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

Before you migrate accounts to Apps and Books, 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 licenses

Share licenses

  • Share licenses 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 licenses purchased for or transferred to your locations in one place. Manage Volume Purchase Program (VPP) credit and update billing information in Settings.

Prepare your organization to migrate 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 vendor 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 organization 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 that they should choose.

If each purchaser migrates to a unique location, all licenses — assigned and unassigned — will move to Apps and Books.

If assigned licenses don't transfer

Only unassigned licenses will move to a location if any of the following scenarios occur:

  • Licenses are purchased or transferred to a location before a purchaser migrates to the new location.

  • Someone downloads the location's token before the first user migrates to it.

  • A new Content Manager is created in a location after another user opts into Apps and Books.

  • Multiple purchasers migrate to the same location.

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

Initial migration

All licenses that move during migration will associate with the new location token to which they move. Any assigned licenses that don't move during migration remain associated with the purchaser's legacy token. All tokens that have associated licenses must be uploaded in MDM.

Location-based tokens

Apps and Books uses location-based tokens. All licenses purchased for or transferred to a location associate 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 after all licenses are 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 migrate 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 migrate, you can take full advantage of the new features.

* Assigned book licenses can't be moved and remain assigned to a user.
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