Tracking the location of iPhone and iPad devices using MDM

Satish Shetty Updated by Satish Shetty

The Codeproof UEM/MDM platform enables IT administrators to track the locations of iPhones, iPads, and MacOS devices. iPhone GPS locations can be queried live on supervised devices through the MDM Lost Mode command. This remains feasible even if an end-user disables location services on the phone. The only caveat is that the admin must first put the device into Lost Mode, then query the location, and finally turn off Lost Mode.

Here are the steps to do so:

  1. Login to Cloud Console and then go to Mobile Policy Manager from the top menu.
  2. Select an Apple Device from the left-side tree panel.
  3. Now go to "Command Center" from the right-side tab.
  4. Select "Enable Lost Mode" command, give it a name and send it to device.
  5. Then select "Request Location" command and send it to device.
  6. Now go to "Locate Me" tab on right side to see the latest physical location of the device on a Google Map.

 

Enable Lost Mode:

enable-lost-mode

 

Sending Lost Mode Command:

enable-lost-mode-2

 

iphone-lost-mode1

 

Request Device Location in the lost mode:

request-device-location

The Device Location is received by MDM Server:

request-device-location-2

 

View the location information in the Google Map:

request-device-location-3

 

Disable the Lost Mode:

disable-lost-mode

 

The Lost Mode is disabled now:

iphone-lost-mode2

 

Location Services being turned off

To request the device's location through MDM, the MDM must already be set up on the device. The MDM setup can be achieved through either Apple Business Manager (ABM) or Apple Configurator, with supervision enabled. The MDM agent app is not required in this scenario. Furthermore, even if the user disables "Location Services" in the device settings, the location can still be queried through MDM.

iPhone Location Services

How did we do?

Enable Lost Mode in Android

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