Apple iPad Provisioning
The signageOS app turns an iPad into a signageOS device: it plays applets, reports telemetry and takes remote management from Box. It runs on any iPad with iPadOS 18, 26 or 27.
Choose how to run the iPads
| App only | With MDM | |
|---|---|---|
| What you need | the iPad and an Apple Account to download the app | Apple Business and an MDM that supports managed app configuration |
| Installing the app | from the App Store, by hand on each iPad | pushed silently by your MDM, no Apple Account needed |
| Verification | verification code shown on the screen | automatic, into the Organization you set |
| Keeping signageOS on the screen | Guided Access, started by hand and lost after a restart | Single App Mode, survives restarts and power loss |
| Serial number in Box | not available | reported |
| Restart, time zone, iPadOS updates and Wi-Fi from a distance | not available | from your MDM |
App only suits a few iPads that someone can look after on site. For a fleet, or for iPads nobody can reach easily, follow Apple iPad Provisioning with MDM. Everything that app-only mode can't do is listed in iPad Limitations Without MDM.
Prepare the iPad
- Update the iPad to the latest iPadOS it supports: Settings → General → Software Update.
- Keep the iPad connected to power.
- Go to Settings → Display & Brightness → Auto-Lock and select Never.
- Go to Settings → General → Date & Time, turn on Set Automatically and check the time zone. Without an MDM, signageOS can read the time zone but can't change it.
- Go to Settings → General → Software Update → Automatic Updates and turn off automatic installation of iPadOS updates. An update restarts the iPad, and after a restart the signageOS app doesn't start by itself.
- Turn on a Focus such as Do Not Disturb in Control Center, so notifications don't appear over your content.
Install the signageOS app
- 1
Download the app
Open the App Store on the iPad, search for signageOS and tap Get.
- 2
Open the app
On the first launch, iPadOS asks whether signageOS may use your location. Tap Allow While Using App if you want Box to show the name of the Wi-Fi network the iPad is connected to: iPadOS shares the network name only with apps that have location access. signageOS doesn't collect the location, and everything else works if you don't allow it.
- 3
Note the verification code
The app shows a verification code. Keep the app open.
Verify the device
Enter the verification code in Box, as described in How to Add new device via Box, or use the REST API. Once the device is verified, assign an applet to it.
Keep signageOS on the screen
On iPadOS, anyone can leave an app with a swipe, and an app can't prevent it on its own. Lock the iPad to signageOS:
- without an MDM, with Guided Access: Lock an iPad to signageOS Without MDM
- with an MDM, with Single App Mode: Apple iPad Provisioning with MDM
On-site menu
Hold three fingers on the screen for 3 seconds, then enter the device PIN. The PIN is shown in the device detail in Box; until the device connects for the first time, it is 0000. After five wrong attempts, the menu is locked for a while.
The menu offers:
- Open OSD: device information, network connection tests and device settings
- Wi-Fi…: join a network by typing its name and password. iPadOS asks you to confirm with Join.
- Start maintenance and End maintenance: for iPads whose MDM is set up to lift Single App Mode on request. On other iPads they show an error.
Deprovision the iPad
Deprovision the device in Box as described in How to deprovision device. The app shows a new verification code and the iPad can be verified again.