How to reuse iBook VPP codes

[jdellamorte]

After distributing an iBook with VPP codes through Casper JSS to a set of iPads, how do you release a code for use on a different iPad? For a school, how do you release the codes at the end of the year for reuse the following year? Thanks for the help.

[Sandy]

Hi James,

The general answer to this is:

EDIT (sorry, missed the iBook...)
iBooks can only be redeemed by personal Apple ID and cannot be recovered (per others below :)

The only way to re-use app VPP codes:
You must use/assign the VPP codes in Apple Configurator: Supervise
and then to recover your codes,
you must Un-supervise those same devices using the same Configurator
(either using the same sync node, or a backed up version of same)

Any other method of redeeming codes ties them to the Apple ID used to redeem them.

Sandy

[jdellamorte]

Sandy, Thanks for the response. What you wrote is how you recover and reuse VPP codes for apps, but does the same apply for iBooks? I did not think you could distribute iBooks using the Configurator. Am I mistaken on this?

[nsdjoe]

Hi,

For iBooks, I don't think you are allowed to recover iBook VPP codes (unlike App VPP codes).

I believe that the terms for VPP of iBooks says that your students retain ownership of the books (they must create AppleIDs to redeem VPP codes for books, and the book "leaves" with the student). This is the exact opposite of VPP codes for Apps that DO allow you to retain control of Apps on institutional AppleIDs and the Apps CAN be reused as long as the number of installed copies of the App does not exceed the number of VPP codes you have. This is very easy to do for Apps with "supervised" iPads using Apple Configurator, but I've never tried with iBooks. So if you were thinking of purchasing one set of digital textbooks and reusing them with a grade level/class the following year, I don't think you can do this as the book belongs to the student not the school according to the VPP TOS for iBooks.

I was looking for the exact verbiage, but couldn't find it so who knows maybe Apple has changed this. You may want to check with Apple to confirm. But I'm pretty sure that while you can reuse codes for Apps you can't reuse them for iBooks.

~Joe

[nsdjoe · Accepted solution]

Found this on the VPP FAQ page
http://www.apple.com/education/volume-purchase-program/faq.html

Who owns the content purchased by an institution through the Volume Purchase Program? In the case of apps, your institution has the option of retaining ownership of the app. When a student moves on, your institution can make the app available to another student. In the case of books, the student as the end user must redeem the book using his or her own Apple ID, and the student owns the book. Please see the iOS 5 Education Deployment Guide for more information.