Tips for your school to successfully upgrade to iPadOS 14 and iOS 14

Upgrade season isn't always the most timely for schools, but Jamf is here to help for iOS 14 and iPadOS 14

September 18 2020 by

Jonathan Locast

Operating system (OS) upgrades are one of the biggest benefits to using Apple devices over others. Yes, the flexibility to make the device the exact type of tool you need for it to be and the library of apps at your fingertips remain the biggest benefits, but being able to update your device, your team’s devices, or the devices your students and teachers are using for no cost can’t be undervalued.

For many schools and universities, the most important aspect of upgrading is keeping devices up to date and on a known and trusted operating system. This allows them to ensure staff, teachers and students are able to spend more time using their devices rather than worrying about security, technical issues, or needing to request the latest and greatest Apple offers.

For those that are new to Apple’s OS release schedule, Apple holds two special events a year – one in the spring, one in the fall – and highlights new hardware and a new operating system updates, with the fall event covering release dates of OSs. While it’s nice and convenient that we can predict or expect the release of operating systems, a fall release date leaves education IT wondering when to best upgrade devices without disrupting learning. By this point, school is back in session, devices are in the hands of students, and IT needs to determine how to upgrade without:

  1. Causing immense strain on network traffic as devices check-in
  2. Breaking apps or critical infrastructure that impact mobile devices, such as content filtering, VPNs or Wi-Fi
  3. Drastically impacting the student or teacher experience

These concerns may be something that never leave an IT manager, but by leveraging a device management provider like Jamf, you can reduce stress and eliminate common issues that may have arose in the past.

Let Jamf help make your OS upgrades simple

iPad and iOS Upgrades Guide for Beginners

If you are trying to learn how to go about upgrading your institutions devices en masse, looking for an OS upgrade refresher, or interested in improving and streamlining your process to get more from them, give the guide above a read. Within the guide, we explain the options you have at your disposal when using Jamf as your MDM provider, as well as things you can be doing in advance to make sure your needs are met.

When it comes to actually upgrading your iOS and iPadOS devices, Jamf can help make the process seamless, easy and on your schedule. Three key tricks are:

  1. Participate in the betas , garner feedback and conduct thorough testing
  2. Leverage a provider that offers same-day Apple OS support so you can update how you want and when you want
  3. Customize your rollout with the flexibility to trigger and hold back updates for up to 90 days with MDM

Notice number three. Using Jamf, you have the ability to postpone your upgrade while you test the operating system within your environment or simply wait for a more convenient time.

When it comes to iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, specifically, it’s important to make sure that student and teacher devices are on the same operating system. Two of the most common apps used, AirDrop and Classroom, have had issues in the past when devices are on differing operating systems. This is a problem that is easily fixed by having everyone in a compatible place through a unified upgrade.

Shared iPad in Education

One of the major boosts Apple has invested time into is Shared iPad. Within Apple School Manager, Apple has rolled out a feature that allows schools the ease and flexibility they need to bring a true shared device environment to life. The truth is, not every school is yet able to offer a comprehensive, 1-to-1 iPad deployment but that shouldn’t prevent them from offering a personalized learning setting.

By combining Apple School Manager, Managed Apple IDs and a management solution like Jamf Pro, a student can access their saved apps, settings and configurations on any school-owned device using the Managed Apple ID created by the school. Whether they use three devices for three classes or an array of devices for every class, it doesn’t matter. Once signed in, it will have the personalized feel of being their very own.

This feature, and many others that come with Apple’s new operating systems, are continuing to revolutionize the way technology is used inside the classroom and outside as distance learning continues to be a reality for educators and students.

Upgrading to the newest operating system should be an exciting time — not a stressful one. With the usage of Jamf, the ease of planning and executing your upgrade with fully within your control. But if you want some help, tips and tricks, or simply some reassurance – Jamf is here to help with same-day support and resources.

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