Migrate to Apps and Books in Apple School Manager and in Apple Business Manager

Before you migrate accounts to Apps and Books, please review this information.

What's new?

With Apps and Books in Apple School Manager and Apple Business Manager, you can use the following features:

Transfer unassigned licences

Share licences

  • Share licences between purchasers who have access to the same location.

Simplified purchasing

  • Browse and purchase content directly in the Apps and Books section of Apple School Manager and Apple Business Manager. You can view all licences that have been purchased for, or transferred to, your locations in one place. Manage Volume Purchase Programme (VPP) credit and update billing information in Settings.

Prepare your organisation for migration to Apps and Books

Use the information below to prepare for migration.

Verify mobile device management (MDM) support for Apps and Books

Before you migrate, contact your MDM supplier to confirm that they support the new Apps and Books features.

Invite VPP purchasers

If you have purchasers with existing VPP accounts that aren't in Apple School Manager or in Apple Business Manager, invite them to join your organisation before you migrate to Apps and Books.

Migrate only one purchaser per location

For the best migration experience, migrate only one purchaser per unique location. You can do this in one of the following ways:

  • By restricting account access in Apple School Manager or in Apple Business Manager to the appropriate location for each purchaser.

  • By directing each user to the specific location they should choose.

If each purchaser is migrated to a unique location, all licences – assigned and unassigned – will be moved to Apps and Books.

If assigned licences aren't transferred

Only unassigned licences will be moved to a location if any of the following scenarios are occurring:

  • Licences have been purchased or transferred to a location before a purchaser has been migrated to the new location.

  • Someone has downloaded the location's token before the first user has been migrated to it.

  • A new Content Manager has been created in a location after another user has opted in to Apps and Books.

  • Multiple purchasers have been migrated to the same location.

If assigned licences aren't transferred, they'll remain associated with the purchaser's legacy tokens, which should remain uploaded to MDM with the location token. After you've unassigned an app from the legacy token, you can transfer the licences to a location in Settings > Apps and Books in Apple School Manager or in Apple Business Manager.

Initial migration

All licences that are moved during migration will be associated with the new location token they're moving to. Any assigned licences that aren't moved during migration will remain associated with the purchaser's legacy token. All tokens that have associated licences must be uploaded in MDM.

Location-based tokens

Apps and Books uses location-based tokens. All licences purchased for, or transferred to, a location will be associated with that location's token.* Legacy tokens from the VPP portal are account-based tokens. Purchasers can access tokens for all of their locations in the Apps and Books section of Apple School Manager's Settings or Apple Business Manager's Settings. Only one person needs to upload location tokens to MDM. Legacy tokens aren't needed when all licences have been moved to a location.

Migrate all VPP purchasers

When you're ready to migrate to Apps and Books in Apple School Manager or in Apple Business Manager, all purchasers should be migrated at the same time. Each purchaser must migrate their own account. Migrate by clicking Get Started in the Apps and Books section of Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager, then selecting the appropriate migration location.

After all purchasers have been migrated, you can take full advantage of the new features.

* Assigned book licences can't be moved and remain assigned to a user.
Published Date: