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Sense 10.3.1 seems to have disabled sending MDM commands to IOS 10.3.1 for devices with a lock code using a Wired connection to clear Passcode's for Student device's

However using the Tethered Caching you can send MDM commands to a IOS device with no wifi connection.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207523

From http://www.enterpriseios.com

Tethered caching provides two separate but related features: tethered networking & app caching.
Tethered Networking: When active, all network traffic from the iOS device will be routed through the USB connection and out the Mac’s Ethernet connection. This includes web pages, MDM instructions, and push notifications.
 App Caching: App Caching dramatically speeds up app installs if you are doing repetitive provisioning. As your tethered devices download apps, the Mac inserts itself as middleman, and will save copies of each installed app. Subsequent installs of the same apps (on the same or other tethered devices) are much quicker, since the apps load from the Mac’s hard drive instead of the Internet.

I posted about this new unlock feature pre 11.3 release, as I had been pushing apple via the bug report program for about 2 and a half years.
pre 11.3 devices that have been rebooted when passcode locked out to the point of passcode disabled, would prevent the ability to connect any peripheral to lightning connection, other than power, and also prevent wifi from reconencting.

11.3 and onwards seems to now allow the ethernet method to connect the device to allow the MDM to approve the removal of the passcode command, to unlock the device.

The time this may still not work, is if there is some weird network setting or the clock is out on the device, or the MDM communication to the device is no longer functioning e.g. if the device is listed in the mdm as not being checked in for a few weeks, it could be that the devices mdm profile needs to be rebuilt.

in a school environment this is a real good reason to update the device to 11.3.1

Oh and the device has to be supervised... of course.

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