile settings.

Note:

It is recommended you create a profile that contains only Wi-Fi settings and restrictions. Devices require a constant network connection, and if the Wi-Fi profile contains other settings, they could interfere with the Wi-Fi settings. It is also recommended that you create separate profiles for students and teachers because these groups will likely require different settings and restrictions.

  1. In Jamf School, navigate to Profiles in the sidebar.
  2. Click + Create Profile + > Create.
  3. Select the operating system you want to make the profile for or select Upload Custom Profile.
  4. Select the type of enrollment you want to make the profile for.
  5. Enter a name in the Profile name field and configure the additional settings as needed, including the removal policy.
  6. (Optional) Configure a time filter that will control when the profile is distributed:
    1. Select Use time filter.
      Note:

      You can also configure a time filter to a saved profile. Navigate to Profiles > Overview, click the profile you want to edit, and then in the General tab, select Use time filter.

    2. If no holidays have been previously added, the Organization > Settings > Holidays link will be displayed.
      Important:

      If you click Organization > Settings > Holidays at this point, you will exit the create profile assistant, and the new profile information you had entered be lost and the profile will not be saved. After adding the holiday, you must then repeat steps 1-5 to re-enter the lost information. Another option is to manually navigate to Organization > Settings > Holidays, add holidays, and then configure the time filter settings on the General tab after the profile has been created.

    3. If you want to prevent the profile from being distributed during holidays, select Don't install this profile during the configured holidays.
    4. If you want the profile to be distributed every weekend, select Always install this profile during the weekends.
    5. Select a start and end time to create a range within which you want to distribute the profile.
      Note:

      The time settings are based on a 24-hour clock.

    6. Select the days of the week you want to distribute the profile.
  7. Click Finish.
  8. Use the Scope payload to configure the scope of the profile by clicking the + icon and adding device groups to the profile scope.
  9. Click the Settings icon, and do one of the following:

    • To install the profile on devices automatically, choose Change to automatic installation for all groups.

    • To allow users to install the profile themselves, choose Change to on-demand installation for all groups.
 The profile will be available for users to install in the Jamf Teacher or Jamf School Student apps.

  10. Configure the other payload settings as needed.
  11. Click Save.

The new profile appears in the Profiles overview. You can clone a profile by clicking the Copy icon.

Distributing a Managed Profile to a Single Device

You can use Jamf School to distribute previously created profiles to a single device. For example, you could provide a teacher device access to VPN using a profile with a VPN payload without distributing the profile to a group of devices.

  1. In Jamf School, navigate to Devices > Inventory in the sidebar.
  2. Click the device you want to distribute the profile to.
  3. Click Managed Profiles in the sidebar.
  4. Click + Add Profiles.
  5. Click Add next to the profile you want to distribute.

The profile is immediately installed on the device. If the profile you are distributing has a time filter configured, the settings for the time filter are applied when installing the profile.

Note:

A device that installed the profile using this method is not displayed in the Scope payload of the profile or added to a Device Group in the Scope payload.