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iOS Device Supervision: Core Differences in Management (Supervised vs. Unsupervised)

Supervision is a critical device state for corporate-owned Apple devices. It grants the MDM solution (Hexnode UEM) extensive administrative control that is unavailable on default (unsupervised) devices or those enrolled via simpler methods like User Enrollment (BYOD).

This document outlines the key differences in security, restrictions, and remote actions based on the device’s supervision status.

Core Differences in Management Control

The primary difference lies in the level of control the organization maintains over the device and the management profile itself.

Control Aspect	Unsupervised Device	Supervised Device (Corporate-Owned)
MDM Profile Removal	Users can manually remove the MDM profile via Settings at any time.	MDM profile is non-removable by the user.
Enrollment Method	Typically Profile Installation, Self-Enrollment, or User Enrollment.	Must be enrolled via Automated Device Enrollment (ADE) or Apple Configurator.
Activation Lock Bypass	MDM cannot manage or bypass Activation Lock.	MDM can remotely clear the Activation Lock, ensuring the device remains manageable.
Restrictions	Limited set of basic restrictions (e.g., passcode complexity).	Unlocks an extensive set of advanced restrictions (e.g., disabling iMessage, AirDrop, etc.).

Remote Actions Comparison

The availability of Hexnode’s one-time remote actions on iOS devices vary based on its supervision status.

Listed below are the remote actions available for iOS devices in Hexnode UEM.

Compare remote actions supported on supervised and unsupervised

Category	Feature	Supervised	Unsupervised (Device Enrollment)	Unsupervised (User Enrollment)
Scanning & Monitoring	Scan Device	✔	✔	✔
	Scan Device Location(if enabled)	✔	✔	✔
	Scan for Apps	✔	✔	✔
Device Control	Power off Device	✔ (iOS 10.3 or later)	✖	✖
	Restart Device	✔ (iOS 10.3 or later)	✖	✖
	Disenroll Device	✔	✔	✔
Security	Lock Device	✔	✔	✔
	Wipe Device	✔	✔	✖
	Clear Password	✔	✔	✖
	Remote Ring	✔(iOS 10.3 or later)	✖	✖
	Enable Lost Mode	✔ (iOS 9.3 or later)	✖	✖
	Disable Lost Mode	✔ (iOS 9.3 or later: only when lost mode is enabled)	✖	✖
	Clear Activation Lock	✔(iOS 7.1 or later)	✖	✖
Updates	Update OS	✔ Note: On devices with versions prior to iOS 10.3, ADE enrollment and supervision are mandatory to execute this action. Update OS can be executed on supervised iOS devices running later versions even if they were not enrolled via ADE.	✖	✖
Applications	Install Application	✔	✔	✔
Applications	Uninstall Application	✔	✔	✔
Deployments	Initiate Automation	✔	✔	✔
Edit	Rename Device	✔ (iOS 5.0 or later)	✖	✖
	Set Friendly Name	✔	✔	✔
	Edit Device Attributes	✔	✔	✔
	Change Owner	✔	✔	✖
	Change Ownership	✔	✔	✖
Policies & Accounts	Associate Policy	✔	✔	✔
Groups & Domains	Add devices to group	✔	✔	✔
Kiosk(only when the Kiosk policy is applied)	Enable Kiosk mode	✔ (iOS 9.3 or later)	✖	✖
Kiosk(only when the Kiosk policy is applied)	Disable Kiosk mode	✔ (iOS 9.3 or later)	✖	✖
Network	Update eSIM (iOS 13.0 or later)	✔	✔	✔
	Enable Personal Hotspot	✔	✔	✖
	Disable Personal Hotspot	✔	✔	✖
	Enable Data Roaming	✔(iOS 5.0 or later)	✔	✖
	Disable Data Roaming	✔(iOS 5.0 or later)	✔	✖
Others	Broadcast Message	✔	✔	✔
	Hexnode App Logs	✔	✔	✖
	Delete Location History	✔	✔	✔
	Export Device Details	✔	✔	✔
	Clear media	✔	✔	✔

Policies Comparison

The following policies are available to configure for iOS devices:

Compare policies supported on supervised and unsupervised devices

Category	Feature	Supervised	Unsupervised (Device Enrollment)	Unsupervised (User Enrollment)
	Passcode	✔	✔	✔
Hexnode Business Container	Business Container	✔	✔	✔
Hexnode Business Container	Hexnode Email	✔	✔	✔
App Management	Required Apps	Installs silently	Installs on user confirmation	Installs on user confirmation
	Application Blocklisting/Allowlisting (iOS 9.3+)	Blocklisted apps which are already installed will be hidden.	Device is marked as non-compliant if a blocklisted app is already installed on the device.	Cannot blocklist apps
	App Catalog	✔	✔	✔
	Web Clips	✔	✔	✔
	App Notifications	✔	✖	✖
	App Configurations	✔	✖	✖
Network	Wi-Fi	✔	✔	✔
	VPN (Except VPN Always On)	✔	✔	✔
	VPN Always On	✔	✖	✖
	Per- App VPN	✔	✔	✔
	VPN Always On	✔	✖	✖
	APN	✔	✔	✖
	Network Slicing (iOS 17+)	✔	✖	✖
	Network Relay (iOS 17+)	✔	✖	✖
Security	Extensible SSO (iOS 13+)	✔	✖	✖
	SCEP	✔	✔	✔
	Certificates	✔	✔	✔
	Global HTTP Proxy	✔	✖	✖
	Web Content Filtering	✔	✖	✖
	Unmarked Email Domains (Managed Domains)	✔	✔	✖
	Managed Web Domains (Managed Domains)	✔	✔	✖
	Managed Web Domains for Password Autofills on Safari (Managed Domains)	✔	✖	✖
	OS Updates	✔	✖	✖
Accounts	Email	✔	✔	✔
	Exchange ActiveSync	✔	✔	✔
	CardDav	✔	✔	✔
	Calendar	✔	✔	✔
	CalDav	✔	✔	✔
	Google Accounts	✔	✔	✔
	LDAP	✔	✔	✔
Expense Management	Network Usage Rules	✔	✔	✖
Expense Management	Network Data Usage Management	✔	✔	✔
Configurations	Deploy Custom Configurations	✔	✔	✔
	Fonts	✔	✔	✔
	Wallpaper	✔	✖	✖
	AirPrint	✔	✔	✔
	AirPlay	✔	✔	✔
	Lock Screen Message	✔	✖	✖
	Home Screen Layout	✔	✖	✖
Tracking and Fencing	Location Tracking	✔	✔	✔
Tracking and Fencing	Geofencing	✔	✔	✔
Troubleshooting	Hexnode app logs	✔	✔	✔
Patches and Updates	Software Update preferences (iOS 18+)	✔	✖	✖
Customizations	Hexnode App UI	✔	✔	✔
Kiosk Lockdown	Kiosk Mode	✔	✖	✖

iOS Restrictions

The following restrictions can be configured on iOS devices.

Basic Restrictions

Category	Feature	Supervised	Unsupervised (Device Enrollment)	Unsupervised (User Enrollment)
Allow Device Functionality	Camera(iOS 4+)	✔ (iOS 13+)	✔	✖
	Facetime(iOS 4+)	✔ (iOS 13+)	✔	✖
	Screen Capture	✔	✔	✔ (iOS 13.1+)
	Allow Remote Screen Observation (when Screen Capture is enabled, iOS 12+)	✔	✔	✔
	Touch ID	✔	✔	✖
	Siri	✔	✔	✔(iOS 13.1+)
	Allow Siri while device is locked	✔	✔	✔(iOS 13.1+)
	Voice dialing	✔	✔	✖
	Automatic sync while roaming	✔	✔	✖
Allow Application Settings	Install apps	✔(iOS 13+)	✔	✖
	iTunes Store(iOS 4+)	✔ (iOS 13+)	✔	✖
	Force user to enter iTunes store password for each purchase	✔	✔	✖
	In-app purchases	✔	✔	✖
	Trust enterprise app	✔	✔	✖
	Users can modify enterprise app trust	✔	✔	✖
	Backup enterprise-deployed iBooks	✔	✔	✔(iOS 13.1+)
	Sync managed app data with iCloud	✔	✔	✔(iOS 13.1+)
	YouTube(below iOS 6)	✔	✔	✖
	Safari(iOS 4+)	✔(iOS 13+)	✔	✖
	Autofill(iOS 4+)	✔(iOS 13+)	✔	✖
	Fraud warning	✔	✔	✔(iOS 13.1+)
	JavaScript	✔	✔	✖
	Block pop-ups	✔	✔	✖
	Accept cookies	✔	✔	✖
	Access Passbook when the device is locked	✔	✔	✖
	Add friends in Game Center(iOS 4.2.1+)	✔(iOS 13+)	✔	✖
Allow iCloud Settings	Backup(iOS 5+)	✔(iOS 13+)	✔	✖
	Sync documents(iOS 5+)	✔(iOS 13+)	✔	✖
	Photo Stream (disallowing might cause data loss)	✔	✔	✖
	Share photo streams	✔	✔	✖
	iCloud photo library	✔	✔	✖
	Sync enterprise book metadata across devices	✔	✔	✖
Allow Security and Privacy Settings	Lock screen notifications	✔	✔	✔(iOS 13.1+)
	Today View on lock screen	✔	✔	✔(iOS 13.1+)
	Control Center on lock screen	✔	✔	✔(iOS 13.1+)
	Over the air PKI updates	✔	✔	✖
	Limit ad tracking	✔	✔	✖
	Send diagnostic data to Apple	✔	✔	✔(iOS 13.1+)
	Accept untrusted TLS certificate	✔	✔	✖
	Force encrypted backup	✔	✔	✔(iOS 13.1+)
	Show notification on Apple Watch if worn	✔	✔	✖
Allow Explicit Content	Explicit music, podcasts and iTunes U services	✔	✔	✖
	iBooks store erotica	✔	✔	✖
	Rating region	✔	✔	✖
	Content rating	✔	✔	✖
	Movies (region-based rating)	✔	✔	✖
	TV shows (region-based rating)	✔	✔	✖
	App ratings	✔	✔	✖

Advanced Restrictions

Advanced Restrictions are available only for supervised devices.

Category	Feature	Supported version
Allow Device Functionality	AirDrop	iOS 7.0+
	Apps can modify cellular data usage	iOS 7.0+
	Add or remove TouchID	iOS 11.0+
	iMessage	iOS 6.0+
	RCS messaging	iOS 18.1+
	Game Center	iOS 5.0+
	Multiplayer gaming	iOS 5.0+
	Install configuration profile	iOS 6.0+
	Handoff	iOS 8.0+
	Definition lookup	iOS 8.1.3+
	Predictive keyboard	iOS 8.1.3+
	Auto-correct words	iOS 8.1.3+
	Suggest words on misspellings	iOS 8.1.3+
	QuickPath Keyboard	iOS 13.0+
	Keyboard shortcuts	iOS 9.0+
	USB Drive Access in Files App	iOS 13.1+
	Network Drive Access in Files App	iOS 13.1+
	Pair with Apple Watch	iOS 9.0+
	Modify diagnostic data submission settings	iOS 9.3.2+
	Modify Bluetooth settings	iOS 10.0+
	Use voice to type	iOS 10.3+
	Force Wi-Fi ON	iOS 13.0+
	Connect to MDM-configured Wi-Fi networks only	iOS 10.3+
	Users can modify Personal Hotspot settings	iOS 12.2+
	Create VPN configuration	iOS 11.0+
	AirPrint	iOS 11.0+
	Connect with iBeacon	iOS 11.0+
	Store AirPrint credentials in Keychain	iOS 11.0+
	Use trusted certificates for secured printing	iOS 11.0+
	Modify cellular plan settings	iOS 11+
	eSIM Modification	iOS 12.1+
	Outgoing eSIM transfer	iOS 18.0+
	Live Voicemail	iOS 17.2+
	Force preserve eSIM on erase	iOS 17.2+
	Auto dimming	iOS 17.4+
	iPhone mirroring	iOS 18.0+
	Call recording	iOS 18.0+
Allow App Settings	Install app from App Store	iOS 13.0+
	Install apps from third-party app marketplaces	iOS 17.4+
	Install apps from web	iOS 17.5+
	Remove apps	iOS 5.0+
	Remove system apps	iOS 11.0+
	iBooks Store	iOS 6.0+
	Apple Music	iOS 9.3+
	iTunes Radio	iOS 9.3+
	News	iOS 9.0+
	Podcasts	iOS 8.0+
	Download all purchased apps automatically	iOS 9.0+
	Lock apps	iOS 18.0+
	Hide apps	iOS 18.0+
Allow App Settings	Activation Lock	iOS 7.0+
	Modify an account	iOS 7.0+
	Erase content and settings	iOS 8.0+
	Siri can access user-generated content	iOS 7.0+
	Find My Friends	iOS 13.0+
	Find My Device	iOS 13.0+
	Modify Find My Friends	iOS 7.0+
	Use profanity filter	iOS 5.0+
	Show web results using Spotlight Search	iOS 8.0+
	Modify Restrictions/ Screen Time	iOS 8.0+
	Modify passcode	iOS 9.0+
	Modify device name	iOS 9.0+
	Modify wallpaper	iOS 9.0+
	Users can modify default browser	iOS 18.2+
	Users can turn notifications on/off	iOS 9.3+
	Force Automatic Date and Time	iOS 12.0+
	Autofill Passwords	iOS 12.0+
	Request passwords from nearby devices	iOS 12.0+
	Share passwords via AirDrop Passwords feature	iOS 12.0+
	Allow USB accessories when locked	iOS 11.4.1+
	Prevent pairing with non-Configurator hosts	iOS 7.0+
	Shared iPad temporary session	iOS 13.4+
Allow Apple Intelligence	Genmoji	iOS 18.0+
	Image Playground	iOS 18.0+
	Image Wand	iOS 18.0+
	Personalized Handwriting Results	iOS 18.0+
	Writing Tools	iOS 18.0+
	Mail Summary	iOS 18.1+
	ChatGPT integration	iOS 18.2+
	ChatGPT user account sign-in	iOS 18.2+

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