Unmanaged to managed app conversion on iOS devices

You can convert an unmanaged app to an iOS managed app, with little to no device user input. There is no need to uninstall the unmanaged app. This feature applies to apps installed on devices running iOS 9.0 or newer versions.

There are two ways to convert unmanaged apps to iOS managed apps:

  • Message: You can convert unmanaged apps to managed by prompting all devices running iOS 9.0 or newer versions. Device users simply respond by tapping Manage, which automatically converts the app to managed. On supervised devices, the app is silently converted.
  • Apps@Work: Alternatively, you can configure an app as convertible to managed, by posting an update to the app in the Updates section of Apps@Work. This means that if the app is installed and unmanaged, the app will be listed in the Updates section of Apps@Work. Device users can find the app under Updates and tap Update to convert the app to managed. The version of the app will stay the same.

Note the following:

  • Apps cannot be converted back to unmanaged. If you uninstall an iOS Managed app and re-install it from the Apple App Store, it still displays as Managed. If an app needs to be converted back to unmanaged, you need to remove the label associated with it.
  • Apps that are hidden from view in Apps@Work on the device can still be converted to managed apps.
  • When converting Apple-Licensed apps from unmanaged to managed, Apple Licenses are not consumed.
  • If you delete a managed app from the device and install an unmanaged app, Ivanti EPMM will convert the unmanaged app to managed automatically without notifying or prompting the device user.
  • This feature is not supported when Ivanti EPMM is configured for MAM-only iOS devices.

This section includes the following topics:

Enabling app inventory synchronization in the privacy policy for iOS

Make sure to enable app inventory synchronization in your privacy policy.

Procedure 

  1. Go to Policies & Configs > Policies.
  2. Click the privacy policy that is currently enabled.

  3. In the Policy Details pane, click Edit. The Modify Privacy Policy dialog box opens.

  4. Select Apps > All Apps, if it has not been selected already.

    The administrator should update the Default Privacy Policy with highest priority and set the "iOS Installed App Inventory" field to "All Apps". This ensures unmanaged app are reported to the Ivanti EPMM and the Ivanti EPMM can send MDM commands to convert unmanaged app to managed app. This applies if the app has the option "Enforce conversion from unmanaged to managed app (iOS 9 or later)" enabled and the unmanaged version of the same app is reported to the Ivanti EPMM.

  5. Click Save.
  6. Apply the policy to the relevant labels.

Converting an unmanaged app to a managed app by prompting iOS device users

You can convert an unmanaged app to an iOS managed app by prompting users to accept a request to convert the app on their devices.

Procedure 

  1. Go to Apps > App Catalog.
  2. From the Platform list, select iOS.
  3. Click Search to display a list of iOS apps.
  4. Select the check box next to the name of the iOS app you want to convert to managed.
  5. Make sure you have applied the app to the relevant labels.
    1. From the list of apps, select the app you edited.
    2. Go to Actions > Apply to Labels.
    3. Select the labels you want to apply.
    4. Click Apply.
  6. Go to Actions > Send Installation Request.
  7. In the Send App Installation Request dialog box, select Send request to convert the app to Managed.
  8. Click Apply.

  9. The next steps depend on the type of iOS device receiving the message, as described in the following table:

     

    Unsupervised devices running iOS 9.0 or newer versions

    Supervised devices running iOS 9.0 or newer versions

    Prompt?

     

     

     

     

    A prompt displays on the device, indicating that the app will be converted from unmanaged to managed.

    No prompt appears.

    Next steps?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The device user must tap Manage. The app is then converted to managed.

     

    If the device user has not yet installed the app, the app will be installed as managed.

    If the device user taps Cancel, the app is not converted to managed.

    No user action required. The app is silently converted from unmanaged to managed.

 

Enabling device users to convert iOS apps from unmanaged to managed in Apps@Work

You can allow device users to convert an unmanaged app to an iOS managed app in Apps@Work.

Procedure 

  1. Go to Apps > App Catalog.
  2. From the Platform list, select iOS.

  3. Click Search.

    A list of iOS apps displays.

  4. Click the name of the iOS app you want to convert to managed.

    The app details are displayed.

  5. Click Edit.

    For iOS apps, when the app data is in View or Edit mode, Ivanti EPMM loads the latest managed app schema from the AppConfig repository and displays the latest fields (including any new fields) in the “Managed App Configurations” section in the UI. Ivanti, Inc recommends that before saving the changes, you first carefully inspect the updated managed app configuration. Once you select Proceed and click Confirm, the updated managed app configuration settings are saved and the changes are pushed out to all associated devices.

  6. Select Send convert unmanaged to managed app request on device registration or sign-in (iOS 9 or later).
  7. Click Save.
  8. Click Back to List to return to the list of apps.
  9. Make sure you have applied the app to the relevant labels.
    1. From the list of apps, select the app you edited.
    2. Go to Actions > Apply to Labels.
    3. Select the labels you want to apply.

    4. Click Apply.

      The app will be listed in the Updates section of Apps@Work.

  10. Device users must tap Update next to the app to convert it to managed.

Viewing the managed status of an iOS app

You can view whether a given app is managed or unmanaged on a device by clicking the number in the Devices Installed column for that app.

Currently, macOS apps cannot be managed apps. Therefore, macOS apps display as unmanaged.

Procedure 

  1. Go to Apps > App Catalog.
  2. From the Platform list, select iOS.
  3. Click Search. A list of apps displays.
  4. Find the name of the app whose managed status you want to view.
  5. In the Devices Installed column, click the number next to the app whose managed status you want to view.
  6. The Device Details window displays. Locate the Managed column.
  7. The Managed column indicates whether the app is managed on the devices listed.
  8. Click Close.

Viewing the status of iOS managed apps for a given device

You can view the managed status of apps installed on a given device by drilling down to the device details on the Devices page in Ivanti EPMM.

Procedure 

  1. Go to Devices & Users > Devices.

  2. Click the device to view device details.

  3. Click the Managed Apps and iBooks Inventory. A list of apps and iBooks installed on the device displays.
  4. Locate the app whose managed status you want to view.
  5. In the Status column, check the status of the app.

  6. Possible status values are listed in the following table:

    Status

    Notes

    Status

    Notes

    Managed

    Indicates iOS managed app status (managed by MDM), or successful conversion from unmanaged to managed.

    ManagementRejected

    Indicates the device user tapped Cancel when prompted to convert the app to managed.

    Valid status for devices running iOS 9.0 or newer versions.

    ManagedButUninstalled

    The app was managed, but the device user deleted it. If the device user installs the app again, the app will be managed.

    PromptingForManagement

    Indicates the device user is being prompted to convert the app and has not yet tapped Manage or Cancel.

    Valid status for devices running iOS 9.0 or newer versions.

    UpdateRejected

    A transient state indicating the device user canceled the managed app update.

    Installing

     

    UserInstalledApp

     

    UserRejected

    Indicates the device user canceled a managed app installation.

    Prompting

    Prompting for installation.

    PromptingForUpdate

    Prompting for app update.

    PromptingForLogin

    Prompting for App Store password.

     

     

    Failed

     

    AppAlreadyQueued

     

    AppAlreadyInstalled

     

    AppStoreDisabled

     

    NotSupported

     

    NeedsRedemption

     

    CouldNotVerifyAppID

     

    Redeeming

     

    Queued

     

    Unknown

     

    NotAnApp

     

    ValidatingPurchase

     

    PromptingForUpdate
    Login

     

    Updating

     

    ValidatingUpdate

     

    PurchaseMethodNot
    Supported

     

User prompts to convert an app from unmanaged to managed on an iOS device

If a user has any unmanaged apps installed on the device, the user will be prompted to convert the unmanaged app to a managed app by selecting Manage. The unmanaged app will be converted to a managed app.

Supervised devices will silently convert the unmanaged app to an iOS managed app. This applies to devices running iOS 9.0 or newer versions.

This applies if the app has the option "Enforce conversion from unmanaged to managed app (iOS 9 or later)" enabled and the unmanaged version of the same app is reported to the Ivanti EPMM.

On supervised devices, unmanaged apps are also silently converted to managed. The device user will have no indication that the app successfully converted to managed. You can verify that the app was converted to managed by checking the status of the app, as described in Viewing the status of iOS managed apps for a given device.

Converting an app to managed on an unsupervised iOS device

On unsupervised devices, the Updates section in Apps@Work indicates a new update for the app that is to be converted from unmanaged to managed.

To convert an app to an iOS managed app, instruct unsupervised device users to take the actions described in the following procedure.

Procedure 

  1. On the user device, tap the Apps@Work web clip.

  2. Tap the category for the app, such as Updates or Featured.

    The app displays with an indication that it requires an update.

  3. Tap Update next to the name of the app in Apps@Work.

    The app details page displays.

  4. Tap Update on the app details page.

    A prompt displays, indicating that the app will be converted to managed.

  5. Tap Manage to convert the unmanaged app to managed.