Updating Shared iPads

[dtmille2]

Happy Monday!

I have some Shared iPads that are currently running 15.0. I am trying to run software updates on this iPads and can't seem to get them to update. They are:

1.) Logged out of any active user sessions.

2.) Connected to Wifi.

3.) Plugged into power.

The iPads have been reporting inventory in Jamf Pro, and I see the update commands continually being pushed, but they don't update. 

I've seen other posts regarding a general difficulty in updating Shared iPads.

Anyone have any suggestions before I create a support ticket with Jamf?

Thank you!

[awoodbury]

Do you have a Config Profile deployed that has a 90 Day Defer for Software Updates?

[dtmille2]

That is a great idea, and one I had not thought of. Unfortunately, I checked and there are no software deferrals set for these iPads.

[awoodbury]

Batteries over 51%?

[dtmille2]

Yes, they are at 100%. They are plugged into a cart and it's been several days since the original command was sent out.

[DA2022]

Are you requiring a pin/passcode on the devices?

[dtmille2]

No, they are Shared iPads and our users log into the iPads as a temporary guest session.

[DA2022]

Thanks for the additional info! What do you mean exactly when you say "temporary guest session"? Are you leveraging Jamf Reset on the device? What payloads are you pushing to the devices (if any)? And have you tried to exclude those payloads to see if that might be causing the issues?

[dtmille2]

I mean that the iPads were set up as "Shared iPads" in the pre enrollment stage. Our students do not sign into the shared iPads with Managed Apple IDs. They use the "Shared iPad Temporary Session" feature offered by Apple:

https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/shared-ipad-overview-dep9a34c2ba2/web

The only profiles on the iPads are for webclips and WiFi.

[DA2022]

Thanks dtmille2! I did find some more info here that might be relevant:
https://community.jamf.com/t5/jamf-pro/can-t-update-ipads-that-are-in-share-mode/m-p/186999 

Sounds like other users found some success with applying the updates manually though probably not ideal if not outright impossible based on how many devices you have. Unfortunately I don't have any experience with Shared iPads, but hopefully that link might be able to help out. Take care.

[RLR]

Never had much luck updating shared iPads over air. We usually plug a bunch in via a USB hub and have apple configurator update them. I do find that logging all users out makes it more reliable so no user profiles are cached on the device.

[dtmille2]

Thanks, I'll be reaching out to Jamf on this to see what the current expected behavior is, and if this is on their radar. 

[calvink]

@dtmille2 Did you find a solution to this? Having the same problem.

[dtmille2]

Good morning!  I had/have a support ticket with Jamf open for this issue, but it seems to have stalled out somewhere so I need to revisit it. I just checked some Shared iPads that were failing to update, and they DID finally update to 15.3.1, so my best guess is that eventually they will update but as to when is anybody's guess. They don't appear to respond to an update command sent from Jamf in a fairly immediate way.

Your comment has turned my attention back to this issue and I just sent a command to 24 iPads that are in a cart to update from 15.3.1 to 15.4. I'll let you know how it goes. They are plugged into power, connected to Wifi and updating their inventory on a daily basis.

[calvink]

Thanks @dtmille2, I have one testing the update yesterday, it was downloading, but today it says it's installing but nothing is happen on the shared iPad. I will see what happens after the weekend. So looks like it's schedule but we don't know when it will install.

[calvink]

Looks like most iPads have updated itself. It took like 5 days and I am still waiting on 2.

[dtmille2]

Mine are mostly updated too. Would have to do more testing to see how long it generally takes.

[cpominville]

3 things need to happen for updates to take place on Shared iPads. 1. Enough space on iPad, 2 no users logged in, and 3 battery above 50%. I always restart my shared iPads before pushing updates. This ensures no one is logged in. Sometimes when there are 5 or more users on the iPad, space becomes an issue. Clear out some users if you have to.

[ASVtechnology]

It sound fine, but why shared iPads profile didn't have a quota to system space and use only the remain space to limited profiles option or quota users.

We have all the time problems with space because it become full with a lot of profiles users and in a few months, 2 or 3 you have to clear profiles to get space and again rule and rule

[cpominville]

it does as you say. I have noticed that when it reserves a space, say 10 gigs for 1 user, whether that user uses 10 gigs or not..that space is attributed to them. When you put out iPads for a particular purpose, IE we have a gym teacher that has 15 iPads and 320 students get to use them. We had to get the biggest iPads 256 gigs, figure out that about 15 kids at once per iPad ( she has 9 iPads) would do the trick. I monitored them all year, with "space available" smart group and they were always close to full, but managed to make the year. I think the "space "attributed to one child remains the same, no matter how much they use.

You could also set your limit to 6 kids per iPad, so that when the 7th kid logs on, it squashes the 1rst kid. 

If your teachers dont use a seating plan and iPads are a free for all, that can create problems too.  you'll figure it out, I did.