We have alot of iPads on different locations, running an enterprise app in Guided Access. Is it possible to auto update the app, our remote access the iPad to update?
You can do both.
There are remote management platforms that allow you to manage your iOS devices; change passwords, lock a device if it gets stolen, etc. They need to be connected to the internet for this to work though, either through 3G/4G or wifi.
You can also set an iOS device to auto-download updates when they become available.
Related
Goal:
I want to create app (with Swift) where user set his admin passcode and setup wifi settings (SSID, wifi password) which can not be changed from general settings on his device but only by using my app after entering admin passcode. I looked at apple documentation (SystemConfiguration) without success. I can distribute it Ad-hoc without submitting app for review.
Why I need it?
My customer have application on iPad device which is not working on newer iOS versions and have configured wifi router with specific network traffic restrictions for preventing access to apple update servers. Problem is when someone changes wifi settings and connect to another network without those restrictions. He will see update reminder every day and probably he will install that update and application stops working.
Jailbreak is not solution. I can not edit or update this installed application he has on iPads.
Questions:
Is there a way to setup iOS (9.1) device wifi settings (network it is connected to)?
Is it possible to prevent user from changing wifi
settings in general settings on his device?
My question regards a possible remote Parental Control system for iOS devices.
I understand how to apply web filtering options that would allow parents to whitelist and/or blacklist specific URLs and domains remotely on their children's devices via managed profiles and MDM server but is it possible to whitelist/blacklist certain apps from the iTunes store - i.e if the parents want to remotely block the installation of say Snapchat and Viber for example? It appears that filtering right now is only possible based on the iTunes "appropriate age" tag - i.e 4+
Thanks!
You can always blacklist apps using an Mobile Device Management software. When an app which is blacklisted is installed on the user's device, the device will show as not compliant. You can also find which all blacklisted apps are installed on the device. Then the admin can prompt the user to uninstall the app. If they are not complying the admin can lock the device until they agree to comply.By using an MDM you can enforce additional restrictions like block camera etc. For a more strict management you can put the Apple device on supervisory mode, which have more options for device restriction. iOS 9.3 goes a bit further in this area by preventing the blacklisted apps from being shown or installed.
No, that level of control is unavailable in iOS. The closest you can get today is to either set the appropriate app age or to use the app installation restriction to block the entire App Store (keeping in mind that on iOS 8, this restriction will also prevent app installation by MDM as well).
I'm new to iOS development, suppose I'm making an app for parental control over their kids which would have the apps that would be added by the parent so that the child is restricted to only certain apps. How will i access the apps on the device inside this app?
Sorry, but that won't be possible on an standard (un-jailbroken) iOS device. Apple sandboxes Apps so they can't access anything outside of their "sandbox". That includes the file system, the OS, settings and other apps on the device.
It might be possible to do it on a jailbroken iOS device, but even then you'll have to hack into Apple's OS and honestly it's probably not worth the effort, especially given that you could never submit such an app to the app store..
I am developing an iOS app, which may need to sync a large amount of data with its OSX counterpart app, and for the use case in which the app would be used there may not be an internet connection available to connect either of the devices (iOS device & Mac).
Is there an official apple api that lets one sync data between an iOS app, and its OSX counterpart, without having to use the internet or iCloud ?
As far as I can tell, short of joining the MFI program, there isn't a way.
If you don't mind the user dragging some documents around, then you can create documents which can be accessed via iTunes: http://www.raywenderlich.com/1948/itunes-tutorial-for-ios-how-to-integrate-itunes-file-sharing-with-your-ios-app
What makes you think you need an Internet connection for WiFi?
If you are close enough for a USB cable, just create a WiFi network from the Mac (WiFi icon in the menu bar, "Create connection..."). Use bonjour to discover services, and then the apps can talk to each other.
I am working on a major product release for my company. We are designing a new device that we would like to integrate into an iOS app. (FYI, we have recently been accepted into the Apple MFi program so we are past that step.)
What we desire is to create a hardware/software eco-system where our users can start our iPad app (yes, it is specific to the iPad and the not iPhone or iPod Touch devices) and the application will automatically discover and link up with any close-proximity hardware that we've developed.
This means that I will need to implement some form of device connection process on both the iPad and within the hardware.
Is there any way to code automatic connectivity to a Bluetooth device from within an iOS application?
I am aware of the Core Bluetooth Framework which has this capability, however, it only works with the new iPhone 4S. That's not an option.
I've also researched about the External Accessory Framework, which can be used to connect to external devices whether they are connected via the iPod port or Bluetooth. This is an option but, if my understanding is correct, our hardware must already be paired with iPad before the iOS software can connect to it. This is less than preferable because although many of our devices may not be in immediate vicinity at one point in time, our customers could potentially own 100's devices that they may desire to connect to with our software.
What are my reasonable options or alternatives? The end goal is to provide a very easy means for our users to be able to connect to our devices, from within our software, on an iPad.
NOTE: I MUST NOT jailbreak the iPad or break any Apple TOS agreements.
UPDATE (3-7-2012) I saw today that the 'New iPad' (as it is being officially called) will be Bluetooth 4.0 capable. I assume this means that this iPad device will be able to use the Core Bluetooth Framework. This doesn't immediately solve my problem because we do want remain compatible with at least the "last generation" iPad device, but this is worth pointing out for others who may be looking for such an answer.
You cannot connect an iOS device to a bluetooth device without pairing first. It is purposely built that way by Apple to reduce the likelihood that someone could connect a bluetooth device without the user knowing about it. If pairing each device is unacceptable (and it sounds like it is), and you don't want to develop a dongle, the only remaining path I can see is to make your devices capable of relaying data between them like a mesh network. That way the user would only have to pair with a single device, and that paired unit would relay communications between the other devices and the iPad.
One of your alternatives would be going WiFi (AdHoc or Infrastructure) with Bonjour. For example you would be able to detect the device nearby (if it is maintaining it's own AdHoc then by SSID; if it's in infrastructure network then by service being announced). One big drawback would be that you couldn't connect directly (from app) to the device's network - user would have to do it manually.
As for BT: big drawback is lack of a serial protocol (not implemented in iPhone/iPod/iPad).