How to migrate devices from one MDM service to Mobile Device Manager Plus?

Note: We have now improved the process to migrate devices. You can also migrate from other versions of Mobile Device Manager Plus, ie, from MDM Cloud to MDM On Premises, Endpoint Central to MDM, etc. We now support a standalone 'Migration Tool' which makes migrating devices a whole lot easier. Refer to this document for updated steps to migrate devices.

Description

One of the main reasons why organizations hesitate to change their existing MDM solution is that the devices need to be factory reset to remove the devices from management. This means that all the corporate data will be wiped from the device and all the provisioning steps need to be performed again on the devices. This is a tedious process for a mobile-first organization with a large number of managed devices.

Mobile Device Manager Plus automates the process of migrating Samsung and Apple devices without factory resetting from other MDM solutions to Mobile Device Manager Plus. This method allows organizations to migrate devices with minimal user and admin intervention. You can contact MDM support to enable automated MDM migration.

Points to be noted:

• The devices can be migrated only if your current MDM vendor provides the required APIs.
• If the device was Supervised, the Supervision will be retained even after moving the device into MDM.
• Even if the device was enrolled using Apple Business Manager, the MDM profile will be removable from the device after migration. You need to re-enroll devices using ABM to ensure mandatory mandatory management.
• Distribute the migration profile to a test device and verify if the test device is succesfully migrated before distributing the profile to devices in your production environment.
• MDM supports migration from the following vendors:
  • Cisco Meraki
  • IBM MaaS360
  • VMWare AirWatch

Prerequisites

1. Set up MDM Server
2. Integrate your directory services to sync users and groups

Steps

MDM Migration will be hidden by default, contact MDM support to enable the migration profile. You can choose a migration method that will suit your requirements from the methods given below:

• Device Owner devices
  • Samsung devices
    • Without factory resetting 
    • With factory resetting
  • Non-Samsung devices
• Profile Owner devices
• Apple devices

Device Owner - Corporate devices

Samsung devices

Without factory resetting

Only Samsung devices can be migrated from another MDM tool without factory resetting by following the steps given below:

1. Distribute ME MDM app to the devices to be migrated using your current MDM solution.
2. Once the app is installed, open the app and follow the on-screen instructions to enroll the device with MDM.
3. Verify if all the devices are available in Mobile Device Manager Plus server and remove the devices from your existing MDM solution. Assign users to the devices and continue managing devices using the MDM server.

Note:

1. When Samsung devices are enrolled using the above method, location tracking can not be set to high accuracy.
2. In devices running Android 7.0 or below, Play Store apps can not be silently installed.

With factory resetting

If you want to provision the corporate Samsung devices as Device Owner and you are willing to factory reset the devices, you can use the enrollment method given below

Knox Mobile Enrollment

Purchased from resellers

For devices purchased from authorised sellers or resellers and enrolled using Knox enrollment, follow the steps given below

1. Login to Knox Portal and create a new MDM Profile. Select ManageEngine as your MDM.
2. Open MDM console and go to Enrollment -> Knox Mobile Enrollment -> Copy the JSON file. Paste the JSON file in the MDM profile created on Knox Portal.
3. Apply the newly created profile to the devices to be migrated.
4. Factory reset the devices. Upon activation, the devices will be automatically enrolled with MDM.

Not purchased from resellers

If the devices are not purchased from authorised resellers, follow the steps given

1. Download the Knox Deployment app in an admin device.
2. Login to the app and choose the profile configured using the above mentioned steps.
3. Choose the deployment mode, and distribute ME MDM app to the devices to be migrated.

Non-Samsung devices

If you want to provision the corporate devices as Device Owner and you are willing to factory reset the devices, you can enroll the compatible devices using any of the enrollment methods given below

Zero Touch Enrollment

For devices enrolled in Zero Touch portal,

1. Login to Zero Touch portal and create a new MDM configuration.
2. Open MDM Console and click on Enrollment -> Zero Touch Enrollment -> Copy the JSON file.
3. Apply the newly created configuration to the devices to be migrated.
4. Factory reset the devices. Upon activation, the devices will be automatically enrolled in to MDM.

Other enrollment methods

For Device Owner devices enrolled using methods other than ZTE and Knox Enrollment, factory reset the device and enroll them using any of the enrollment methods given below

• EMM Token Enrollment
• NFC Enrollment
• ADB Enrollment

Profile Owner devices

You can enroll the Android devices provisioned as Profile Owner using Enrollment via invites or Self Enrollment method without erasing the device data. While creating the Work Profile on the device, the users will be prompted to remove the existing Work Profile created by your current MDM. After the existing profile is removed, MDM will create a new Work Profile on the devices and the devices will be enrolled into MDM.

Apple Devices

1. Navigate to Profiles -> Migration profile on the MDM console. Under Steps to migrate iOS devices, you will find a URL using which you can create a custom Web shortcut.
2. Use your existing MDM solution to distribute the custom Web shortcut to devices to be migrated. The users should follow a few on-screen steps to migrate the devices to Mobile Device Manager Plus.
3. Open the Web shortcut and click on Start Migration to begin the migration process.



4. This will remove the existing MDM profile from the device and download the Mobile Device Manager Plus profile on the device.



5. The user must Allow the installation of the profile and complete the installation by entering their password.





6. This will install the MDM profile and successfully migrate the devices into MDM.