Adding a Donated iPad into Apple School Manager (ASM)

Use this guide to add a donated iPad into Apple School Manager so it can enroll into Microsoft Intune as a supervised, organization-owned device.

Step 1: Erase the iPad

1. Open Settings on the iPad.
2. Go to General → Transfer or Reset iPad.
3. Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
4. Complete the erase process.
5. Leave the device on the Hello / Setup Assistant screen.

Step 2: Connect the iPad to the Mac

1. Open Apple Configurator on the Mac.
2. Connect the iPad using a USB cable.
3. Wait for the device to appear in Configurator.

Step 3: Prepare the iPad and Add It to ASM

1. Select the iPad in Apple Configurator.
2. Click Prepare.
3. Select Manual Enrollment as the method.
4. Enable Add to Apple School Manager.
5. When prompted for an MDM server, click New Server.
6. Create a placeholder server:
   • Name: ASM Enrollment Placeholder
   • Hostname: placeholder.local (or any value)
   Note: This server does not need to be real. Configurator only requires a placeholder entry. The actual MDM assignment happens later in Apple School Manager.
7. Check Supervise this device.
8. Continue through the prompts.
9. Sign in using your Apple School Manager admin credentials.
10. Allow the process to complete. The iPad will reboot when finished.

Step 4: Verify the Device in Apple School Manager

1. Sign in to Apple School Manager.
2. Go to Devices.
3. Search for the iPad using its serial number.
4. Assign it to your real Intune server:
   MDM Server → Assign → Select Intune.

Step 5: Sync ASM with Microsoft Intune

1. Open the Intune admin center.
2. Navigate to:
   Devices → iOS/iPadOS enrollment → Enrollment program tokens.
3. Select your ASM token.
4. Click Sync.
5. Wait for the new device to appear.

Step 6: Complete Setup Assistant on the iPad

1. Turn on or wake the iPad.
2. Go through Setup Assistant normally.
3. You should see:
   “This iPad is managed by your organization.”
4. Finish setup; the device will auto-enroll into Intune.