iPad Limitations Without MDM
iPadOS runs every app in a sandbox, and no app signature or permission gives an app more control over the iPad. Control over the device itself comes from supervision and signageOS MDM, our own MDM service for iPad (Apple iPad Provisioning with signageOS MDM). On an iPad without an MDM (app-only mode, see Apple iPad Provisioning), the signageOS app has these limits.
Limits signageOS MDM removes
| Area | App only | With signageOS MDM |
|---|---|---|
| Staying on the screen | Anyone can leave the app unless Guided Access is on, and Guided Access is started by hand on the iPad | The kiosk lock keeps the app on the screen, and a technician can lift it for 30 minutes with the device PIN |
| Restart, power loss, crash | The app doesn't start by itself, and Guided Access ends. The device stays offline in Box until someone opens the app. | iPadOS opens the app again |
| App in the background | iPadOS pauses the app as soon as it leaves the screen: content stops and the device goes offline in Box | Can't happen under the kiosk lock |
| Installation | By hand from the App Store, with an Apple Account on each iPad | Silent, by signageOS MDM, no Apple Account |
| Verification | Verification code entered in Box for each iPad | Automatic, into your Organization |
| Serial number | Not reported: iPadOS doesn't give apps the serial number | Reported to Box |
| Device reboot | Not available | From Box |
| iPadOS updates | Not available from Box; installed on the iPad, which restarts it | Target version and install-by deadline set from Box |
| Time zone and time | Read only | Time zone set from Box |
| Wi-Fi | Joined on site, through the iPad's Settings or the on-site menu. iPadOS asks a person to tap Join, so remote Wi-Fi changes from Box are refused. | Set in the device policy, no tap needed |
| Device name | The app sees "iPad" instead of the name set on the iPad | Renamed from Box |
Everything signageOS MDM does on the iPads is listed in iPad Capabilities With signageOS MDM.
Limits on every iPad
These come from iPadOS and apply with signageOS MDM too.
- App versions come from the App Store. With signageOS MDM, Box installs and updates the app, but can't go back to an older App Store version.
- Screenshots don't show video. iPadOS draws video on a separate layer that apps can't capture, so video areas are black in screenshots.
- Display off is simulated. Turning the display off shows a black screen at the lowest brightness. Turning the screen off for real would lock the iPad and pause the app.
- Permission prompts need a tap on the iPad. Location access (used only to show the Wi-Fi network name) and camera access (used only when an applet scans a barcode) are asked once on the iPad. No MDM can grant them in advance.
- The MAC address isn't available to apps. Without signageOS MDM, Box shows no MAC address for iPads.
- Network settings are read only. Box shows the network interfaces with their IP address, netmask and Wi-Fi network name, but can't set a static IP address, scan for Wi-Fi networks or turn interfaces off. With signageOS MDM, Wi-Fi networks come from the device policy.
- The proxy applies to the signageOS app only, not to the rest of the iPad. For the whole iPad, set the proxy with the Wi-Fi network in the device policy (signageOS MDM).
- Streams: HLS and HTTP streams play. RTP, RTSP and UDP streams aren't supported.
- Not available on iPad: temperature monitoring, packages, scripts, VPN, peer-to-peer recovery, video inputs, serial ports, LED strips and sensors.