Apple Business isn’t for the home
To resolve this, you can try to use Apple Business or third-party fleet device management tools, such as Jamf Now. Aimed at business users, in theory both tools could extend enterprise-grade device management into family setups, but neither seems ideal.
Apple Business, for example, demands managed Apple accounts, requires strict registration as a business user and puts in place other barriers that prevent it being easily used to manage family tech. Jamf Now is much more flexible, but the company charges around four dollars for each device after three, which adds up fast when your extended family have iPhones, Macs, and iPads.
Apple Configurator isn’t enough
Another option could be Apple Configurator. This is free and lets you supervise multiple devices manually. The limitation is that it only lets you manage iOS, iPadOS and tvOS devices — all it can do for Macs is enroll them to enable MDM. Another limitation is that you need to connect each device manually to your Mac for configuration — and during the config process you’ll need to back up the device, as it will be wiped and restored during the configuration process.
This story originally appeared on Computerworld
