Release Notes

The release also includes one new feature: We have added a new Perform MDM Command for AirWatch to clear passcodes. This is going to be particularly helpful when checking in devices. Please try this out and send feedback! Thanks to Freddie and Jeremy for the suggestion!

Bug Fixin’s

• Corrected several issues that could cause a Launchpad crash.
• Launchpad Monitor can once again be disabled.
• Check IN was waiting up to 60 seconds to succeed. Now it’s a lot quicker.
• We fixed some delays when clicking on the Launchpads tab under heavy load.
• The Device Manager role can again perform bulk deployments, optionally.
• The option to “Suppress the Blue LED” now works in more cases.

What’s Next?

Next we turn our attention to iOS 13. We expect to have a new, compatible Launchpad available next month. In addition, we are working on speeding up check out actions. And of course we are working on some new surprises, that we aren’t quite ready to talk about.

Going to VMworld? We are!

VMware’s annual conference and expo will be August 25 – 29 in San Francisco. GroundControl will be in attendance as a sponsor. If you or people from your organization are attending, please reach out to us to let us know.

Check Out Checkout!

We received a lot of constructive feedback with the previous version of the system. Improving Checkout has been our primary focus, and with GroundControl 4.8 and Locker 2.1, device unlock has become much, much more reliable.

The first improvement is a consistent, predictable check out experience. During a successful unlock, the following events will happen, in order:

1. The iPhone will illuminate and show a green screen with “Unlocked”
2. If available, the smart hub LED will flash white
3. If the user unplugs the phone within 60 seconds, the server will report “Success”

This sequence, which previously wasn’t consistent, should make the check out process standardized and much more accessible for your staff. A big ?Thank you to Ally, Tom, James and others for the feedback!

In addition, we’ve added many new features to fill out the Checkout experience:

Overdue Devices: Set a lending period and mark unreturned devices as “Overdue.” GroundControl can email users to remind them to return overdue devices. Admins can easily search for overdue devices. In a GroundControl release this Summer, you may automatically place overdue devices into MDM Lost Mode. 

Display Checked Out Devices: You may optionally display the list of checked-out devices, by location, on the Launchpad and on the device itself. This feature allows your teams to manage their own device pools, so that everyone knows the device checkouts at all times. Note: this feature requires Safari. Let us know if you need help configuring Safari to block the general Internet. ? Thanks, Freddie & Kevin!

No More Blue LED: We found that the blue “busy” LED was confusing some users during device checkout. So we added a Launchpad Option to disable the blue LED. ? Thanks, Ally!

Voalte Logout: Automatically logout from Voalte One 3.7.3 when checking in devices. We have labeled this feature as “BETA” as it is quite new to GroundControl, Voalte, and Apple. Please try it and give us your feedback! (Note: This feature does NOT require single sign on.) ? Thanks, Gabe!

More Checkout improvements:

• We no longer hide the Locker app on check out, since this caused issues with app updates and AppConfig.
• The server will no longer report “Success” if check out or check in fails.
• We added activity log messages for “Locker app is Locked” and Unlocked, when we know this is true.
• An Erase action will now clear Checkout statuses.

Known Issues: Although this release represents a big improvement, we still have a few unresolved issues. We will be addressing these in next few weeks with an update to the Locker app.

• On rare occasions, the Locker app may display “Unlocked,” but remain locked — as a workaround return the device and take a new one.
• The Locker app may show a banner instead of the green screen app, especially if the device has been idle for several days.
• During check in, the Locker app may display a black screen with battery indicator.

Launchpad Monitoring

• LP Monitoring: We no longer alert when all devices are removed, because that’s standard operating procedure at a lot of places.
• LP Monitoring: We no longer send an alert when starting up a Launchpad.

More New Features, Improvements, and Fixes

• After nearly 5 years we updated the Login window design.
• We added a simple web app at /apps/history/ to look up device activity history by serial number or IMEI. This system may be especially useful for device refurbishment centers.
• Test Battery Health works more reliably for more devices.
• Battery Serial Number is now correctly reported.
• A retried workflow can now continue executing additional workflows in an automation rule. ? Thanks, Tom & James!
• An improper file type will no longer crash the Launchpad ? Thanks, Niv!
• New orgs can again create MDMs using Chrome ? Thanks, Tom!
• Fixed a bug when deleting a device attribute. ? Thanks, Mike!
• We added an additional network check in the Launchpad, to make sure the display is properly updating.
• The actions for Reboot and Power Off are now logged in Activity.
• Modal dialogs on Launchpads no longer block remote restarts.
• We improved the error displayed when a device needs to be updated to accept a specific backup.

• Much improved support for Apple’s latest iOS devices: iPhone Xr, Xs, Xs Max, and 2018 iPad Pros. (Just in time for new iPads!) ? Thanks Mike and Jose!
• AirWatch API: Assign User + Change Organization Group sometimes didn’t do both. ? Thanks, Jeremy!
• Removing an asset from the Cache page now cleans related workflows.
• Launchpad Monitoring now correctly notices when two smart hubs are disconnected within a short period of time.
• Checkout: The Activity page now updates “Device User” without needing to refresh the page.
• IMEI is now searchable in the devices list.
• Added a link to the Team documentation page when adding users.

Improvements to server and Launchpad:

• Significant improvements when Retrieving MDM Configuration for DEP devices, so DEP enrollments are much more reliable. ? Thanks, Tiffany & Jeff!
• We now send subscription renewal reminders up to 90 days before your renewal date.
• Launchpad Monitoring now emails you about a problem once, not every hour.
• Monitored Launchpads now run automation rules on connected devices if the Launchpad restarts unexpectedly. This is intended to clean up any interrupted deployments.
• Support for Cambrionix firmware 1.78. ? Thanks, Chris!
• Support for the UniLock v2 locking security enclosure
• Support for clearing passcodes on with the MaaS360 MDM, something we already do with AirWatch.
• New APIs to enable VMware Hands-On Labs. ? Thanks, Robert!
• After a short vacation, the yellow warning icon returned to the Network Connectivity Warning dialog on Windows.
• A lowercase “d” was seen loitering on the MDM admin panel, and was removed.
• We improved the performance for the Activity and Workflow tabs when under high loads.

Checkout Improvements:

• We now clean up Device User and Checkout Status if checkout fails to find an automation rule.
• We now suppress duplicate badge scans, if the occur within a half-second of each other. ? Thanks, Ben & James!
• On first Check-In, we are more patient waiting for the Locker app to download.
• We now allow the Identity Web Service URL to use basic HTTP authentication, via a custom attribute. ? Thanks, Geoff and Ben!
• Improved error message when checked out devices remain plugged in for too long.
• Added support for older RFIDeas badge readers. ? Thanks, Kevin!

New Features

Launchpad Monitoring

It’s a new feature of our PRO tier, to help keep your Launchpads running and minimize interruption. The GroundControl server keeps an eye on selected Launchpads to ensure they stay online, USB hubs aren’t unplugged, and you don’t have an excess of failures. When there are problems, the server sends your team an email or Slack message. In addition, monitored Launchpad have their “Quit” menu or “Exit” menu disabled, so users can’t easily stop the service.

Launchpad Monitoring is a major new feature that will evolve as more of you use it. We look forward to your feedback!

Checkout is Quicker, Brighter, Accessible and Simpler

We spent a lot of time improving Checkout in GroundControl 4.7. The process is now more than twice as fast as before. We now illuminate the device screen when unlocking, so an LED-equipped USB hub is great but no longer required. We implemented a much-requested “back door” Unlock PIN to allow access to locked devices in an emergency. Finally, we’ve really simplified the automation rules for checkout.

Launchpad Improvements & Bug Fixes

• You can now easily copy all serial numbers from the Launchpad app: look in the app’s Edit menu. ? Thanks, Elliot & Jorge!
• Added several new tooltips to the Launchpad display, for iPhone model, battery health, and iOS build number.
• The Launchpad Actions menu has been reordered for clarity.
• Added a new action to Launchpad Actions, Unlock Drawer, which is helpful when using the Datamation UniLock security enclosure with Checkout.
• We introduced a new startup LED pattern when connecting to Smart Hubs.
• When restarting Launchpads from the admin console, the checkbox “Wait for deployments to finish” is now unchecked by default.
• Our devs significantly improved recovery from Launchpad network errors, and improved network error notifications too. ? Thanks, Jeff!
• The Launchpad “thermometer” that shows cache disk spaced used now works on Internet Explorer.
• GroundControl can now clear the passcode from devices that are passcode-locked and powered off. ? Thanks, Dennis!
• If the LP app was set to run automatically at startup, it wouldn’t always run correctly. Now it will.
• Devices no longer disappear from the Launchpad during iOS Updates. ? Thanks, Luke!

Workflow Improvements & Bug Fixes

• Wait for App Installation is just like “Launch App” — but without the “launch.” Take a look at your current workflows to see if this is a good fit for you.
• The AirWatch API command “Assign staged device to user” is no longer case sensitive. ? Thanks, James!
• The “Reboot” action no longer triggers infinitely repeating deployments. Oops.
• Workflows published to child orgs can again be opened, in read-only mode. ? Thanks, Jon!
• Added a new Custom Option for to install Enterprise Apps before Restore from Backup, instead of after. This helps work around an Apple bug feature where Location Services settings are not correctly preserved. Note that a special backup is required when using this feature. ? Thanks, Ooha!
• Renew: Removed the references to “SIM Required” in GroundControl Renew, because SIMs are no longer required for device activation. ? Thanks, Apple!
• Renew: “On Failure” action can now be added to a workflow, to automatically retry a failed workflow.
  Automation Improvements & Bug Fixes
• We now allow the variable “[Launchpad Name]” to be used in automation rules, which is useful if you want to trigger a rule only when a device is moved from it’s “Home” Launchpad. ? Thanks again, James!
• Smarter automation criteria for Device Checkout Status.
• Automation rules no longer run immediately when the Launchpad app is started.

Activity Improvements & Bug Fixes

• The Activity export CSV and the Activity API response now include a snapshot of any attribute values. ⚠️ Note these the new fields may possibly break any process that rely on this data.
• We improved the error message when DEP enrollment has an incorrect name or password.
• Devices with broken IMEI numbers now fail activation with an improved error message. ? Thanks, Mark!

Admin Improvements & Bug Fixes

• • The Audit Log is now available to all GroundControl users with the Console Admin role.
  • The supervision identity is now in DER format with a .CER extension. This format now is compatible with all current MDMs and also supports Intune and Citrix Endpoint Manager. ? Thanks, Pradeep!
  • Self Heal again detects unhealthy devices more reliably. ? Thanks again, James!
  • Users with the Device Manager role are usually limited to deployments to a single device at a time. Now GroundControl Staff can permit these users to deploy to multiple devices at once, on request. ? Thanks again, Elliot!
    API Improvements & Bug Fixes
  • More accurate and attractive API documentation. The docs are interactive, so it is easy to explore our APIs.
  • The Deploy API can now be used on new devices that have never before been connected to GroundControl.

We have released GroundControl 4.6.1, which contains improvements and fixes to both our server and Launchpad. Please see the list of new features and fixes below.

New Features

• • • A new Launchpad Option, LaunchpadKioskMode: true, disables “Quit” and “Reset Launchpad” in the app menus. Use this if you have unattended Launchpads and overly curious users. Or cats. ? Thanks, Jeff & Erica!
    • We added a new setting in Admin > Launchpads to automatically clear a device passcode via MDM, if pairing isn’t working. This helps if you are using passcodes and multiple Launchpads. This feature is available only for AirWatch at this time. ? Thanks, Dennis!
    • Support for encrypted backups of iOS 12 devices.
    • Checkout: The “Check In” action will now clear device user, and set the checkout status to “Checking In” at the beginning of the workflow, instead of the end. This allows a user to check out a replacement device immediately.
    • Checkout: A failed check in or check out action will set the checkout status to “Failed.”
    • Smart Hubs: We’re sporting a new, simpler, less-blinky LED pattern for Smart Hubs.
    • We now report Battery Serial Number for devices, using the Launchpad option PowerHealthExtendedInfoEnabled: true ? Thanks, Roberto!

New Fixes

• • • On Mac “Mojave” we prevent iTunes from launching for recovery-mode devices.
    • Checkout now flashes a white LED ? instead of green, because a flashing green LED also means “Charging Battery”
    • A Launchpad started without an Internet connection no longer starts in a broken state; instead it patiently waits for the network. This is important if the app is launched on boot.
    • A customized Launchpad Display (Admin > Launchpads) will show “Find My iPhone” and DEP statuses correctly.
    • Device Export reports correct DEPEnabled status again ? Thanks, Kaylyn!
    • Checkout: Improved LED behavior when using a proximity card reader with Checkout.
    • Deployments with “Set Attribute” actions, and nothing else, now report the correct duration, which is usually 00:00:00 ? Thanks, Dennis!
    • Brand new devices now have functional “Device Actions,” so you can easily add attributes.
    • Activity search on Device Name works better.
    • The “On Failure” action will now interrupt automation rules, because the deployment has failed!
    • The error “Failed: Cannot process request; deployment already in progress” will no longer block other status messages.
    • We detect and display a new error message, “Your MDM requires backups to be encrypted.”
    • We detect and display a new error message, “MDM configuration download failed. The DEP profile may require credentials.”
    • The “activities/getById” API will now report device attributes as set at the time of deployment. Activity Export also reports these.

Additional Support for iOS 12 & Mac OS 10.14 Mojave

GroundControl 4.5 was already quite compatible with Apple’s latest releases. Today’s update adds support to skip the new setup screens in iOS 12, and we added the Measure app to the hide-able app list and the default app arrangement. We also have preliminary support for iOS 12’s updated backup format, however only unencrypted backups of iOS 12 devices are supported at this time. We are adding encrypted iOS 12 backup support with GroundControl 4.6.1, which is coming in a few weeks. In the meantime you can continue to use your encrypted iOS 11 backups with iOS 12 devices.

We’ve discovered an issue: iOS 12 is ignoring some backup settings, specifically permissions for apps to use location services. We’ve found that it’s best if you install the apps first, then restore the backup. We’re working on improvements here, so stay tuned.

Another known issue: when using Mac OS Mojave and installing a new iOS version, iTunes will often launch. It’s annoying but it won’t interrupt your deployment. We’re working on a fix.

BIG NEWS: No More SIMS!

SIMs are no longer required to activate iPhones! Try it out! Apple made this significant change in the last few weeks, and GroundControl 4.6 supports this change. This is a huge help for both our healthcare — where iPhones are used for VoIP — and our recycling customers who use GroundControl for testing devices during refurbishment. Finally! ? Thanks, James & Jonni!

Show the Launchpad Fields that Work for You

Show almost any combination of attributes you like: IMEI, DEP Status, Checkout Status, Device User, Battery Health… You can find this setting in Admin > Launchpads. This same setting allows you to HIDE Launchpad attributes from the Launchpads.

More UI Improvements

• • • Updated the Deploy Dialog UI, to now show port numbers & more device info.
    • We seriously improved the UI for Checkout Admin to make checkout setup much easier.
    • Improved the UI for the “Restore from Backup” list of backups.
    • Apple Mobile Device version is now displayed in the Launchpad details.
    • Smart Hub firmware versions are now displayed in Launchpad details.

Checkout Improvements

We are seeing overwhelming interest in out “Tap & Go” system that a mashup of theft deterrent, asset management, and Single Sign-On. GroundControl 4.6 brings a number of improvements to our systems:

• • • Support for Datamation’s UniLock electronically-locking security enclosure.
    • Checkout is much quicker! Only 4 seconds!
    • The server now selects the OLDEST device with the greatest battery health — automatically ensuring you exercise all batteries, preserving device life. This was a superb idea from a new customer… ? Thanks, James!
    • Checkout Status and Device User are now proper internal attributes.
    • We seriously improved the UI for Checkout Admin (so nice we’re noting it twice)

Smart Hub Improvements:

• • • Improvements when daisy-chaining Thundersync hubs.
    • Added support for the USB-3 Cambrionix SuperSync 15 (which won’t make deployments quicker until Apple supports this standard in iOS devices).
    • UniDock 24 now is reported as having 24 ports, not 16.
    • Firmware versions are now displayed in Launchpad Details.
    • lastPortNumber in the API no longer looks like it is reporting negative numbers. ? Thanks, Freddy & Karen!

Even More Improvements

• • • The “Warm Cache” API now will queue if the Launchpad is offline. ? Thanks, Allison!
    • API calls will return custom attributes even if blank.
    • Added a new automation rule condition, “Device Last Connected,” accepting values such as “more than a minute ago”. You can use this to handle accidental device disconnects.
    • Added a deployment details log message “Full Erase Successful” so you can have confidence that data was successfully wiped. ? Thanks, Mark!
    • Device Export more accurately reports DEP Status.
    • More activities are logged into the Audit Log.
    • Automation rules with empty criteria work better. By which we mean: They work now.
    • Added a new menu item to the Launchpad: “Help > Open Log Folder”.
    • Increased stability (devices won’t disappear or start a new deployment) when a deployment is in progress.
    • The Cache tab is again usable even if you have hundreds of assets.
    • If the battery health is not available, we no longer fail a battery test.
    • When deploying to a large number of devices, the late deployments won’t time out. ? Thanks, Elliot!
    • We added new tools to help our support team diagnose troublesome deployments.
    • Better error reporting when failing to download an IPSW when the network is firewalled. ? Thanks, Mark!
    • Better error messages if missing a single attribute from a deployment that requires them. ? Thanks, Murphy!
    • Deleting a wallpaper image from the Cache tab no longer breaks workflows. ? Thanks, Roxana!

A.K.A. GroundControl 4.5…Part 2

Today we released “part 2” of our latest version, an update to the Launchpad for Windows and Mac. Today’s update complements last week’s server-only update with a slew of Launchpad-side code. Topping the list is a preview of our most anticipated feature yet.

Tap & Go Deters Theft with Device Checkout

GroundControl’s Tap & Go is a full solution for shared device check-in and check-out. For the first time, your organization can keep a record of which user takes which device, improving accountability and allowing unique device personalization.

While idle, GroundControl locks down devices to deter theft, using Apple’s robust Single App Mode. Checkout is quick and reliable. Employees tap their ID badge to the attached badge reader. After GroundControl confirms authorizations, it identifies the attached device with the greatest battery charge, and performs a software unlock to reveal the pre-configured apps. The process takes five seconds.

Tap & Go is available at an additional charge. If you’d like to learn more about this feature, please contact GroundControl Sales for a demo and trial.

Encrypted Backups for Increased Compliance

Increasingly, MDM systems are enforcing backup encryption to enhance security. Our support for encrypted backups make your master image creation process that much easier. GroundControl will now detect encrypted backups when uploaded, and will prompt you for a password.

As a bonus, any new backups added — encrypted or not — will display the backup OS version within the asset list. This helps you troubleshoot why, for example, your backup works with devices running iOS 11.4, but not 11.1.

Additional Fixes and Improvements

• • • More reliably Indicate when network tethering is in operation — with a USB icon in the Launchpad — especially with recent Mac builds
    • Self Heal: New device status message “Checking Device…” when devices attach
    • Improved backup scrubbing on iOS 11.3 & 11.4 backups
    • Created backend support for clearing device passcodes ? Thanks, Eric!
    • Updated the “iTunes not found” dialog on Windows to avoid the Windows Store iTunes distribution, because that distribution doesn’t work with GroundControl
    • SmartHub: Improved support for the Thundersync USB hub
    • SmartHub: Improved support for Cambrionix U12 ? Thanks, Richard!
    • Better failure explanations when the network is blocking an IPSW download ? Thanks, Mark!
    • A faulty device or connection could cause all devices to appear “unpaired” ? Thanks, Anna!
    • The “Reset Launchpad…” command wasn’t fully resetting all customizations
    • The Launchpad on Windows could block system shutdown
    • More reliable deployments when using Infinite Peripheral sleds ? Thanks, Jordan!
    • More reliable Launchpad upgrades when deployments are in progress
    • Removed the “Show Connected Devices” menu item from the Launchpad because…why would you want to hide devices?
    • AirWatch API: Don’t fail when we receive a “202” response when changing organization group, even though AirWatch used to respond 200 ? Thanks, Allison!
    • Improvements to publishing workflows to child organization groups

Introducing Powerful Wallpaper Management

Today we are releasing GroundControl 4.5 (part 1). We are presenting this release in two parts. Part 1, released today is an update to the web management console only. Part 2, coming next week, will be an update to the Launchpad software for Mac and Windows.

Today’s update has one really big feature: Powerful wallpaper management.

The new UI allows you to re-use previously-updated images in your workflows. In the “Cache” tab, these files may be managed, and even replaced with updated versions. Note that any legacy files will have a “gibberish” filename — it’s the SHA1 hash of the image for you geeks like me. But you can replace these files with a properly-named file in Cache.

The powerful part of this dialog is support for using attributes for the wallpaper selection.

For example, you can tag your devices with a “Department” attribute. Then you can upload wallpaper images with names like “Emergency.png”, “Pediatrics.png”, and so on. GroundControl will automatically select the wallpaper to match the attribute. This way you can use a single workflow to handle many divisions at once.

If you have any questions about wallpaper management or attributes, please reach out to our friendly engineers at support@groundctl.com.

As always, we’ve included a number of other fixes, big and small:

• • • Backups you upload will display the iOS version of the original (remember they may be deployed to newer versions, but not older)
    • Device Export no longer times out if you export many thousands of devices ? Thanks, Jordan!
    • Deploying to multiple Launchpads from the “Launchpads” tab works again
    • Devices retired “due to inactivity” displayed an inaccurate date
    • Fixed a bug where attributes added to Device Details would sometimes get mixed up ? Thanks, Allison!

We also made several improvements to the AirWatch API (which is easier to type than “Workspace ONE UEM API”.)

• • • Improved AirWatch DEP profile assignment to be much more robust — but you may need to resync and assign the profiles in your workflows one last time ? Thanks, Agnieszka!
    • Prettified the “Enroll in MDM” layout for non-DEP devices, and added the “Assign Staged Device to User” API command
    • GroundControl wasn’t properly recognizing a changed “success” response from Workspace ONE UEM 9.5
    • Expanded the “Assign Staged Devices to User” command to accept User ID numbers, if surrounded by #hashes ? Thanks, Allison!
    • We report a more helpful  error reported if your API user’s password is incorrect or expired

Coming next week: Restore encrypted backups! And Check In & Out!

This morning we released a minor update to both server and Launchpad. GroundControl 4.4.2 fixes a few issues we discovered with Apple’s final release of iOS 11.3. Thank you to the customers who helped us identity these issues.

• • • Works around an issue installing wallpaper where high-resolution devices run out of memory (we suspect this is an iOS bug)
    • Improves our ability to scrub undesired data from iOS 11.3’s new backup format
    • Removes USB Restricted mode, which was in the iOS 11.3 betas but missing from the final release, and which was unnecessarily requiring supervision identities.
    • Improves Launchpad stability

There are still a few known issues we are working through: support for encrypted backups; increasing activation reliability; preventing certain Windows systems from losing connection; and avoiding temporary double-enrollments when using DEP and backups with MobileIron. We are planning to release GroundControl 4.5 in late May.

This morning we released GroundControl Launchpad 4.4.1 for Mac and Windows. This is a bug fix release to correct several regressions we found in version 4.4.

• • • Backups created with Windows iTunes were failing to restore.
    • The custom option to tune concurrent iOS deployments stopped working, including the automatic tuning for Thundersync hubs.
    • Improved compatibility with the new 24-Port UniDock.
    • Improved general Thundersync smart hub functionality.

We appreciate all the customer feedback we received, especially the detailed reports that helped us make these improvements. Please continue to report your observations to support@groundctl.com.

GroundControl 4.4 is compatible with the soon-to-be-released iOS 11.3, and delivers support for Apple’s newest device management features. No need to wait for your MDM to get upgraded. With GroundControl you can begin using these features today.

• • • Use Apple’s new ability to keep over-the-air software updates invisible for 90 days. You can find this in Workflows > Add an Action > Set Restrictions. Important note 1: This is effective only once your device is running iOS 11.3. Important note 2: This setting has no effect on GroundControl’s ability to install OS updates, which you can continue to use as before.

• • • Our icon arrangement now supports arranging web clips in iOS 11.3. Type a URL (enclosed in “double-quotes”) instead of an app ID. This does not add a web clip, it simply arranges a web clip that is already on your device.
      
    • iOS 11.3’s “USB Restricted Mode” is now disabled by default. If you prefer to enable it, you may do so in Admin > Launchpad. You will probably want to keep this disabled for your shared devices.
    • PSA: If you are deploying iPhone X and iOS 11.3, Apple recommends updating to the latest version of iTunes. If you do not update iTunes, Apple warns you may have issues with Face ID.

Workflows

• • • Cleaned up the Workflow Actions menu, organizing the Advanced submenu and adding an Apps submenu.
    • Added a new workflow action to send email before or after deployments. This can be helpful to tell you when and why deployments fail.
    • Added a new action to install files into apps, using iTunes file sharing.
    • Updated the Supervision skip screen list for non-DEP workflows.
    • Added new custom actions to support check in and out.
    • Improved some text in the workflow editor, and promoted DEP to first position, to reflect the dominance of DEP on planet Earth.
    • Added new AirWatch APIs allow GroundControl to fetch user details, such as first and last name and email, which can be used elsewhere in a workflow.
    • Improved our ability to assign DEP profiles during a workflow, using new AirWatch APIs.
    • Improved compatibility for WPA Enterprise WiFi networks.
    • We no longer attempt to update AirWatch smart groups, after an AirWatch update began exhibiting unexpected and unwelcome behavior. (Released as a emergency patch last week.)

Admin & APIs

• • • Added a new “Self Heal” Admin section with an on/off switch, for GroundControl PRO customers.
    • Renamed some admin tabs for clarity and brevity (but we don’t expect a Pulitzer for this).
    • Simplified the API Keys page a little, removing the “Type” modifier that nobody was using anyway.
    • Published a simple web app for fetching the history of activities for a device at https://apps.groundctl.com/history/ which may be useful for GDPR compliance and general peace of mind.
    • Preliminary support added for OAUTH web apps using the GroundControl APIs. You an see an example in the web app linked above.
    • Customers with extremely high activity should be able to more reliably display the activity and cache pages.
    • The “Device Details” page now uses a 2x image for retina displays.
    • Prevented user/pass autofill for various forms that should not have been autofilled.
    • Extended the “evaluate” GC API to target all devices on a particular Launchpad.
    • Added a GroundControl API to look up AirWatch user details.
    • Added a CurrentActivity key to the device object used in several places in the GroundControl API. If a device is in the middle of a deployment, this key will list the current Activity ID.
    • Added a new API to return the all deployment history IDs for a single device.

Launchpad

• • • Rewrote our Smart Hub code for Datamation and Cambrionix hubs and docks, improving stability on both Mac and Windows, and including support for the new 24-port UniDock. Support for Thundersync is not yet included, but will be in an upcoming release. There’s also a known issue with recovery mode on Windows, which will be fixed soon.
    • Added support for the elusive Cambrionix U12 Charge/Sync board.
    • Fixed some cases where network errors would fail DEP enrollment, without even trying twice.
    • Recovery mode is started only when a Launchpad has capacity to manage the device.
    • Devices in recovery mode no longer continue to display after disconnection.
    • New Launchpad option “FileDownloadRateLimit” to limit download speeds, so you don’t saturate a remote Internet connection.
    • Preliminary support for clearing device passcodes.
    • Preliminary support for encrypted backups, but not enough yet. Full support is coming in a future release.
    • Improvements to speed device pairing.
    • Improvements to Self Heal stability.
    • Fixed a crash on Windows when downloading an asset needed by many deployments.
    • Improved things when slowly downloading an IPSW for a device in recovery mode.
    • Some backups were failing with I/O errors. They don’t anymore.

We have a major update today for GroundControl. It’s been three months since our last big release, so our team has a lot to reveal. Read on for highlights.

Self Heal Workflows and App

Self Heal is a big new feature of GroundControl’s “Pro” tier. If a device is acting up, the user simply flips a switch in the Self Heal app

to flag the phone as “Unhealthy.” On the next connection to a charging station, GroundControl takesover, re-provisioning the device as new. Self Healing means your institution needs less IT time and fewer spare iPhones — instant ROI.

Self Heal is now ready for all Pro / Enterprise customers. If you’d like to try it, please reach out to support@groundctl.com.

Simplified WiFi action with Enterprise WiFi

We simplified the “Add WiFi” action to remove tags and the option for “hidden” networks (it isn’t needed anymore). More dramatically, we added one of our most oft-requested features, support for creating profiles for Enterprise WiFi networks. Find instructions here.

New AirWatch APIs

VMware AirWatch continues to improve their excellent API, and this brings more automation power to GroundControl. In fact, there are now so many integration points, we needed to clean up the Perform MDM Command action for AirWatch so it wasn’t as cluttered.

For starters, we have a new option to automatically assign a DEP profile to a device before provisioning. There are several caveats, so please read the documentation.

Second, we can now assign staged devices to users automatically. This new feature allows you to use DEP to enroll devices to end-users without knowing their passwords. That’s a very powerful tool for staging workflows.

This release also contains foundations for GroundControl Pro, our new feature tier for our most demanding customers. GroundControl Pro is an evolution from our “Enterprise License,” and all those organizations will be automatically upgraded to Pro.

As we transition to the new Standard and Pro tiers, we’ll make sure you don’t lose any functionality you are using today. We’ll be sending out more details soon, but feel free to ask us if you have any questions.

Additional Features & Fixes

• • • Webclips are now automatically scrubbed from backups. Thanks John P!
    • Users with the device manager role can no longer deploy to multiple Launchpads at one time causing mass havoc. Thanks Mark!
    • New message “rebooting into recovery mode” for Renew customers.
    • Blank values are now permitted in automation conditions, so you can test for a non-blank user, for example.
    • New deployment action “Flash LED” that is useful for Device Check In & Out (coming soon).
    • New deployment action “On Failure” to set attributes and retry things when device deployments fail, useful for Device Check In & Out (coming soon).
    • Added a new “checkout” API, useful for…you get the idea.
    • Improved the existing “evaluateForDevice” API with more options to identify the device.
    • Device Activation Lock Status is now reported in the API and exported in the device export.
    • Multi-tier organizations with pooled licenses now count each device only once, even if used in multiple child orgs.
    • The Activity page is much more efficient for organizations with dozens of simultaneous deployments.
    • The Launchpad no longer re-checks each IPSW file on launch, saving billions of precious and endangered CPU cycles.
    • Activation lock error messages understand Apple’s new error message formats.
    • Fixed a rare error where the Launchpad may not acknowledge deployment requests for several minutes after startup.
    • Launchpad stability improvements.
    • Renamed the message when a launchpad has network trouble from “Connection Error” to “Network Connectivity Warning” because sometimes it’s just a warning.
    • Removed WiFi tags that first appeared in GroundControl 1.0 and weren’t ever really useful.

Known Issues

• • • Switching a Launchpad from SAML to non-SAML may cause the Launchpad to hang.
    • “Pairing not allowed” on GC-Supervised devices isn’t always respected when restoring from backup.
    • The Windows Launchpad may crash when the log level is set to SPEW and you are deploying to 20 or more devices.
    • The new AirWatch “Assign DEP Profile” will fail if the DEP profile doesn’t need authentication, and you are also deleting the device. AirWatch is working on this issue.
    • We are already preparing GroundControl 4.3.1 with fixes to these hopefully rare issues.

This morning we released GroundControl 4.2.1, with fixes for a variety of bugs and several small improvements.

• • • Important: Launchpad 4.2.1 fixes a bug with Set Name and the soon-to-arrive iOS 11.2.
    • First release of our device Asset Tracking feature, that works with Smart Hubs to record the last-known device location. Let us know if you’d like to evaluate this.
    • When installing iOS, we now report the iOS version number, like this: “Installing iOS 11.0.2, 11%”
    • Support for MobileIron Cloud Partitions (released as a hot fix 2 weeks ago) Thanks, Michael!
    • Improved Restore from Backup behavior allows for ✈️ Airplane Mode and more
    • Not coincidentally, you may now use a backup in your workflow to automatically trust enterprise apps without MDM. The backup must be at least iOS 10.3 to be used with iOS 11 devices.
    • Certain operations on already-configured DEP devices no longer need to “Retrieve MDM Configuration,” making deployment much quicker.
    • Blank cells in a device import no longer cause an error. Thanks, John P.!
    • Improved activation reliability when used with certain proxies. Thanks Keith!
    • Retiring a device no longer messes with the device list display order.
    • We are more careful about what data we write to the logs, to try to avoid unintentionally dumping passwords.
    • More reliable Launchpad start up when you have enabled SmartHub features.
    • Renew: If you have a login at renew.groundctl.com but login at www.groundctl.com we automatically redirect you…when using the web console. The Launchpad still needs the correct server.
    • Renew: Improved the “Add an Action” behavior and made various enhancements to avoid activating the device unless told to do so

Improved iOS Update Delay

Introduced by GroundControl a year ago, iOS Update Delay has given you more control over what version of iOS is installed on your devices. The feature makes it easy to take advantage of the “iOS signing window” Apple provides during upgrade periods. During these periods, you have a choice whether to install the “older” or “newer” version of iOS to your devices. The feature has proven very popular among our customers, who almost always use it in their workflows.

In GroundControl 4.2, we’ve added a new “master switch” for Update Delay, in the Admin tab, to bring consistency to all your workflows.

We’ve also introduced a new “Short” update delay. This option keeps using a legacy iOS version while your Launchpad download any new updates in the background. Once downloaded, the Launchpad will begin using the new version for installs. “Short” is the default for new organizations.

The “Long” delay option keeps using the older iOS version as long as Apple is signing it, delaying updates for as long as possible.

We recommend that you eyeball your workflows to familiarize yourself with the new options.

Available iOS Builds

As a bonus, we’ve bundled in a display of all the available iOS builds for your devices. We put a checkmark next to the version that GroundControl will install. Check it out in Admin > iOS Update Delay.

Warm Cache & Update Delay

The legacy “warm cache” feature is now integrated into Update Delay. Now, if Update Delay is on, Launchpads will download new firmware files in the background.

If you want more control over the timing of updates — maybe you are managing a fleet of cruise ships — let us know. We can disable cache warming for you, and provide you with a new API to warm the cache on command.

New Device Details Window

We’ve made some improvements to device details, adding additional info and streamlining the interface. 

We pack a lot in the dialog, including:

• • • A big device image, in the correct enclosure color!
    • The human-readable device name, e.g. “iPhone 6s Space Gray 32GB”
    • Storage space used and available
    • Battery Health, showing not the charge amount, but approximately how much the battery has degraded over time
    • Self Heal status

Additional Improvements in GroundControl 4.2

• • • Launchpads will now periodically purge old assets and iOS firmware files, saving GIBs of disk space
    • Multi-tiered organizations can now pool licenses across all child orgs (looking at you, Jorge)
    • MobileIron Core: New APIs to set custom attributes (Thanks, Tony)
    • Added optional delays before Launching apps, which gives the device time to verify developer certificates
    • Added a new GroundControl API command to Warm Cache on demand (Thanks, Allison!)
    • Added a way to disable Cache Warming, if requested
    • Older devices (max iOS 9.3.5) will have fewer activation issues (Thanks, Jordan)
    • More flexible data entry for icon arrangement and custom options, you can skip the commas, quotes, and braces if you like (for more info see HOCON)
    • Better reporting of Launchpad cache sizes (GBs vs. GiBs)
    • We now limit device names to 64 characters, just like iOS does (Thanks, Willie)
    • Sequential numbering no longer breaks when you delete a Launchpad (Thanks, Bill)
    • Better handling of errors during Launchpad registration
    • Fixed a few Launchpad crashes
    • Worked around unannounced changes in the AirWatch 9.2 APIs (we performed a hot fix two weeks ago, when we identified the issue)

Known Issues

• • • The “Set Apple ID” action used by a small handful of you has been deprecated. After much research, we’ve determined that the functionality no longer exists in iOS 11. iTunes, too, no longer can set Apple IDs on devices. Please switch to device-based app assignment using the iTunes Volume Purchase Program, and improve your life!
    • We’ve changed our downgrade rules to allow iOS downgrades only when devices are in recovery mode. In the past we performed minor downgrades if you age iOS Update Delay on. Let us know if this has impacted you.

Pairing nicely with a glass of iOS 11

As promised, today we have released GroundControl Launchpad 4.1. This release brings compatibility with iOS 11, which (surprise!) also arrives today. Launchpad 4.1 should also work well with iOS 9 and iOS 10, of course.

This release was possible thanks to loads of changes from our dev & testing by our QA teams, including activation, restores from backup, tweaks to timing, and more. We encourage you to wade slowly into iOS 11, testing just a device or two before wide release.

We already have a few known issues with Launchpad 4.1 and iOS 11. We are working on all of these.

• • 1. The “Set Apple ID” action — still in use by some of you — will not set the Apple ID in iOS 11.
    2. Restores to DEP devices are currently not able to skip all setup screens. This was a change made by Apple in last week’s GM build. We know this is a big deal for some of you.
    3. SmartHub features don’t always work with Windows PCs, mostly Win 7.

As with any release, its always possible we accidentally introduced other regressions. Please do not hesitate to contact support@groundctl.com if you have any questions or concerns.

Other fixes:

• • • MaaS360 non-DEP enrollment has been fixed
    • The error message is more clear when trying to erase an unsupervised device with default erase options
    • Fixed some issues with iOS 9.3 activation

Today we are announcing the general availability of GroundControl 4.0, with a new Launchpad look, and previews of our Enterprise-only Smart Hub and Self Heal features. Here’s a rundown of the marquee features.

Launchpad Makover

Our Launchpad used to have a look that only a mother could love. Now we hope Dad can love it too. Besides being more attractive, we now show more devices in less space. We hope you like it as much as Mom and Dad.

Self Heal Preview

We have released Self Heal, which we first demonstrated at VMworld and HIMSS. This feature — available on request — allows shared device users to trigger a device rebuild by tapping a button. By giving users the power to re-image their own devices, we expect Self Heal to dramatically increase device reliability without any involvement by IT staff. Self Heal will be available to Enterprise-tier customers.

Smart Hub Improvements

Not all USB hubs are created equal. Certain hubs provide GroundControl with port-level detail that’s critical for diagnostics, and some can display GroundControl device status via built-in LEDs. GroundControl 4.0 makes a few improvements with Smart Hubs:

A system-wide preference for turning this on Smart Hub features — no more typed “defaults” commands!
A simpler, less Times Square LED scheme

Customize Launchpad Behavior via the Admin Console

We also have introduced a new way to set Launchpad behaviors from the server, so you no longer need to use the command line to type “defaults write…” While not for everyone, it’s a better way to gather detailed logs, turn on experimental or custom features, and more.

There’s much more in this release. See below for the full release notes.

• • • Reorganized the workflow Actions menu — we added a new section for Apps and placed the Advanced actions in a submenu
    • Workflows now have a section for description, so you can record notes if you wish ?Thanks, Jen!
    • We have a new, prettier icon for “Set Name”
    • We added new tests for Battery Health; these report the on-board device diagnostics, showing how much the battery capacity has decreased over time
    • Empty workflows no longer show “Supervise’ which makes more sense for us. (Sorry it took us three years to figure that out.) We still add in “Supervise” whenever supervision is required by the other workflow actions.
    • For updating apps in single app mode, we now allow you to Unlock from App, Update App, and Lock to App in a single workflow
    • We have a new option to automatically force unpaired (often locked) devices into recovery mode, starting the erase & update process. This feature is really helpful for some device recyclers. Available on request.
    • Device Export and API now report Battery Health, Device Model, and more (coming soon to the UI)
    • AirWatch Integration: New options to set friendly name and asset number ?Thanks, Allison!
    • MobileIron Core Integration: Fixes to “Assign to User” to make it more reliable ?Thanks, Paul & Duncan!
    • New button to re-activate retired devices (the button is optional, since we un-retire automatically, but “How do I un-retire” has become our #1 support question.)
    • Fixes to wallpaper perspective zoom when restoring from a backup ?Thanks, Jin!
    • The new iOS 11 app, “Files,” is included in the hide app and app arrangement lists. Please update your workflows to include “Files”, and also your icon arrangements (App ID is com.apple.DocumentsApp).
    • The Power Off and Reboot actions no longer require activation or supervision
    • Backup uploads have become less picky about file extensions, so you can keep the “.ZIP” extension without renaming. ?Thanks, Elvin and many others!
    • We now report the correct iOS version when a workflow is updating iOS and uses the [Device iOS] attribute on, say, wallpaper ?Thanks, David!
    • The Launchpad registration now asks for “Email” instead of “GroundControl Login” to make it less confusing for some new users
    • General Launchpad reliability improvements

Today’s release includes:

• • • Resolved an issue activating cellular iPads that do not have SIM cards installed.
    • Smart hub features on Windows are not enabled by default. To enable, read the instructions here.
    • Fixed a reliability issue on Windows that could cause the Launchpad to crash.

Lots and lots and lots and lots of improvements

Today we released GroundControl 3.5, which contains all of the improvements below. If you like anything on this (LONG!) list, please let us know. We love the feedback.

Big Improvements

• • • New routines for activating devices; so should immediately see fewer activation errors. We know you’ve all been seeing these over the last weeks.
    • New logic to reduce the error “Device did not reboot and reconnect at the expected time.” That’s another biggie.
    • Compatibility with the beta of macOS 10.13 “High Sierra,” since more and more of you have this running on your work laptops. (iOS 11 support not yet, but coming soon. See below.)

IMPORTANT: GroundControl 3.5 requires DEP devices to use a DEP workflow. This is something new. If you have trouble, please see this knowledge base article for how to use DEP devices with “Managed by GroundControl.” Contact us if you have any questions.

Workflow Improvements

• • • New workflow action to check iPhone IMEIs against the GSMA industry blacklists, to detect stolen devices. We are very excited to offer this service to our refurbishment customers. Available on request.

• • • New action to Unlock from App, to complement Lock to App.
    • Our Hide App and Icon Arrangement configuration profiles are no longer removable by users.
    • “Launch App” and “Lock to App” are now smarter than before, and will wait for any MDM commands to complete before trying to launch the app.
    • Install Enterprise App is now smarter, and will update an installed app only if the version is different.
    • When manually deploying a workflow, you may now search for device name or serial number. ?Thanks, Allison!
    • Custom options are no longer needed to restore backups to DEP devices, as long as your devices are running at least iOS 10.3. If your devices aren’t running 10.3, only app settings are restored.
    • Workflows can now be cloned to child organizations, using a new option in the Clone dialog.
    • We had been displaying the “Supervise” action in workflows that don’t actually supervise. Now we are more careful.

Launchpad Improvements

• • • We now display Launchpad cache size used and free space available. If you have turned on Apple’s tethered caching, then we display that cache size too.

• • • We now display the USB icon when devices are network tethered, using the Mac’s new tethered networking service.

You may now export the list of Launchpads to CSV. ?Thanks, Jorge!

• • • We’ve added support for DFU devices, just like Recovery Mode devices which we’ve supported for a long time (Thought these were the same? DFU has a blank screen.) ?Thanks, David!
    • We’ve implemented several features to detect and recover when deployments stall for very long periods, including automatically restarting the Launchpad app if needed.
    • Fixed several rare Launchpad crashes.

Smart Hub Improvements

• • • We now display the model of any detected smart hubs, in Launchpad details
    • Our API now reports lastPortNumber with the hub identifier, as it should have been doing all along ?Thanks, Justin & Jeff!
    • When using SmartHub features, “Port Number” can now be used with Automation rules.
    • We now work with SmartHubs to detect connected devices that haven’t booted, such as iPhones with really dead batteries. ?Thanks again, David!
    • We are now bundling Cambrionix drivers in both the Windows and Mac launchpads, so you don’t need a separate install.

AirWatch API Improvements

• • • Changed AirWatch APIs to remove deprecated “/v1” commands.
    • AirWatch “Register to Username” now strips ampersands from device names, because they aren’t allowed. ?Thanks, Tim!

Admin Improvements

• • • Subscription reminders will now be sent up to 90 days in advance.

Today’s release includes:

• • • Fixes to support AirWatch 9.1 (thanks Mark, Tyson, & especially Robert)
    • Fixes for Citrix XenMobile (thanks, Adam & Joe)
    • Support for multiple levels of children in the organization hierarchy, for our enterprise customers (thanks, Erin & Dan)
    • New Launchpad setting to trigger recovery mode on unpaired devices; useful for our device recyclers (thanks, Luke)
    • Removed an unintended 5-second delay when you unplug the last device
    • Fixed a bug with our logging routines

We have another release for you this morning, chock-full of new features and improvements. Be sure to update your Launchpads to the latest release to get all the new features.

Workflow Folders

The marquee feature this month! Many of our customers have dozens or even hundreds of workflows, and they’ve waited patiently for this feature. To create folders and move your workflows, click the new “Organize” button in the Workflow list. 

Several New Workflow Actions

• • • Set Restrictions — you’ve always been able to set restrictions in your MDMs, but sometimes it’s easier to use GroundControl. We may even include one or two restrictions that are hard to find in your MDM. Note that iOS devices will combine multiple restriction sets in the most restrictive way, so while you can always add restrictions, you can’t use this system to remove them.
    • Lock to App — also known as “Single App Mode”, GroundControl can disable the home button and lock your device to a specific app.
    • Multiple Launch App — this feature, added in GroundControl 3.2, may now be used for multiple apps in a single workflow.
    • Set Attribute — this advanced action allows you to set device attributes if the workflow was a success. Set Attribute can be useful for single-use workflows, copying Launchpad attributes to device attributes, and more.

Improvements for Enterprise-tier customers

Our customers on GroundControl’s Enterprise tier can create a hierarchy to manage their organizations, representing individual hospitals, divisions, managed customers, or even cruise ships. We’re adding a number of powerful features to better control these parent-child organizations.

• • • New Navigation to Child Orgs — Quickly switch among your child orgs using this handy control in the navigation bar.

Workflow Inheritance — Workflows in a “Parent” org can now be inherited by children. These workflows become read-only in their children and use the MDM and assets from the parent. Changes to the parent are immediately reflected in the children.

• • • Clone to Child — The “Clone Workflow” button now lets you specify a different organization to clone to. This will help for when the workflow inheritance isn’t quite what you need.

More New and Improved in GroundControl 3.4:

• • • A new automation rule layout, that should be prettier yet still familiar
    • Deployment “success” or “failure” messages no longer disappear after 5 minutes
    • Quicker DEP activations in many cases
    • Deployments no longer fail when Apple’s activation servers are simply busy, instead we keep retrying (thanks Geoff, Robert, Tony, Luke, Matt, Brad — wow a lot of customers reported this one!)
    • We work much better with pass-thru on sleds from Infinite Peripherals and with certain other USB devices; a custom option is required for this mode
    • GroundControl can now restore backups onto DEP devices and preserve both app settings and system settings from the backup if the master backup must be prepared with careful consideration
    • GroundControl can now use a common registration and cache on a multi-user Windows PC, as long as you install it with special options
    • When the Mac or PC went to sleep then woke up, our software would be very cranky; we now are on good behavior (thanks, Willie!)
    • MDM: We no longer require an enrollment configuration profile to set up MDM integration — those of you using DEP-only didn’t need that anyway
    • MobileIron Core “Assign to User” now works with Core version 9.3 (thanks, Matt!)
    • We now report IPSW decompression in the activity log, instead of “Downloading 103%”
    • A workflow with a “Reboot” action no longer creates pairing difficulties
    • Admins in a parent organization now receive emails when their child organizations have licenses expiring (thanks, Jorge!)
    • A corrupted download will now automatically attempt another download and retry, instead of just failing
    • When using Smart USB Hubs based on Cambrionix electronics, the LED status shows a more accurate status of the deployment
    • When using our SmartHub options, devices connected to dumb hubs never triggered deployments; now dumb hubs work too (no, we don’t really call them dumb hubs, that would insult them)
    • SmartHub port number is now included in device exports, available in the API, and available as an attribute in web hooks (thanks, Michael!)
    • Deployments that get stuck may be automatically terminated by the server
    • The iOS Build number is now displayed in Device Details
    • MDM enrollment is more patient if you need to set up WiFi manually (thanks, Ramesh!)
    • Spreadsheet device import now converts all serial numbers to uppercase (thanks again, Jorge!)

Today we released GroundControl 3.3.1, which fixes a few bugs and improves performance. Here’s a list of what changed:

• • • We improved the way we identify iOS versions eligible for updates.
    • The Launchpad didn’t like waking up from sleep (kinda like my son). It is better now, and more changes are planned for 3.4.
    • We fixed some confusing behavior when working with child organizations in different tabs.
    • Fixed the “Quit” button in a dialog, which had quit quitting.
    • We don’t support encrypted backups, but we weren’t telling you that.
    • Better error reporting with app installation.
    • Significantly improved performance when updating iOS on devices for long stretches of time. (Thanks, Tony & Matthew!)
    • Automatic tuning if you have enabled the Smart Hub features and we see you have a Thundersync hub.
    • New Windows 7 installs needed a Microsoft patch; we now help you find it.
    • For those of us who don’t think in hexadecimal, the wallpaper text color selector shows “black” and “white”.
    • iOS updates no longer show the device UDID in the serial number column.
    • iOS updates no longer show the serial number in the name column.
    • On Mac, our utility to report crashes wasn’t reporting.
    • The input for MobileIron Core’s API now assumes “https” if you forget that part.
    • A new Launchpad action allows you to restart the Launchpad app from the web console.
    • We once again allow you to set icon position on DEP devices even without uploading the supervision identity.

A Big Box of Valentine’s Day Treats

It’s been nearly three months since our last big release, and our team has packed a lot into this little package. Many of these features were customer requests, and you know we’re always happy to give credit where it’s due.

Note the Windows and Mac Launchpad upgrade isn’t mandatory, but as always we think it is a good idea. Use Launchpad Automatic Upgrades for the simplest upgrade path.

• • • A new, cleaner Launchpad display, progress mini pie charts, and more devices fitting into a small window. ? for Tony & Luke!
    • The Launchpad shows device charge level, updating at least every 60 seconds.
    • Upload your supervision identity into DEP, to grant GroundControl a number of new capabilities. Learn how. ? for Jeff, Willie, Erin, Chris, Henry and Mike!
    • Pause your automated workflows until your devices power up with this new action. ? for David and Christian
    • Start downloading iOS updates right away, even if you delay installation.
    • Support for smart hub features with Datamation & Cambrionix hardware, automatically displaying USB port number and deployment status using the hub’s LEDs. Learn how to turn it on. ? for Steve, Dominic, Andrew, Jerry, Shaun and Joe!
    • Using MobileIron Core but not DEP? GroundControl has integrated aspects of Assemble and can assign anonymous devices to specific users. ? for Duncan!

Even More Treats in 3.3!

• • • Speed improvements when using Thundersync “Probably the fastest hub on Earth” — ? for Tony!
      A new install option to use shared registration & cache on a multi-user Windows PC — ? for Henry and Mike again!
    • New preference storage on Windows, and a new “gcprefs” command-line utility to edit prefs when required
    • The Launchpad displays certain background operations, such as background downloads of iOS updates
    • Unpaired devices display more info than before, such as device name
    • Order numbers help you (us) keep track of your licenses
    • New option to preserve the cache when resetting the launchpad
    • Recovery mode deployments may be set to retry failed deployments several times — find this under Automation
    • More efficient handling of large numbers of Launchpads & devices
    • Improved stability in the networking & messaging code
    • Some error messages are more helpful
    • Eliminated a crash when observing the device console

Bug fixes & Apple’s new TV app

Today we released a minor update to GroundControl server and Launchpad. Version 3.2.3 includes the following:

• • • We taught the server about the new “TV” app included in iOS 10.2, in case you want to — um, you know — hide it
    • We told the Launchpad it was OK to restore backups created from iOS 10.2 masters
    • We added a fix for “ServiceConnection::Receive” failures that appeared when activating large batches of DEP devices (for you, Erin!)
    • We added a new custom option to attempt deployment actions to passcode-locked devices — let us know if you would like to try this
    • Our developers squished a handful of other bugs (ewww!) to avoid relatively rare crashes and memory leaks

This morning we released GroundControl Launchpad 3.2.2 with “Bug fixes and performance improvements.” This release is recommended for all Macs and Windows PCs. (If you have Launchpad Auto Upgrade enabled then your Launchpads are already patched.)

……

OK, we’ll give you a little more detail than that. We found some bugs in Launchpad 3.2 (and 3.2.1, which was Mac-only), and fixed them in this new release.

• • • Repaired Timezone when Restoring from a backup. Note that “Set Automatically” in your backup will override the timezone — we recommend you turn Set Automatically OFF when making your backup
    • Improved compatibility when your Windows PC has tightened security controls, specifically certificate revocation lists
    • Improved “Reset Launchpad” when using SAML Single Sign On
    • When the Launchpad UI crashes, we now terminate the background process, so you don’t secretly have two Launchpads running, but…
    • Fixed several bugs that would make the Launchpad crash
    • Fixed a code error where a naughty Launchpad could potentially flood the server with messages
    • On Mac we encourage you to copy the app from the disk image into Applications; now that works in macOS Sierra too
    • Added a secret feature where you can set wallpaper on DEP devices…darn I’m not good with secrets…there is a little setup required so ask us to turn this on for you

Let us know if you have any questions or issues!

We have discovered an issue with yesterday’s release of GroundControl 3.2. This issue only affects Launchpads running on Mac “Sierra” 10.12. Due to application signing changes in the Launchpad and the Mac Keychain, the Launchpad needs to be reset.

Today’s Mac 3.2.1 update provides more helpful instructions when we detect this condition.

This is the only change, and if you are running 3.2 successfully there is no need to update. There is no new Launchpad release for Windows; Win version 3.2 is still current.

We are working on a few additional fixes for both Mac and Windows, and expect to have a new update next week. 

Lots new in this release, and lots of reasons for upgrading. We’ve already upgraded your server. To upgrade your Launchpads, use Launchpad Actions in the Launchpads tab. Or turn on Automatic Launchpad Upgrading in Admin > Launchpads.

Launchpad Networking and UI

We’ve overhauled the Launchpad networking in 3.2, for performance and stability improvements. These improvements have already solved several problems in messyreal-world enterprise networks.

Another improvement: At launch, Launchpad 3.2 performs some tests to make sure the required hosts are reachable. If there is an issue, we will tell you what it is:

Finally, we updated the UI to remove the “Edit Launchpad” button, which didn’t really do much for anyone. The one thing it did do — allow access to Launchpad Attributes — is still possible, and even easier,  if you open the little triangle.

Finally, we updated the UI to remove the “Edit Launchpad” button, which didn’t really do much for anyone. The one thing it did do — allow access to Launchpad Attributes — is still possible, and even easier,  if you open the little triangle.

Supervision Identities for DEP

If you use Apple’s Device Enrollment Program (you should) then please pay attention to this feature. It is a small change, but with very nice repercussions.

We now let you export GroundControl’s supervision identity, and give you instructions for importing the identity into your MDM. The supervision identity acts as a sort of “override switch” for DEP, allowing GroundControl to have more access to your devices than DEP would normally allow.

Today, the identity will let your devices skip the “Trust this Computer?” prompts when connecting to GroundControl. This is very important a device may visit several launchpads. And in the next GroundControl version, the supervision identity will unlock a batch of GroundControl workflow actions that today are not possible for DEP devices: Set Wallpaper, Launch App, Hide Apps, etc.

Only some MDM systems expose this feature today. Please read our instructions for more info.

Improved MDM Integration

When you connect GroundControl to your MDM APIs, we allow several MDM actions with both GC and DEP workflows. We now make those clearer.

(Coming soon: “Assign to User” with MobileIron Core. Yes, really.)

Support for iOS 10 backups

iOS 10 required our team to completely rewrite the “Restore from Backup” code. It was a big change. We’ve done a lot of testing with iOS 10, but there may have been something we missed. At least there are no more crashes (you know what I mean, Jorge & Hannah & Igor).

As before, the iOS version of the source and the iOS version of the destination is important. Here’s a very colorful review:

• • • OLDER sources to NEWER destinations are OK (iOS 9.3 backup to iOS 10.1 device)
    • NEWER sources to OLDER destinations are OK, if only the “trivial” version is different (iOS 10.0.3 backup to iOS 10.0.1 device are OK, since both are in the 10.0 family)
    • NEWER sources to OLDER destinations will FAIL, if the version is too different (iOS 10.1 backup to iOS 10.0 device is no good)

Known issue: Set Timezone will be ignored if you also restore a backup. We have a fix expected in 3.2.1 in a few weeks.

In case it is helpful, we have instructions on how to create a backup: /kb/403.

More to be Thankful for

• • • New actions: “Launch App” (for Amit, very handy, non-DEP only for now) and “Reboot” (for Willie, maybe handy?)
    • Device IMEIs are now saved and usable as attributes (Thanks, Tony!)
    • We will email GroundControl users with the “Admin” role when Apple releases an update to iOS — tip: use iOS Update Delay so those emails don’t cause stress
    • We now report detail when testing your MDM API connection
    • When you have deployed more devices than you have licensed, we won’t shut you down, but we will show you a message to remind you to true-up
    • Several error messages are more helpful
    • Many more bug fixes

This morning we released GroundControl 3.1.2, updating both the server and Launchpads. This release contains minor bug fixes:

• • • Devices now pair more quickly.
    • Recovery Mode deployments (aka “DFU”) will now use a device license
    • Device “First Seen” is now included in the device export.
    • Fixed a bug in Set Language that would sometimes cause a crash.
    • When using the Set Name action, the Device tab no longer suffers from short term memory loss, and it remembers the new device name.
    • We no longer report odd mid-deployment failures when both “Unenroll from MDM” and “Enroll in MDM” are in the same payload.
    • Reduced the timeout on asset download URLs to 2 hours. We will reduce this further in future releases.
    • We know you can’t run a deployment on a device when it is busy with an iOS update. Now GroundControl knows it too.
    • Fixed a bug that sometimes prevented activation of a new GroundControl account, which made our newest users sad.
    • Gantry — our barcode-enabled device entry system — no longer requires a user login.

Upgrading your Launchpads: To get these benefits you’ll need to upgrade your Launchpads.

• • • If you are using our Automatic Upgrade feature, then we’ve already upgraded your Launchpads for you. Hooray!
    • If auto upgrades is off, you may upgrade Launchpads individually, or in groups, using Launchpad Actions in the Launchpads tab.

IMPORTANT: If your GroundControl workflows include an Update iOS action, your devices will begin updating to iOS 10. If you prefer to wait, you may either remove the Update iOS action, or turn on iOS Update Delay which can extend iOS 9.3.5 installs for several days.

This is a bug fix release following last week’s big 3.1 update that got us all iOS 10 ready.

• • • Devices running iOS 7 and 8 may once again connect, so you can update them to iOS 9 or 10. Note that our support for these very old OSes is deprecated.
    • Better error message on DEP authentication failure
    • Improved stability when deploying to 20+ devices from a single Launchpad.
    • Restored “Add Device” and “Delete Device” operations
    • Updated the list of hidden apps and icon arrangement to include iOS 10 apps

iOS 10, meet GroundControl 3.1

GroundControl 3.1 was released to our servers this morning. If you have Automatic Upgrade enabled, your Launchpads should have received the update too. If auto upgrades are disabled, we encourage you to visit Launchpads and select all, then choose Launchpad Actions > Upgrade Launchpads.

Oh, and don’t forget to watch Apple’s product announcement today!

Support for iOS 10

GroundControl Launchpad 3.1 connects to and deploys to devices running iOS 10. Apple’s changed the connection protocol, so make sure you upgrade your Launchpads.

Known Issues:

• • • To install iOS 10 (not just connect), Launchpads may require an update to iTunes (or at least DLLs)
    • iOS 9 backups may be restored to iOS 10 devices, but support for backups made from iOS 10 devices is coming in a future release

iOS Update Delay

There are many reasons to update to iOS 10, including security updates. But some of our customers wish they had just a little more control over timing of the release. So GroundControl 3.1, introduces “iOS Update Delay,” which buys you a few extra days to install the older OS even after a new OS is in the wild.

This magic is possible because for a short time, Apple overlaps the signing windows of the two operating system versions. During that time it’s possible — but inconvenient — to use iTunes or Configurator to downgrade devices. We’ve made that task easy for GroundControl to do the same: Just tick a box in your workflow and we’ll all pretend the new iOS update isn’t there, at least for a couple of days.

At any time, Apple could stop signing iOS 9.3.5. When this happens the two options behave the same: GroundControl will install the latest iOS version available.

Notes:

• • • iOS Update Delay requires the new Launchpad 3.1, No big surprise there.
    • This feature has no effect on over-the-air updates, and doesn’t prevent your users from installing the latest OS themselves.

Set Icon Arrangement, Set Timezone & Skip all setup screens on more devices

• • • We can now set Icon Arrangement on DEP devices.
    • GroundControl now can set the timezone on any erased device. No backup needed. Plus, this works for DEP devices too! Note that cellular devices do their own thing for timezone, so this is effective for WiFi-only devices only.
    • Before today, “Skip all setup screens” still showed a few setup screens on Touch ID devices. Now GroundControl can skip every screen on all devices, as long as you restore a backup. iOS 9.3 or later required.

Trust (or don’t) GroundControl

GroundControl now shows — and respects — the “Trust” prompt on iOS devices. This is going to be a big deal.

The prompt helps GroundControl pair with DEP devices, foreign-supervised devices, passcode-locked devices, and unsupervised devices. Yeah, you read that right: GroundControl is going to start helping you manage  your unsupervised devices. For example, GC 3.1 makes a nifty iOS 10 upgrade station. Just plug, trust, and the upgrade begins.

But while we love making this easier, we DON’T want to make it easier for you to accidentally erase your personal devices. So we’ve added an extra safety in the “Erase” workflow action. To erase an unsupervised device, you have to (1) tap “Trust” and (2) change the setting in the Erase workflow.

Look! There’s More!

• • • Workflows: We now set date and time on devices, which is useful if they have been off for REALLY long time (Thanks, Keith & Jordan)
    • Workflows: Cleaner UI for Webhooks
    • Workflows: For DEP workflows, WiFi is now “recommended” not “required” because some devices have cellular radios! (Thanks, Henry)
    • Workflows: Hide Apps may now be applied more than once
    • Workflows: New workflow for Recovery Mode allows you to set preference for iOS Update Delay. (The new workflow is undeletable.)
    • Cache: When you delete an asset from the “Cache” tab in admin, we helpfully remove it from workflows too
    • Automation: New (undeletable) automation rule for Recovery Mode
    • Automation: Automation after recovery mode works again
    • Devices: In Device Export we now include Launchpad name and Launchpad custom attributes
    • Devices: Devices show correct name in inventory
    • Devices: In the device list, “Last Seen” now shows “Connected” if they are
    • Admin: New role, “Device Manager” suitable for help desks, is read-only for workflows but read-write for devices (Thanks, John)
    • AirWatch API: Improved language when we’re unable to find the device in AirWatch
    • MobileIron Cloud: Friendly error if the enrollment profile is invalid
    • Launchpad: We now show “Registered by” in Launchpad detail
    • Launchpad Mac & Windows: The Launchpad now verifies the cryptographic systems on launch
    • Launchpad Mac & Windows: Launchpads are no longer spooked by Apple’s frequent firmware updates
    • Launchpad Windows: Reduced conflicts with third-party DLLs on Windows
    • Server: Improvement for SAML login
    • Server: Various improvements from our most recent penetration test (nothing critical)

iOS 9 is now required

Support for iOS 7 and iOS 8 has been deprecated. Devices running iOS 7 and iOS 8 will not connect to Launchpad 3.1. Use Launchpad version 3.0 instead, or use recovery mode to upgrade devices. In the next weeks we will release an update that will allow GC to update older devices without recovery mode.

Happy Anniversary to us! It’s our big 3-0 release! We’re releasing GroundControl 3.0 tomorrow morning, July 13, around 3 AM New York / 10 AM CET. And it includes presents for all of you, whether you’re new to GroundControl or you’ve been with us since the beginning. While there’s a long list of design changes, we’ve kept the actual device & deployment changes to a minimum, so your existing workflows should not be impacted at all.

New Navigation Bar & Vocabulary Words!

We’ve said goodbye to some of GroundControl’s somewhat distinctive terminology, in favor of more easily understandable words. We want to make it easier for new users to get the hang of the software

• • • Payloads are now “Workflows”
    • Policies are now “Rules” and in the tab called “Automation”
    • Assets are now in the tab called “Cache”
    • Custom Fields & Tokens are now called “Attributes”
    • A new “Admin” tab — visible only to admins — makes it easier to find settings

We’ve promoted “Cache” and “Attributes”, to reflect their increased importance for GroundControl. If you aren’t yet using our caching features or attributes, be sure to take a closer look.

Auto-Upgrade your Launchpads

We release feature upgrades pretty regularly, once per month at least. As a hosted SaaS environment we take care of the server updates for you. But we’ve left it to you to manually upgrade the Launchpad software on your Macs and PCs. … Until now!

With 3.0’s “Automatic Upgrade” feature, Launchpad upgrades are now “set it and forget it”:

• • • Online Launchpads are upgraded 2-3 hours after any new release
    • Offline Launchpads will receive the upgrade whenever they come online
    • The process waits for deployments to safely finish
    • No user interaction needed

Important: This feature is initially disabled for current customers. We strongly encourage you to enable automatic upgrades in Admin > Launchpads. Once enabled, GroundControl will bring all online Launchpads up to date, and will upgrade other Launchpads as they come online. (New customers will have auto-upgrades enabled by default.)

If you prefer to manually manage upgrades, remember that you may use the “Launchpads” tab in the admin console to push upgrades. And with 3 0, manual upgrades now work for offline Launchpads too, so that the upgrade is performed as soon as the Launchpads come online.

Many of you will celebrate hearing that we’ve removed the user-facing “Check for Updates” menu item from Launchpad 3.0. You told us that your end-users shouldn’t decide when to upgrade, and we’ve listened.

Important: if you have Launchpads older than 2.9, you’ll need to perform a manual upgrade first (use “Check for Updates”) before auto-upgrades begin to work. 

Device Detail with Console and History

GroundControl has steadily added more and more ways to interact with individual devices, and with 3.0 all that power is easier than ever to use.

• • • View and edit device attributes
    • View the history of deployment activity for that single device
    • If the device is connected to a Launchpad anywhere in the world, view the device’s system console in real time (great for troubleshooting network issues)
    • Initiate a deployment without leaving the window

You can view these device details from the “Devices” tab. If the device is connected to a Launchpad, you may also get to this by diving into the Launchpad detail.

More new 3.0 features and fixes

Workflows

• • • Reordered actions in the workflow editor, so the most commonly used actions are at top
    • New action “Perform MDM Command” for DEP workflows, to set organization groups & tags (AirWatch) or Labels (MobileIron Core)
    • Apps are checked for expired provisioning profiles upon upload
    • “Set Language” fails elegantly when Language is blank
    • New action “Send Webhook (Failure)” (for you, Josh!)
    • New attribute (aka token) for Deployment ID in Webhooks (also for you, Josh!)

Devices

• • • Much improved performance when importing hundreds or thousands of devices
    • Improved “last seen” data
    • Device list now works better with pagination

Administration

• • • A new “Quick Start” screen to help new customers make their first deployment a success
    • Improved notification email when licenses expire
    • Support for multiple, simultaneous device licenses
    • Deleting attributes now warns when they are in use

MDM APIs

• • • Added API support for Citrix XenMobile when using DEP devices
    • AirWatch API: Improved log messages when setting tags
    • AirWatch API: Better visibility for errors returned from the AirWatch server
    • MobileIron Core API: New checkbox to convert GroundControl-installed apps to managed

Launchpad

• • • Use a unique User Agent when the Launchpad downloads stuff, currently “GroundControl-Launchpad/6732”, where “6732” is the build number (for you, Jordan!)
    • Fixed errors selecting the correct IPSW file on iOS updates
    • Fixed a few potential crashes
    • Checks for duplicates of the background service, which happens if the UI crashes, which shouldn’t happen as much because we fixed some of those potential crashes
    • Removed Sparkle and “Check for Updates” from the Launchpad; use server-initialed upgrades now

This update fixes a few issues when using the Launchpad with certain enterprise proxies. Also, we fixed a regression where admins could no longer delete old Launchpad from the system. We skipped a few version numbers due to some internal builds that were rolled into this release.

Tip: You may remotely upgrade your connected Launchpads using the “Launchpads” tab in the admin console. Just select the Launchpads you wish to upgrade, and choose “Upgrade Launchpads…” from the Actions menu.

• • • Fixed an error preventing launch when only one network adapter is present

We discovered some bugs in GroundControl 2.11 (released a week ago), so we’re sending out GC 2.11.1 this morning. These won’t affect most of you, but we wanted to release the fixes we had made.

• • • Fixed a some rare crashes with Sparkle on Windows, on launch when obtaining the MAC address, and when viewing the device console
    • Fixed an issue where cellular iPad deployments would fail if the device was missing a SIM card.
    • Changed the order of some operations during DEP deployments, increasing reliability
    • Added “Set Apple ID” back to DEP payloads, if you need that
    • Improved wallpaper sizing Apple’s newest devices
    • Some friendlier errors when installing apps, etc.

Quickly and Efficiently Install Enterprise Apps

GroundControl can now locally cache and load on your devices Enterprise aka “In-House” aka “Internal” apps. This feature, which was in development for over many months, could be a huge time saver for your organization. It neatly complements your current MDM-based over-the-air app installs, saving bandwidth and offering new flexibility. It works just like everything else in GroundControl, with one extra step at the end:

That last step — converting the app to managed — is handled automatically by most MDM systems as long as you set a option in your MDM to,convert unmanaged apps to managed. The result is much quicker deployments with no bandwidth constraints and no additional labor. Your apps can be updated with MDM as before, or with GroundControl with a simple deployment. GroundControl can even update apps in single app mode, an industry first. Enterprise apps are supported in both “GroundControl” and “DEP” workflows.

Importantly, our app install process leverages the Launchpad’s existing caching mechanism to make sure apps are deployed as efficiently as possible, anywhere in world. We don’t like to boast, but this may be the world’s first effective caching system for enterprise apps. We can’t wait to see how you take advantage of it. Write to us and let us know what you think.

The Long List of Additional Improvements & Bug Fixes

• • • New API Support for MaaS360 MDM: programmatically assign users & unenroll devices
    • GroundControl now remembers device WiFi MAC addresses, and exposes them in the Token menu and device export
    • Admins may download a copy of the MDM enrollment profiles from Settings
    • Silent installs are now easier; extract the MSI from the Windows Launchpad installer, and use switches to set the GroundControl hostname and proxy
    • DEP workflows now alert when you forgot to include a WiFi network
    • The server now doesn’t choke when uploading a CSV file with thousands of devices (thanks Sal & Jordan & Mike!)
    • Device Console is now enabled even during deployments, so you can see what’s happening, and it’s also quicker on Windows Launchpads
    • The inactivity logout now warns when it will log you out, and also returns to the original page when logging back in
    • The Launchpad now reports more quickly and helpfully when an iPhone is missing a SIM
    • SAML improvements: configurable timeouts and hashing, better logging, easier onboarding, and automatically create LP Only users if you like
    • Improved communication on device connection status (supervised, erased, unpaired…)
    • Assets can now be replaced with an asset of the same name
    • The GroundControl API will report back much more detail for devices
    • Improved Webhooks expose additional HTTP methods and configurable headers (for you, Jeffrey!)
    • The server now informs already-running Launchpads when a new iOS version is available (for you, Mike)
    • The Launchpad attempts to notice when HTTPS can connect but Websockets cannot, and reports that the problem is likely your proxy
    • We allow a new “Custom Option” to use the legacy icon arrangement even with iOS 9.3+ (For you, David!): {“IconArrangementForceMode”: 1}
    • TrueTone setup screens now skipped for iPad Pro 9.7”
    • Backup scrubbing now scrubs an app’s unique device identifier, so that different devices now get different identifiers (for you, Mark!)
    • Added “Origin” header on websockets to avoid potential hijacking
    • No longer allow the launchpad window to open off-screen (for you, Sal!)
    • No more taskbar icon on Windows
    • No more undesired keychain prompts on Mac/iOS Safari
    • Fixed a rare Windows crash when running with multiple network adapters
    • Better detection for really old versions of iTunes, and we tell you you need to upgrade, instead of pretending it works but crashing
    • Fixed a rare issue where Windows Launchpad would crash when launched while iTunes was running.

Known Issues

• • • After a recovery mode restore, policies are not evaluated. We will address in 3.0.
    • MobileIron Core does not convert side-loaded Enterprise Apps to “managed” on enrollment. Instead you need to either use Apps@Work to convert to managed, or use Core’s “Send Message to App” feature. In GroundControl 3.0 we will add API commands to handle this automatically.
    • On rare occasions, DEP deployments happen so quickly that your MDM pushes profiles and apps before GroundControl does. We’re switching around our order of operations to make sure this doesn’t happen. If you are affected by this let us know and we’ll give you a special build.
    • Apps can not be seeded into the cache in advance. This should be fixed in GC 3.0.
    • Apple no longer allows Apple IDs to be preserved in backups. Use VPP and device-based app assignment instead, because it is much better.

Today we are releasing GroundControl Server and Launchpad 2.10.2, with the following bug fixes:

• • • Launchpad: In rare cases, the Launchpad would not completely install the MDM profile, resulting in a “pending” MDM enrollment. Now the Launchpad is more careful to completely install the profile.
    • Server: You are once again able to upload and save MDM profiles for Casper, etc.
    • Server: In rare cases, if AirWatch servers would not respond to API calls as expected, we would report an inappropriate error. Now our errors are much more appropriate.
    • Server: Fixed an issue where some deployment log entries went missing.

We’ve already upgraded your server, and the new Launchpad 2.10.2 release is available for upgrading.

Some bug fixes, no major changes

We are releasing a minor update to GroundControl today, with a few bug fixes detailed below. We’ve already updated the server for you. You may upgrade the Launchpads via the admin console: select a bunch of connected LPs, and choose “Upgrade Launchpads” from the “Launchpad Actions” menu.

Restore better using backups made from iOS 9.3 devices

Backups made from iOS 9.3 and above were failing to restore properly. Now we restore settings as expected. (Note this affects “GroundControl” workflows only. Restores with a DEP workflow only restore App settings, not system settings.)

API better with MobileIron Cloud

User assignments often failed when deploying to 4 or more devices at once. We now identify the right device in Cloud, so we can assign the user as you wished.

Hide Apps better

As an unexpected gift to you, Apple is including Garageband, iMovie, iTunes U, Keynote, Numbers and Pages on iPads with at least 32GB of storage. Want to hide them? GroundControl now lets you do just that, since we now include these app IDs in the payloads. We also include these in the default Icon Arrangement, too.

Device Console is way better

After a brief illness, Device Console is back on its feet.

And more:

• • • Fixed an issue where iPhone4,1 devices would not reboot after updating the iOS
    • Improved messaging if a Launchpad connection fails due firewall issue
    • Activity exports are more efficient, and no longer time out if you had a lot of deployments (we like it when you have a lot of deployments!) … coming soon: select a range of dates to export
    • Deployment logs are now consistently in chronological order
    • You can now (more easily) use a file server as a shared cache location for a bunch of Launchpads: /support/kb/1295
    • Increased the performance of Launchpad file I/O

Version 2.10 available today previewing powerful DEP integration

 Announcing “Manage with Device Enrollment Program“: a preview of an entirely new workflow for GroundControl. Apple’s Device Enrollment Program is an increasingly important part of any mobile device process. In version 2.10, GroundControl turns DEP truly zero-touch, orchestrating user assignments while automating WiFi, yet allowing device restores, erases, device naming, and a bunch of other features. And MDM profiles can no longer be removed. This is especially useful for shared DEP devices, for example in retail or hospitals.

If your iOS devices are enrolled in DEP you now have a choice: Keep them with the “Manage with GroundControl” workflow, or use the new “Manage with DEP” workflow. We’re calling this a “Preview” because the changes were very significant, and we’re sure to find some new wrinkles once we set it loose. As with all things DEP, setup can be tricky, so we’ve compiled some instructions. But we are excited (can’t you tell) and we are very eager to hear your feedback.

Use iOS 9.3’s home screen arrangement

We can now use new iOS 9.3 method to set icon positions and lock them in place. This new system is much more robust than the single-use arrangements we were using previously. WebClips no longer break icon positions, for example! And apps become locked in place and may no longer be rearranged or removed. No change is needed from you; we detect iOS 9.3 and use the new format automatically.

Improved Asset management

The Assets window (part of the “Welcome” menu) allows you to browse and download WiFi profiles, restore images, and config profiles. Now you can replace a restore image or configuration profile with newer version at any time. If the asset is used in one or more payloads, we will update the payloads automatically. Also you can now upload directly into the Assets window to store an asset for later use.

Revised Launchpad registration & menus

Upgrading your Launchpads, the Easy Way

While you may continue using Launchpad 2.9.1, you will want to upgrade to Launchpad 2.10 for the best features above. Lucky for you, we’ve made this easier than ever. From the Launchpads tab, select a bunch of Launchpads, then choose Launchpad Actions > Upgrade Launchpads.

Improvements to Deployment Details

The Deployment “Details” tab is now known as “Log.” We removed redundant info, and tidied up the UI.

Additional Fixes & Improvements

• • • Added support for iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7”
    • You may now remotely clear the asset cache from many Launchpads at the same time
    • We now internally identify iOS versions by build ID and not version number, since Apple has developed a stutter (iOS 9.2.1, 9.2.1, 9.3, 9.3, …)
    • For improved consistency, the system now internally tracks devices by ECID instead of Serial Number / UDID
    • Activity and device exports have been optimized, specially when handling large amount of data (for you, Keith M & Mike S)
    • Launchpads now cache Apple’s firmware matrix, instead of asking the server for it every deployment
    • Improvements to the user invitation landing page
    • Improvements to the multi-tenancy UI
    • Improved the helpful text when you have no Launchpads registered
    • We now fail if you try to install an MDM profile onto a device that already has an MDM profile, instead of faking success
    • On Windows 7, we hint to the Launchpad user that they can turn off online driver checks — for more info see: /support/kb/2428
    • Fixed an issue where resetting a Launchpad would require a manual restart to fix supervision
    • Fixed Windows Launchpad crashes related to forced local user password change
    • MI Cloud API: Send Force Check-In command after user assignment, to get apps to push quite quickly
    • AirWatch API: If changing an organization group to the current group, don’t fail (Hi Mark H!)
    • GroundControl API: The Find Launchpad API now returns a list of connected devices (Hi Mike M!)
    • GroundControl API: Added a new command to evaluate & execute policies for a specific device, helpful if you just used our API to change something
    • Fixed an issue with some AirWatch deployments failing (included in GC 2.9.1)
    • Support for new Apple activation record responses (included in GC 2.9.1)
    • Fixed an error where GroundControl 2.9 would not recognize certain iOS devices (included in GC 2.9.1)

Known Issues

Unfortunately, we found a few unsquished bugs.

• • • Backups made from iOS 9.3 and above will fail to restore properly. Workaround: make your backups from sources with iOS 9.2  or earlier. They work fine. A fix is in testing now.
    • The MobileIron Cloud APIs may not complete 100% when deployed to 4 or more devices at once. Workaround: deploy to fewer devices at one time. A fix is in testing now.
    • We’ve disabled the device console after we discovered an error at the last minute. A fix is in testing now.
    • Enterprise App Installs turned out to be trickier than we expected, and it didn’t make it into this release. Coming in May!

Expect 2.10.1 in two weeks, with the first three fixes.

Action required: Please update your GroundControl Launchpad software to 2.9.1 to avoid device activation errors. Launchpads will automatically detect the update on launch.

Explanation: This morning we noticed a large number of errors with our customer deployments. These errors occurred during device activation. We traced the issue to a change Apple made in their activation responses this morning. We were able to update our Launchpad software to accommodate this change and have published a fix within 3 hours of the initial incident.

As you know, enterprise mobility today depends on complex interactions among a myriad systems: OS versions, MDM, DEP, AD, VPN, WiFi, etc. We believe the best practice we can achieve is transparent communication and good responsiveness to unexpected events. We hope we met your expectations today. If we have not, please write to me to let me know.

Aaron Freimark, CTO
& The GroundControl Team

We’ve upgraded your server to the latest, greatest, GroundControl 2.9. It’s a doozy. We’ve detailed the major features below.

GroundControl Server 2.9:

• • • Added the API for MobileIron Cloud, so GroundControl can assign devices to specific users (for you, Mike, Willie and Adam!)

      

    • Console Admins may now resend user invites and initiate the “forgot password” process from the Team tab in settings. Also invitations no longer expire, which will inspire cheers from nearly everyone.

    • We’ve renamed the existing roles to be more clear: “Console Admin,” “Console User,” and “Launchpad Only.”

      

    • Multi-tenancy: Our managed service provider customers may now link their organizations and easily switch among them (ask us for help to get started).

    • We added a new role “Launchpad user manager” — available on request — in case like some of our customers you have hundreds of users. (Hello Divy!)

    • GroundControl now uses the IP 198.2.135.249 for all SMTP email; please whitelist this IP to avoid spam traps.

    • We are more clear when MDM API credentials no longer work (MDM password changed, token expires, etc.).

    • The AirWatch integration now resets any device/user associations before enrollment.

GroundControl Launchpad 2.9:

• • • Launchpad 2.9 can be upgraded from the server admin console; however isn’t useful to you yet. You’ll need to install this version the old fashioned way, via sneakernet. When we release the next update in a few weeks you can push it out through the server.

    • “Reset registration” now is “Reset Launchpad” — and clears the cache, all preference overrides, login, etc.

    • More robust Launchpad startup checks: Is there more than one copy running? Is it running from the locked disk image? Does the server recognize me?

      

    • During an iOS install, devices no longer disappear from the status display.

    • Worked around some questionable behavior when pairing a device to a host, to avoid the dreaded “protection policy” errors.

    • Fixed a few more obscure crashes.

Coming in April: Enterprise App installation! Interested? Let us know if you want to beta-test this feature.

Squishing bugs left and right…and a couple of new features too

We’ve just released an update to GroundControl and it’s got a lot a fixes. New features too. For starters, if you are running the beta of iOS 9.3 (or the release version, eventually) you can now hide the built-in Apple apps. We don’t mean “hide them in a folder,” but like actually make them go POOF off the device screen.

Every app from Apple Maps to Voice Memos can be hidden…except Settings and Phone. Sorry folks, that’s an Apple restriction. If you want to hide those two too, we encourage you to file a bug with Apple.

We also added a new token for TIMESTAMP (thanks, Donald M!!). You can set the timezone as an offset from UTC, such as [TIMESTAMP-5] or [TIMESTAMP+1]. This way, you can place the last-time-deployed on the home screen.

Last item in the “new” category: You can now deploy payloads directly from the list of Launchpads.

And now for the list of bugs fixed:

• • • Launchpad List: New, more compact UI, with Launchpad Actions “Deploy Payload” and “Delete Launchpad” (more to come soon)
    • Launchpad List: Launchpad version now displays an actual version number, not just “needs update”
    • Launchpad Detail: Now shows an Launchpad IP address, the public one
    • Devices: Fixed sorting
    • Activity: Deployment duration is more accurate
    • Launchpad: Deployments will no longer unexpectedly trigger as the Launchpad app starts up
    • Launchpad: Fewer errors when updating iOS on multiple devices simultaneously (“Last operation checkpoint was…”)
    • Launchpad: Reduced the number of USB communication failures (“kAMDMuxConnectError”)
    • Launchpad: Increased activation timeout for cellular devices
    • Launchpad: Improved performance on memory-constrained or otherwise wimpy PCs, for example Lenovo tablets at a certain hospital in NY
    • Launchpad: Fixed Windows crashes related to CoreGraphics
    • Launchpad: Make the icon on Windows less invisible
    • AirWatch API: No more errors related to Smart Groups
    • AirWatch API: Payload now FAILS if attempting to register to an unknown user
    • AirWatch API: Test connection button works again after an AirWatch changed things

One Button is Too Many

We’ve gone and done something rash: we dismissed the Launchpad’s Start Service button. Just made it go away. A one-button app was simply too complex.

New instructions for GroundControl 2.8: Want to start the service? Launch the app. Want to exit the service? Exit the app. See how easy it is? This saves a step, and we’re all about saving steps. Auto-Start has been the #1 customer request for the last two months, and we’re happy to be delivering it.

“If you start me up I’ll never stop, never stop, never never never stop…”
— The Rolling Stones

Need help configuring your Mac or PC? Follow these instructions to set up auto-login and auto-launch.

Also…

• • • WiFi passwords are now masked with a hail of bullets •••••••• to deter shoulder surfers (thanks, Sara!)
    • Proxy servers may now be set on the Mac, just like Windows
    • A few rare Windows crashes now don’t
    • Added Custom Deployment Options — this new payload action allows us to beta test new features, without the cumbersome defaults commands

Got comments or questions or complaints? Email our customer success team at support@groundctl.com.

This release focuses on utility. We’re working hard to make GroundControl more useful for you.

Mac Launchpad Shows Device Statuses

The Mac Launchpad has caught up with its Windows sibling. The minimalist “Notification Log” has been sent to UI heaven (or the other place). In its place we have a significantly more useful display of connected devices, each with a real-time status display. It still isn’t beautiful, but at least it is much more functional.

Skip More Setup Screens

GroundControl 2.7 can now skip all the setup screens under certain conditions. What conditions you ask? I’m glad you asked.

• • • Include a backup to restore, and the backup must be iOS 9.2 or greater
    • Device must be iOS 9.2 or greater
    • Device can’t have Touch ID

This works on iPhone 5c and earlier, iPad Air 1 and earlier, iPad mini 2 and earlier, and both 5th and 6th generation iPod touch. (We are working on expanding the number of devices.)

Got AirWatch, Casper, or MobileIron Cloud? Turn on per-device VPP, and turn off Apple IDs. You now have true touchless device deployment with GroundControl.

(And a bonus: if all screens are skipped then settings in the backup like Location Services and iCloud are preserved.)

Monitor Device Console

GroundControl now allows you to monitor the console of any connected device. The console is a real-time stream of events from iOS. You may find it is a helpful tool for troubleshooting device issues, especially with your MDM and app installation.

You can find the console in the Launchpads tab of the Admin web interface. Hover over one of your devices to see the “Action” menu.

And more:

• • • Device exports now includes DEP status.
    • On Mac we now prevent the Photos app from always launching.
    • If you try to quit the Launchpad while a deployment is running, we’ll thoughtfully prompt you to wait.
    • The Device list paginates at 100 devices to be more efficient. Search still works for all devices though.
    • Minor UI improvements on Windows and OS X.
    • Fixed a few crashes.

Oh boy. So much to choose from! Where do we start?

All devices are now displayed in GroundControl

Our #1 support question today is: “Why can’t I see my device in GroundControl?” GroundControl has only shown “manageable” devices, meaning only erased or already-supervised-by-us devices. But that’s turned out to be unintuitive, so we are “resetting” the behavior (excuse the pun).Today’s release now displays ALL devices, even ones we can’t manage — yet. This should help you understand what’s going on. Here are some of the new statuses that you’ll see:

Enhanced Restore from Backup

GroundControl 2.6 delivers enhancements to the Restore from Backup action. Now, you can specify your restore image by filename. This allows you to use tokens in the filename, so that a single payload can be intelligent about the backup file it chooses.

We’ve also added an option to disable Backup Scrubbing on your restores. GroundControl will continue to clean up the backups you upload. We remove old wifi networks and many restrictions. By default we also remove any Apple ID you may have left in the backup, since you don’t want a single Apple ID being restored to all your devices. But in some cases you do want that Apple ID on all your devices, and now there is an option to preserve it.

NOTE: This feature was previously available as a hidden Launchpad override. That Launchpad setting has priority over the new payload option (so your deployments will continue to work). In order to begin using the new payload option, you must undo the Launchpad override.

Set AirWatch tags when you enroll devices

AirWatch provides a fantastic set of APIs for GroundControl to use. We can already set the AirWatch user and the organization group. And now we can set device tags too. (Thanks for the suggestion, Mark and Jordan.)

Currently we support setting tags only by ID, not by name. Follow these instructions to find your tag IDs.

Deploy to a device from the Launchpad list

When looking at a list of devices by Launchpad, you can now target a single device for deployment without leaving the screen. This may be particularly useful when using GroundControl to troubleshoot a remote device.

New conditions in Policies

We’ve extended Policies with several new conditions:

• • • Device erased state (erased or not)
    • Device battery level, so you can avoid updating the OS if battery is too low (just for you, David!)
    • Device Model, which is simply iPhone, iPad, or iPod. The original condition matching strings like “iPhone5,1” shall be known henceforth as “Device Model (detailed)”.

And More…..

• • • Improved reliability during restores and erases
    • The admin console is more responsive when working with lots of Launchpads
    • More efficient client-server messaging, reducing bandwidth and cpu load
    • Devices that are busy doing deployments can no longer be targeted for deployments (that would be destined to fail anyway)
    • We now encrypt assets stored in the cloud, such as backups, config profiles, etc.
    • On Mac: We have added the same two-step registration wizard as is on Windows, and we’ve added SAML support
    • Improvements to Gantry, our just-in-time, barcode-enabled provisioning system
    • Custom fields are now OK if you type them in the wRONg cAsE

Today we released GroundControl 2.5.3. This update improves reliability on the Mac and Windows Launchpad, and improves a few things on the server too.

GroundControl Launchpad 2.5.3

• • • During erase and restore, we wait more patiently for a device reboot.
    • We now correctly report that an activated DEP device must be erased before first use with GroundControl.
    • Worked around a frequent crash on Win32 caused by a bug in the latest Apple support libraries.
    • Fixed a condition where “The Launchpad did not acknowledge a deployment request.”

GroundControl Server 2.5.3

• • • Added a validation check for icon arrangements because they were too easy to make imperfect.
    • Improved the UI on the Token menu.
    • The dialogs for WiFi, Restore from Backup, and Add Configuration Profile actions now default to “Choose Existing.”
    • We no longer let you create custom fields with the same names as our device fields. Because that was really confusing.
    • Fixed a bug where device sequential numbering wouldn’t behave as expected when the device name included other custom fields. (Thanks B!)
    • New features for the Webhook (pre-deploy):
      • Added a checkbox to halt deployment on HTTP error
      • Added a checkbox to parse JSON-style responses into device custom fields — use this to look up data from an external source for use in GroundControl.
    • Removed the limits on policy-based deployments when your device count is near the license count.
    • Remembered to include supervision options during Erase and Icon Arrangements.
    • Reduced confusion when the “Enroll in MDM” was selected, and there are no MDM servers configured, and the user had no permission to change MDM servers. OK, so that never happened, but now it never will.
    • Device exports now include custom device info data, such as supervision status.
    • We now encrypt our data volumes in the cloud.
    • Added the ability to rotate the encryption keys that protect your supervision certificates, on request.
    • Improved the instructions for new users evaluating GroundControl.
    • Reverted our API to the original syntax for CustomField values, because it was more useful (albeit uglier) than the “improvement.” That’s for you, David.
    • Our API now ignores out-of-spec fields, instead of getting confused by them.

The Launchpad update is once again optional.

This morning we released GroundControl 2.5.1 for Server, Mac Launchpad and Windows Launchpad. The release contains mostly bug fixes, including:

• • • Support for iPad Pro
    • Fixed a failure for setting some Apple IDs on the Windows Launchpad
    • Resolved the error “The Launchpad did not acknowledge a deployment request”
    • During a deployment, don’t play hide-and-seek with devices on the Windows Launchpad or the admin Launchpads screen
    • Support for setting Apple IDs on iOS 7 devices
    • SAML companies no longer invite new users to set a password they will never use
    • We now prohibit SAML logins from alternate domain
    • Resolved a reconnect error on the server during trying times
    • Fixed a crash that could occur if a device is disconnected
    • Fixed a potential crash due to DLL issues on Win 32
    • Improved support to prepare for the Clear Passcode action

We’ve just released GroundControl Server & Launchpad 2.5. There’s a lot packed into this release, as you can see below. 

• • • The Windows Launchpad registration process has changed somewhat, in order to support proxies and SAML; see the image below
    • New Action: Unenroll from MDM, for those times you are transitioning from one server to another
    • “Add Device” API command
    • Better error messages when a deployment fails, for example due to activation lock, icon arrangement formatting, Launchpad not responding, deployment in progress…
    • The “Enroll in MDM” action, on AirWatch and MobileIron, is better at preparing your MDM server so enrollments are more predictable
    • Set Wallpaper succeeds more reliably on iPods and other slower devices
    • Set language now works for languages besides English <eye roll>
    • Resolved several popular crashes and “device disconnected” bugs
    • iTunes has been a prerequisite on Windows; when iTunes is not present we display an error message and exit, instead of crashing
    • Devices in recovery mode now trigger policies only when they are done with recovery mode
    • Retired devices are no longer counted against licenses, as you should expect
    • Improved handling of license limits so we don’t stifle our most enthusiastic customers
    • ESC now works more like you would expect; at least it works less like you wouldn’t expect
    • A preview of our Just-In-Time device provisioning system with barcode integration — please ask us about it

What’s not in the release? We had planned to add a new “Clear Passcode” payload action. But it turns out that this feature needs a bit more time in the QA oven before it’s fully baked. Expect it next week.

Tonight we released Launchpad 2.4 for Mac and Windows. This is an optional upgrade. The server, which was updated last week, is staying put. Here’s what’s new and amazing:

• • • New Payload Action: Set icon positions. Big Deal! See below!
    • Warning when iTunes is running — Don’t run iTunes at the same time as GroundControl. Just don’t.
    • Smaller font size on iPods and other narrower screens. (That’s for you, Jordan.)
    • Support for new iOS devices, including ones we don’t know about yet.
    • Fixed some deployment errors, especially “Cannot locate required device.”
    • Initial support for Launchpad SAML authentication
    • Preliminary support for running the Launchpad as a true Windows Service.

We wrote about two “known issues” last week, and these still apply: We’re still working on passcode-protected devices and removing the setup screens in iOS 9. As always, please reach out if you have any specific questions or requests.

Last night we upgraded the GroundControl Server to 2.4. You can continue using Launchpad 2.3 for Mac and Windows. We will have a Launchpad update next week.

Here’s what’s new tonight:

• • • Device Statuses: Active, Pending, Retired — you may now “Retire” a device that has been lost or stolen. This frees up your license so you can use it on another device. New devices you upload via spreadsheet are “Pending” until their first deployment. That leaves “Active” devices as the only ones that count towards your licenses.
    • Audit Log — A new item in the “Welcome” menu shows an audit log of all operations performed in the management console.
    • Small improvements to UI throughout management console.

We have a couple of known issues too, that you should be aware of:

• • 1. GroundControl does not properly interact with passcode-protected devices. We expect to deliver automatic unlocking by the end of this month.
    2. A few white setup screens sometimes show even if you asked us to hide them. We’re working on removing these entirely.

We pushed a small update to the server this morning to fix some bugs.

Changes in GroundControl 2.3.1:

• • • Policy deployments now fail when using an obsolete version of the Launchpad
    • Launchpads with custom field data weren’t deletable. Now they are.
    • MDM settings couldn’t be saved on first attempt, but could on the second try.
    • Fixed an out of sync caching issue that could cause a deployment failure
    • The server now gracefully accepts an empty device removed message from the Launchpad
    • Fixed a bug triggered when deleting a custom field used in policies and payloads
    • Edited some of the payload instruction text

Our new release of GroundControl arrived today at 7 AM New York City time. You will need to update your Launchpads at that time to continue deploying. (I find quit and re-launch is the easiest way to trigger auto-updates.) But there’s some great stuff in here, for example:

AirWatch MDM: Assign Device to User

GroundControl already allows for zero-tap deployments of shared devices. In GroundControl 2.3 — and for the first time in any product — we fully automate the corporate-owned personal device. You can now use GroundControl to assign each device to an AirWatch user, including Active Directory users, and you don’t need to know the user’s password or tap on the screen.

Simply load up a spreadsheet with device serial numbers and AD usernames, and GroundControl will do the rest. We’ll even enter the user’s name on the device lock screen, to make sure Susan doesn’t receive Luke’s iPad.

Note: Device Assignment is currently available only to AirWatch users. (Want this for other MDM providers too? Let us know.)

Fixed a crash when installing Apple ID

GroundControl 2.2 is arriving today! These last three weeks have been very busy for our daring and dashing development team. There are three new payload actions and a barrel of bug fixes and general improvements.

UPDATE REQUIRED: Because the new features won’t work with older Launchpads, we are requiring a Launchpad update. If you quit and relaunch the Launchpad (after the release of course), the update should be detected and installed.

New Payload Items

• • • Set Timezone — The Set Timezone payload allows you tell devices to turn off “Set Timezone Automatically” and set a static timezone. This is especially useful if devices are provisioned in one location but shipped elsewhere.
    • Add Custom XML — “Add Custom XML” is an advanced feature that allows you to deploy configuration profiles. But unlike the Configuration Profile payload item, Custom XML profiles allow token substitution. Because of this, profiles may be personalized to the launchpad and device during deployment.
    • Send Webhook — GroundControl can notify external systems after successful deployments. This may be used to send data to asset management or order management systems.

Bug Fixes & Improvements

• • • Compatibility with Windows 10
    • View live deployment progress and errors from Windows Launchpad — coming to Mac soon, too
    • Longer timeout (4-5 minutes) for MDM enrollment in case WiFi isn’t quite ready
    • “Launchpad Only” users can see their launchpad status, but not the status of other users’ launchpads
    • Removed the “can’t connect” warning on Launchpads when we really can connect
    • Better compatibility with Windows 7, especially .NET 3.5
    • Fix for sequential numbers in device naming when using device tokens
    • We now support proxies on the Mac Launchpad
    • We’ve changed a few built-in tokens, from [SERIAL] to [Device Serial], for example; we’ve updated your payloads too, to be nice
    • The admin console logs you out after 1 hour of inactivity
    • Setup screens are now skipped when restoring a backup, too (although newer devices may still show a couple of screens)
    • Set Lock Screen works more dependably
    • We now understand when you set a device name as part of a multiple-payload policy
    • MDM integration is now significantly easier to find
    • We taught the Asset library about subtraction
    • Improvements to proxy support for on-premises customers

Today we are releasing GroundControl 2.1, which brings a long list of new features and some fine bug fixes to boot. Here’s a quick list, but read below for pretty pictures.

• • • Set and personalize Lock and Home screens
    • Set supervision options to allow/disallow pairing, and show/skip setup screens
    • Improved Payload Detail view
    • Purge stale items from the cache every day
    • Support for enterprise WiFi networks, via configuration profiles
    • Prevent the Mac & PC from sleeping
    • Fixed the “Header Too Long” errors
    • Proxy fallback to allow proxy exceptions to our server
    • More detail in deployment progress messages, including progress messages during device recovery
    • Logins are now case insensitive

IMPORTANT: You must update to GroundControl Launchpad 2.1 to continue deployments. If you are on 2.0.x you’ll get a friendly notification that the update is available. If you are still using 1.7.x you will need to log into the GroundControl console and click Launchpad tab to download the update.

This has been a huge update for our rockstar dev team, and it’s possible we missed something. As always, if you have any questions or issues with this update, please email support@groundctl.com and we’ll do our best to help.

We’ve just released GroundControl Launchpad version 2.0.4 for BOTH Windows and Mac, to all our customers and trial accounts.

The Windows version has complete feature parity with the Mac version and in fact shares 95%+ of the code. That’s why the first release is “2.0.4” and not “1.0”. Those features include:

• • • Device Supervision for corporate management
    • Update iOS efficiently and quickly
    • Full compatibility with Apple’s Device Enrollment Program
    • Support for device recovery mode (NEW!)
    • Touch-free MDM enrollment with deep MDM API control
    • Set background, lock screen, app icon arrangement
    • Set device name to include asset tag, store number, sequential numbers, etc.
    • Set device language and locale

If you aren’t yet trying out GroundControl, please reach out to us and we can set you up.

Improvements

• • • Support for Recovery mode devices — this used to be a hidden setting, but now it is switched on for everyone
    • Additional support for proxies — yet still incomplete
    • Improvements to make the asset downloading and unzipping way more efficient
    • Support for seeding the cache with IPSWs
    • Prevent multiple copies from running on Windows
    • Fixed a unfortunately common crash when completing a deployment or updating iOS (hello Nick & Elias & Keith)
    • Windows installer allows both user-level and admin-level installs (thanks, Kevin)
    • Improvements to DEP compatibility, including with iOS 9 beta

• • • Saving a payload without a name now shows an error, so you know what to do
    • If you forget to add “https” to your MDM hostname we now add it for you, instead of spinning like a whirling dervish
    • Fixed role changes to Team setup
    • Cleaned out some older legacy code
    • Upgraded the server app framework to Play 2.4

Improvements

• • • More MDM API error logging
    • More information on device listing on Launchpad tab

Bug Fixes

• • • Fixed issue that occasionally resulted in AW profile to be deleted after enrollment

Launchpad for Windows 2.0 “Beta 1” available

After months of hard work, we’ve released our Launchpad for Windows “Beta 1.” The Windows beta works the same great way the Mac version has been working: Erase, restore, set name, add WiFi, enroll in MDM, MDM APIs, set language, and set Apple ID. (One exception, “Update iOS,” will be added in a few days.) As you would expect from us, supervised devices may be moved back and forth between the Mac and Windows Launchpads seamlessly.

We were testing this version all last week at WWDC and MobileIron’s Mobile First Conference in San Francisco, and it shined. Aren’t we proud parents? Now it’s time to test it out with a much wider group — you.

Want to try the Windows Launchpad beta? Please drop us a note and we’ll switch on the download for you. It will be right there in the Launchpads tab for download.

Mac Launchpad 2.0: Deploy more devices quicker

Our two platforms — Mac and Windows — share nearly everything, so the Mac gets a lot of improvements too. This new code base was redesigned from the ground up to be quicker, more stable, and more resilient than the old.

What does this mean? If you need to, GroundControl now handles up to 45 devices on a single Mac. And individual deployments are just a bit quicker and just a bit more robust.

GroundControl Launchpad 2.0 for Mac is recommended for everyone. Your Launchpad should prompt for an update on launch.

Bug Fixes

• • • Some multiple payload policies with incorrect start/stop has been fixed
    • Link to custom fields on device and launchpad tabs fixed/added
    • London (GMT) added to timezone options

Improvements

• • • More informative failure messages
    • Fixed column widths on activity screen

Bug Fixes

• • • Fixed 2 issues causing false fails on MDM API integration

We pushed a small update to the server this morning to fix some bugs. The Launchpad hasn’t changed; it is holding steady at 1.7.2. But expect a new Launchpad version 2.0 (ahem “Windows”) within the next 3 weeks.

Changes in GroundControl 1.9.1:

• • • No more whack-a-mole when selecting devices for manual deployment
    • If you rename a custom field, we rename the tokens
    • Fixed some post-deployment errors with the MDM APIs
    • Device export now includes model & iOS version
    • A new view on the Launchpad detail page shows additional device info — we’ll be refining this in the weeks to come

Bug Fixes

• • • System no longer allows backup files with .zip extensions to upload
    • When renaming custom fields, payload tokens are renamed as well
    • Fixed some post-deployment errors with the MDM APIs

We’ve been busy little beavers. In the three weeks since our last release, our dev team has added a trove of new features:

• • • New MDM setup in Settings, simplifying MDM setup
    • AirWatch APIs — “auto-delete device” and set organization group
    • MobileIron APIs — auto-retire device and assign labels
    • Launchpad custom fields for increased automation
    • “Tokens” widget on many payload fields
    • Team member roles, “admin”, “user” and the long-awaited “launchpad only”
    • New home and support pages

We could write pages about each of these features, and we have! Please check out our new documentation.

Bug Fixes

• • • Fixed bug in assets and actions deployment detail display; all items now displaying
    • On AirWatch integration deployments, server no longer reporting false fails

Improvements

• • • Reduced third party dependency for iOS updates (related to preflight error messages)
    • More tolerant client-server communication to prevent occasional deployment failures

Bug Fixes

• • • Fixed an issue caused by deleting a device

Bug Fixes

• • • Policy page now displays payload
    • Password reset page no longer loops
    • Fixed Launchpad delete error

Better data, better visibility

While our Launchpad devs have been hard at work on the Windows port (more on that below), we’ve been continuing to roll out improvements to the GroundControl admin console. At the top of the list (and screen) is a new tab bar.

We’ve renamed “History” to “Activity,” to more accurately reflect how you are using the feature. Seems you all are much more curious about what is happening NOW. To help there, “Activity” displays a badge indicating the number of active deployments (“4″ in the image above). 

We’ve given the Activity window a facelift, bringing the information you need right up front. This starts with a real-time display of deployment progress.

We’ve tried to keep the display focused on data you need to know for large deployments. For example, iOS versions are super easy to read.

The other big change to the tab bar is “Devices.” Previously kept in the corner (corner menu that is), Devices has earned its place on top. Why the change? If you have to ask, then you haven’t tried Custom Fields.

Custom Fields are simple but incredibly powerful. Set up as many fields as you need to describe your own organization’s needs: asset tag, building ID, country, teacher, color, moon phase, or whatever you can think. Then populate the data either one device at a time, or via CSV upload (coming soon: a custom field API).

Once entered, you can use the data to trigger Policies and as tokens within Payloads. Set a device name to its asset tag, or trigger an erase based on project name. Need help coming up with a solution? Just ask us.

And there is more…

• • • A new “Settings” dialog to contain the settings sprawl
    • A redesigned “Update iOS” dialog that is 50% less perplexing
    • “Asset Library” is now simply “Assets” to save characters

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Windows Launchpad on Track

You haven’t been seeing updates to the Mac Launchpad recently because the entire dev team has been focused on porting the Launchpad service to Windows. Over the last two weeks we passed some significant milestones: the core device services are communicating with iOS devices, and we now have the user interface.

There are several more components to port, and we have lots and lots of testing planned. But we are on schedule for a release in about 60 days.

We will be looking for people to test the new Windows Launchpad when it enters beta in a few more weeks. If you’d like to help us out — and get an early peek — please let us know.

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Thank you Bretford!

Finally, a huge THANK YOU to Bretford Manufacturing for hosting us during the HIMSS healthcare tech conference last week. Their USB charge-and-sync products are among the most dependable in the world, and work great with GroundControl. (I’m particularly fond of the D20, below.)

Improvements

• • • AirWatch API Integration preview
    • Clarified some language in the “Add WiFi” dialog

Bug Fixes

• • • Save policy button now displays error message if attempting to save policy without having specified at least one payload

This morning we upgraded our servers to GroundControl 1.7.1. The release almost exclusively contains rather dull server-side bug fixes and improvements. But there is also one Launchpad update…see below for the details.

Improvements

• • • You’ll have a much easier time uploading a CSV list of devices. We now identify columns by the title in the first row of the file. All files should contain a “serial#” column, and other columns for your custom fields. Unrecognized columns will be ignored. The order isn’t important anymore. The “Label” column is no longer required. The device export is in the same format as the import now, so you can use that as a template.
    • The error message is clearer when when improperly uploading a list of devices. The instructions are clearer too so you are less likely to see the new error message.
    • Added a bunch of new timezones in “My Account” so our friends in Phoenix who don’t observe Daylight Savings Time (Hi John!) will see the correct time.

• • • When you set device name, history was showing the old device name, not the new device name, which was the opposite of what everyone expected. Now we show the new device name.
    • History now shows a spinning icon to indicate in-progress deployments.
    • Spruced up the “Add an item” payload menu, to get it ready for a few more “items” to come in the near future.
    • When deploying, we now sort the Launchpad list by “last seen,” which is hopefully less exciting than the random order we used to use
    • Tweaked some of the explanatory text throughout the system to make it more explanatory

Fixes

• • • WebSockets now does keep alive.
    • When setting names with sequential numbers, numbers are more consistent across multiple Launchpads.

Hello WebSockets!

Launchpad 1.7.1 brings a big improvement to our client-server networking. We have changed the default messaging transport from AMQP (port 5672) to Secure WebSockets (port 443). This change only affects new Launchpads. Existing Launchpads remain on AMQP. Really we think you won’t notice.

If you really want to use websockets on an existing Launchpad, do this: (1) stop the Launchpad service, (2) select “Reset Registration…” from the “GroundControl Launchpad” menu, then (3) register the Launchpad again.

Looking Ahead

Our Launchpad development team has been making great strides towards a Windows PC release in approximately three months. I’m happy to say it is on track.

On the server side, we will be releasing a few new features over the next 3-4 weeks:

• • • MDM API support
    • Live activity monitoring in the “History” tab
    • Easier device administration
    • Multi-tenancy features for service providers
    • Custom branding

We are happy to let you try previews for any of these. You can also test the Apple ID feature and recovery mode support. Just let us know you are curious. We love curious!

New Features

• • • iOS updates! When you want them and super-efficient, in the depot and in the field
    • Sparkle: Automatically detect and install new releases of the Launchpad software with a single click
    • Really nifty crash reporting that sends us your log files if you want, but we hope you never need to use this
    • New and clearer terms of use

Bug Fixes

• • • “Erase” used to also supervise; now erase is erase, the whole erase and nothing but the erase
    • Skip Touch ID and Apple Pay setup screens if you are lucky enough to have newer devices
    • The server now pays more attention to Launchpad messages to avoid premature timeouts
    • Superior stability with simultaneous deployments
    • Spreadsheet uploads now removes extra spaces from serial numbers, because serial numbers never should have spaces
    • Fixed power off with iOS 7 devices
    • Fixed some dialogs to fit better on smaller screens (looking at you, device inventory)

Bug Fixes

• • • Remove profile works for signed profiles
    • Device numbering works correctly across Launchpads within company

We have released two small but potent features. No Launchpad update is needed, these are server changes only. And that’s pretty darn convenient as our Launchpad developers are hard at work on some BIG new things, coming in the next few weeks.

Custom device fields, just about everywhere.

We’ve added support for custom device fields throughout the system. And since GroundControl is being used in so many different industries, we let you decide what to call your data. Want an asset tag to be associated with your device? Or a building number? Or a department? You name it, we can store it.

We’ve worked hard to integrate support for custom fields deeply into the system. For example:

• • • Upload a spreadsheet to associate store IDs with serial numbers
    • Policies: if the province is Quebec, set the language to French Canadian
    • Payloads: Set device name to its asset tag
    • Coming soon: use custom fields when setting the Apple ID too

Set up custom fields in the top-right user menu; add as many as you like.

Keep it DRY (just like this post) with Multiple Payloads

Policies have been key to GroundControl’s ability to automate your deployment. In our latest server release, policies can now deploy several payloads sequentially.

Use a base payload for common settings, then layer thin payloads.

Big deal? Yes. Because now you can keep it DRY — “Don’t Repeat Yourself.” Keep common assets together in a base payload, and split off customizations into their own payloads. It’s the difference between monolithic and thin imaging, but for iOS. Your payloads become more logical, and much easier to keep up to date.

This is a pretty powerful weapon, so make sure you aim carefully. For example, you can deploy an iOS backup, and THEN erase the device, but that would be silly. Order matters.

Improvements

• • • Substantial improvements in processing stability and efficiency
    • Detect and alert on bad WiFi
    • More informative and instructive error messaging
    • Multiple WiFi networks with same SSID are now supported
    • Deployment duration is now displayed on deployment details
    • Default policy display improvements

Bug Fixes

• • • Restores from backups made on supervised devices are now supported
    • Auto-fill WiFi name works correctly

Improvements

• • • History now has search box instead of filters
    • Minor “tip” copy change on Device Inventory page

Bug Fixes

• • • Device Naming now works as expected when using multiple Launchpads
    • Clone Payload wtih Set Language now works as expected
    • Fixed/improved usability of Launchpad tags
    • Launchpad version is now reported as exported in deployment history

We are pleased to announce GroundControl v1.5. This update includes the following:

New Features

• • • Payloads: a new payload option to Set Language and Locale— this lets you use a single backup all over the world
    • Payloads: WiFi networks can be set to expire; iOS devices will forget the network ever existed (useful for MDM enrollment!)

Improvements

• • • Payloads: better WiFi UI (say that five times fast)
    • Deployments: more flexibility mixing and matching iOS backups and iOS versions
    • Deployments: MDM will now retry multiple times while the device connects to WiFi, making MDM enrollment much more reliable
    • Deployments: more reliable iPhone activations that retry when needed
    • Policies: more options for “Device OS” conditions
    • History: deployment progress detail is much more verbose and has a lot more words telling you what is going on 🙂

Bug fixes

• • • Deployments: iPhone erase fixed for devices running iOS 8.1 and above
    • Deployments: Fixed rare possibility of corrupted assets
    • History: Clicking “Log-1” no longer unexpectedly closes the dialog
    • Launchpad: The Launchpad Mac client is now much more tolerant of changing network conditions

GroundControl users: please remember to download and install this new minimum build of Launchpad v1.5. You can find the app when you log into your GroundControl account. And do let us know what you think of these new features and improvements.

Any questions or feedback? Please write us at support@groundctl.com. Thanks!

New Features

• • • A new payload option to erase already-provisioned iPhones and iPads. (iPod support is coming soon.)
    • Optionally power off a device at the end of the deployment.
    • More robust MDM enrollment: MDM can now be deployed simultaneously with WiFi. GroundControl will install WiFi first, then retry MDM until WiFi is connected.

Bug fixes

• • • Minor UI bug fixes and copy edits.

Known Issues

• • • Power off works on iOS 7.1.x even though server indicates failure.
    • The “Erase” feature is not yet supported for iPods. (iPods erase slowly so we need to slow down our code.)

Bug Fixes

• • • Removing a WiFi network created in UI now works as expected
    • Saving a Policy where the condition is a Device label now works as expected

New Features

• • • Supervision keys and certificates are now created and maintained in the cloud so devices are fully portable to every Launchpad within an organization
    • Users can now deploy to individual devices (rather than just to Launchpads)

Improvements

• • • More robust information on Dashboard
    • Combined Active and Preloaded Device tabs and enabled device purge
    • Added “policies enabled” check mark indicator on policies tab
    • Enabled optional system message on login
    • Added “Acknowledgements” to the Launchpad Help menu

Bug fixes

• • • Launchpads no longer crash when no/bad network

Server version 1.2

New Features

• • • Improved device naming: numbers may now begin at “1”
    • Serial numbers are captured for pre-loaded devices instead of the UDIDs
    • Website changes for consistent confirmation dialogs and error messages
    • Support for iOS 8.1
    • Support for signed configuration profiles

Bug fixes

• • • A deleted asset no longer shows in the Edit Payload view
    • An export of a filtered history now shows the filtered list and not the entire list
    • History now shows logs for all assets during a multi-assets deployment
    • Users can now clone payloads containing ‘Set Device Name’ or ‘Remove from Device’ profiles

Client version 1.2

New Features

• • • Reset the Launchpad registration via a pulldown in the File menu
    • Clear Asset Cache via a pulldown in the File menu
    • Support for iOS 8.1

Bug fixes

• • • Support for many more iOS backup files
    • Clear error message to prevent iOS 7 backups from restoring to iOS 8 devices, and vice-versa

New Features and Improvements

• • • Payload items “Set Device Name” and “Remove Configuration Profile”
    • Improved error reporting
    • On-screen tips
    • Speedier Launchpad device handling

New Features

• • • Patched servers against “Shellshock’ vulnerability.
    • Website changes mainly video, FAQ and copy changes. Detailed instructions have also been added on several pages.

Bug fixes

• • • A payload was displayed as ‘Inactive’ if it was set in a policy as well as set as the ‘Default Payload’. The current version displays it as ‘Active’ to indicate that it is used in a Policy.

New Features

• • • GroundControl now shows deployments by device. Previously, history showed by deployment only. So if a user had multiple devices attached, there would be only one log displayed making it impossible for a user to conclude where the deployment passed/failed by looking at the history logs. Now every device has a log in the history view.
    • For customers who would like to evaluate GroundControl, we can now set up trials for 5 active devices that will expire in 30 days.
    • When an account expires, the user will receive email notifications if deploying automatically (via policy).
    • Warnings are displayed to users in the GroundControl browser if the company has reached a maximum number of devices.

Bug fixes

• • • Users can now export a history report in a CSV format.
    • Users can now delete policies that were previously used for deployment.
    • Users can now view their account from ‘My Account’ menu.