ADE supervised iPads stop checking in: refresh APNs without Apple Account sign-inSolved

For supervised iPads enrolled through ADE, MDM communication is woken up through Apple Push Notification service (APNs). Hexnode sends an APNs wake-up notification, and the device then checks in with the Hexnode server to process pending commands.

An Apple Account is not required for ADE enrollment or for Hexnode MDM sync. However, signing into an Apple Account can cause iPadOS to re-authenticate with Apple services and re-establish its persistent APNs connection. That can make it appear as if Apple Account sign-in is required, even though the actual MDM channel still depends on APNs connectivity, device internet access, and the installed MDM profile.

You can try these supported ways to refresh communication without Apple Account sign-in:

1. From the Hexnode portal, run Scan Device on the affected iPad. This sends an APNs wake-up notification and can trigger a fresh check-in if the device is online.
2. On the device, toggle Airplane Mode ON, wait around 10 seconds, then turn it OFF. This forces iPadOS to re-establish network connectivity, including the persistent APNs connection.
3. Open the Hexnode app on the iPad and swipe down to refresh, if the device is physically accessible.

Also verify the basics for stable APNs communication:

• The device has working Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity.
• No VPN, firewall, or network filtering rule is blocking Apple or Hexnode communication.
• Date and time are correct, preferably with Set Automatically enabled, because SSL/TLS communication can fail if the device time is inaccurate.

I tried Scan Device on one of the affected iPads from the portal and the check-in time changed to now. So that seems to wake it up. Does the same portal action work if the device is already marked inactive and deployed at another site? I don’t always have physical access to these iPads.

One of our iPads has been inactive for more than a month and the scan action is still pending. Is there anything else that can be done remotely to make it active again?

If a device has not checked in for a long period and remote actions continue to remain Pending, Hexnode cannot force it online remotely. The device must first reconnect to the internet and receive the APNs wake-up notification. For that device, the practical recovery options are:

• Confirm the iPad is powered on.
• Confirm it is connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data.
• Open the Hexnode app and swipe down to refresh, if someone has physical access.
• Toggle Airplane Mode off and on to refresh the device network stack.

Once the device reaches APNs and checks in with Hexnode, the pending action status should update and the Last Seen timestamp should refresh.

Is there a way to temporarily mark a test iPad as inactive so we can validate this process before it happens again in the field?

There is no direct option in the Hexnode portal to manually force a specific device into the Inactive state.

If you need to test inactivity behavior, you can adjust the portal-wide inactivity threshold from Admin > General Settings > Inactivity Settings, then change it back after testing. This setting applies to the portal overall, not to a single device or device group. Devices usually become inactive naturally when they stop checking in due to being offline, powered off, on an unstable network, or no longer able to communicate through the MDM channel.