Jamf removes screen time code in iPad?

[paulaner1980]

Hi everyone, 

I set a code every afternoon on the iPad of my daughter to set screen time limits. The iPad also has Jamf School to restrict the usage of applications while children are in the school. 

Every time I check in family, the code enforcement is gone.

Either my daughter knows how to hack it, or Jamf is interfering with family. 

I would like to ask you, if you have experience something similar? 

Best regards, 

Paul 

[AJPinto]

I don't think MDM can remove a Parental Controls password, that technically is not on the iPad but rather configured through the AppleID via APNS. I suggest setting a complex password and not something easily guessable by your child. Either way, Parental Controls is outside of the domain of MDM, and I recommend bringing this question up on Apples discussion forums. 

[Lasse]

As AJPinto says, Parental Controls in iOS are not easily changed in MDM, but if you're using Jamf Parent it is a different set of settings we can manage in Jamf School. I'm confused how this iPad is managed. 

Is it a school/company owned device you are allowed to take home, or a private device enrolled to the schools Jamf School as MDM? For a school owned device supervised in Jamf School, Jamf Parent restrictions are not applicable during school hours. Weekends might be starting at unlimited use if that is set in Jamf School.

[paulaner1980]

Hi @Lasse,

Many thanks for your comment. 

I bought the iPad in a store suggested by the school, together with a lifetime Jamf School License. 

The iPad arrived pre-configured from the store, and the children use them in the school, where they have limited access to some applications. 

I configured parental control by myself using the native iOS functionality, which includes a password to protect the settings. After my daughter returns from school, these settings are removed. 

I set everything again at the beginning of the holidays and by now screen time and other restrictions are still working (children return to the school in Bavaria in September). That reinforces my hypothesis of Jamf reseting stuffs in the school network, or maybe a friend in the school knows how to hack native parental control 😁

[Lasse]

I don't know if the school IT is working through the school vacation, but it seems like Jamf School somehow is interfering. Let them know, and see if they can start a support case for their environment.

Otherwise, Jamf Parent is meant to replace much of the functionality, if turned on by the school. I think the Jamf Parent feature is the least they could turn on as you have paid for a device they enroll to the school system, and a license for it.

[Nevinho]

Hey @paulaner1980, has your school found a solution to this issue? I'm a JS admin in Germany and right now I'm experiencing this very odd problem with a student iPad myself. I'm about to reconfigure the whole setup, but this is alsways a hassle for the parents since they need to be involved given the nature of family sharing/screen time ...

Btw, I've only had two (unfortunately pretty resilient) cases where there were incompatibilities between Jamf School and parental control settings, otherwise it had always worked like a charm. And Jamf Parent really isn't a good alternative in my opinion ...

Cheers!

[Nevinho]

Additional info: Jamf school does semm to be able to remove the Screen Time code (and the restrictions?) on supervides devices; see Quick command "Clear Restrictions Password: Clears the restrictions set by Screen Time on the device". Unfortunately, no further documenattion is available.

[paulaner1980]

Hi @Nevinho ,

many thanks for your input. I still have this problem and now twice, since my other daughter started last week in the same School in Ansbach. The restrictions worked quite well during the vacation period, but since my daughter returned to school, the password is gone again. I attached some pics where you can see it:

My daughter told me, they used Classroom to let the teachers supervise what they are doing during lessons, this could be relevant or not, just as additional info. 

I will notify the school admin too.

Best regards, 

Paul

[Lasse]

@paulaner1980  Did you try out Jamf Parent? Devices managed in Jamf School will turn off the parental controls during school hours except for holidays. Both school hours and holidays are set in Jamf School. It might be that locally set restrictions/on iPad settings will be turned off by Jamf School as part of this. Jamf Parent will give you the control back outside of school hours.

[Nevinho]

Thanks for your reply, @paulaner1980 ! Oh, right, I haven't taken unto consideration that Classroom might play a role; I have to check that out. In any case, it's a quirky issue since only one single student is affected here while Classroom etc. is used for all students ... 

I already opened a ticket with JS support. I'll let you know if there's a solution. Please do so as well if anything happens on your end.

[Nevinho]

UPDATE: Jamf School support confirmed that the issue is on Apple's end. Lately, the issue has become more frequent, apparently with 10th generation iPads, most of which are on iPadOS 18.1.1. I'll open a ticket with Apple Busines support and will forward any updates here.