iPhone in Automated Device Enrollment but not in Manage tab and locked with old passcodeSolved

If the iPhone is only visible under Automated Device Enrollment and not under the Manage tab, it has not completed enrollment into Hexnode yet. At this stage, the device is only assigned for enrollment through Apple Business Manager or Apple School Manager. Because the device has not completed enrollment, Hexnode does not have an active management channel with it. Remote actions such as Restart, Wipe, or Clear Passcode cannot be sent from the portal until the device finishes setup and appears under Manage. For a locked iPhone in this state, the reusable approach is to erase the device manually using recovery mode. After the restore, the device should return to the factory setup screen. Once it connects to Wi-Fi during setup, it will contact Apple’s activation servers, detect the Automated Device Enrollment assignment, and proceed through the MDM enrollment flow.

That makes sense. We do not have Macs available, only Windows PCs. Can this still be done without Apple Configurator? Also, I’m worried that if we just reboot it, it will go straight back to asking for the passcode.

A normal restart will not remove the passcode. The device must be restored through recovery mode. You can do this from a Windows computer using iTunes or the Apple Devices app:

1. Install and open iTunes or the Apple Devices app on the Windows PC.
2. Connect the iPhone or iPad to the PC using a USB cable.
3. Put the device into recovery mode:
   • iPhone 8 or later and iPads without a Home button: press and quickly release Volume Up, press and quickly release Volume Down, then press and hold the Side/Power button until the recovery mode screen appears.
   • iPhone 7 or 7 Plus: press and hold Volume Down and Power/Side together until the recovery mode screen appears.
   • Older iPhones or iPads with a Home button: press and hold Home and Power/Side together until the recovery mode screen appears.
4. On the Windows PC, choose Restore when prompted. The Restore option erases the device, including the old passcode. After the restore completes, the device should boot to the initial setup screen. When it connects to Wi-Fi, it should detect the Automated Device Enrollment profile and begin MDM enrollment instead of returning to the previous passcode prompt.

I’ve had to do this with a few supervised iPads before. The key point is using Restore in recovery mode, not just force restarting the device. Once the device reached the Hello screen and joined Wi-Fi, the remote management screen appeared automatically because it was still assigned in Automated Device Enrollment.

Understood. So the device must be restored from recovery mode using Windows, then it should enroll again during setup because it is already assigned through Automated Device Enrollment. That clears up the confusion.