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Deploy with Jamf

Steps for Jamf Pro and for Jamf School.

Written by Jim Tyler, MS Co-Founder

Before you start

Before you start, get free licenses in Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager. It takes two minutes and is the same for every MDM: see Get free licenses.

  • iPads enrolled in Jamf, running iPadOS 17.0 or later. Supervision is needed only for locking a device into the app.
  • A volume purchasing location connected to Jamf. In Jamf Pro this is under Settings → Global → Volume purchasing.

Good to know: Menu names below follow the vendor's documentation as of September 2026. Consoles are redesigned often, so a label may differ slightly in yours. The order of the steps does not change.

Jamf Pro: install the app

  1. Go to Devices → Mobile Device Apps and click New.
  2. Choose App Store app or apps purchased in volume and click Next.
  3. Search for Model Communicator, and click Add next to the iPad app.
  4. On the General tab set Distribution Method to Install Automatically/Prompt Users to Install. Turn on automatic app updates, and leave Make app managed when possible selected.
  5. On the Scope tab add the mobile devices, device groups or buildings that need the app.
  6. On the Managed Distribution tab select Assign Content Purchased in Volume and choose the location that holds the licenses. This is device-based assignment, so no Apple Account is involved.
  7. Click Save. Supervised iPads install silently at the next check-in.

Tip: A smart device group such as AAC users makes this reusable: add an iPad to the group and the app, the lock profile and the Home Screen layout all follow.

Jamf Pro: lock an iPad into the app

An AAC device should stay in the AAC app. On a supervised iPad, Single App Mode does that from the MDM, with nothing for staff to remember. The alternatives are compared in the overview. In Jamf Pro:

  1. Go to Devices → Configuration Profiles and click New.
  2. Add the Single App Mode payload and select Model Communicator.
  3. On the Scope tab add only the dedicated device, and save. Remove the device from scope to release it.

Heads up: Put Single App Mode in its own profile with its own scope. Mixed into a general restrictions profile, it is easy to lock more iPads than you meant to.

Jamf School

Jamf School picks up volume-purchased apps by itself once the licenses exist.

  1. After claiming licenses, open Apps → Inventory. Model Communicator appears after the next sync.
  2. Click the app. Set installation to automatic, and turn on automatic updates.
  3. Under the app's scope, add the device groups (or individual devices) that need it, and save.
  4. To lock a device: go to Profiles, create an iOS profile, and add the Single App Mode payload with Model Communicator selected. Scope the profile to the dedicated device.

Good to know: Teachers with the Jamf Teacher app can also lock a class into an app for a lesson. Use a profile instead for a student's own communication device, so the lock does not end when the lesson does.

Check that it worked

  • In the device's inventory record, the app is listed as managed and installed.
  • On the iPad, the app opens straight to the board, with no sign-in and no download.
  • With Single App Mode in scope, the Home gesture stops working and the iPad returns to the app after a restart.