SimpleMDM: Apple devices, encryption and check-ins per partner
Create a SimpleMDM API key, paste it into Current, and bring each partner's Macs, iPhones and iPads onto the company record: model, OS version, encryption, supervision, Apple Business Manager enrollment and last check-in. Each SimpleMDM group is matched to a company. The sync only reads SimpleMDM.
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SimpleMDM is a mobile device management service for Apple devices. This connector reads every device in your SimpleMDM account into Current and hangs each one off the matching company: its model, OS version, whether it is encrypted, whether it is supervised, whether it was enrolled through Apple Business Manager, and when it last checked in. The sync reads SimpleMDM and changes nothing in it.
What Current syncs
| Data set | What Current stores | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
| Groups | Each assignment group and each device group by name, with how many devices it holds | The mapping panel on the SimpleMDM card |
| Devices | Each device's name, platform, model, serial number, OS version and build, status, when it enrolled and last checked in, whether it is supervised, enrolled through Apple Business Manager or by user-approved enrollment, FileVault, passcode, Activation Lock, Lost Mode and firewall state, battery level and storage | The company's SimpleMDM card and the service desk ticket's Device panel |
What the three checks mean
Current decides three things about each device when it syncs, and every screen reads the same answer.
- Encrypted: on a Mac, FileVault is on. On an iPhone or iPad, a passcode is set, which is what turns on Apple's data protection. A device that reports neither shows a dash, never a pass.
- Not checked in: the device has not checked in with SimpleMDM for 30 days.
- OS behind the fleet: the device's major OS version is older than the newest one any device of the same kind runs in your SimpleMDM account. A Mac is compared with Macs, an iPhone with iPhones.
Get an API key in SimpleMDM
- 11 · Open the API settingsSign in to SimpleMDM as an account owner or administrator and open Account, then API.
- 22 · Add a read keyPress Add API Key and give it read access to Devices, Assignment Groups and Device Groups. Save it and copy the key.
- 33 · Optional: add an actions keyOnly if you use the service desk actions below. Add a second API key with Devices write access and copy it. SimpleMDM's Devices write permission also allows lock and wipe in SimpleMDM itself, which is why Current keeps it as a separate key and only ever sends the three actions listed below.
Connect it in Current
- 1Open the SimpleMDM cardIn Current, open Settings › Integrations (Tenant Admins only) and find SimpleMDM under RMM.
- 2Paste the keyPaste the API key and, if you made one, the actions key. Leaving the actions key empty later keeps the key you saved before; Remove actions key on the card takes it away.
- 3Press Test connectionCurrent reads SimpleMDM once to prove the key works, and only then stores it, server-side. Current only ever sends it to SimpleMDM's own address and never follows a redirect anywhere else.
Map SimpleMDM groups to your companies
Current links each SimpleMDM group to a company by normalized name (lowercased, punctuation and suffixes like Inc and LLC removed) when exactly one company matches. Anything still tied stays unmapped for you to decide.
- 1Open the mapping panelIntegrations, then SimpleMDM, then Manage, then the mapping list. It opens on the Unmapped tab.
- 2Map a group to its companyOn an unmapped row press Map and pick the company. That group's devices attach to the company right away.
- 3Fix a wrong match laterThe Mapped tab lists every linked group. Unmap corrects a bad match; a mapping you set by hand is never overwritten by a later sync.
On a service desk ticket
Where the service desk and the device register are both on, a ticket's Device panel lists the company's Apple devices from SimpleMDM, the ticket's own device first, then devices that are not encrypted, not checked in or behind on their OS. Each shows its model, OS, encryption, supervision, Apple Business Manager enrollment, last check-in, battery and storage. Engineers, dispatchers, vCIOs, project managers, service managers and tenant admins see it. A ticket whose company is not mapped to a SimpleMDM group says so.
They are off until a Tenant Admin turns on Device actions on service desk tickets on the SimpleMDM card, and they need a saved actions key. Engineers, project managers, service managers and tenant admins can press them on a ticket they hold. Every press asks to confirm first, is sent once, and is recorded on the ticket's Activity. When the ticket is linked to a device, the actions are offered only on that device. A workspace can send at most 10 actions an hour.
What Current never sends
Current never locks, erases, unenrolls or wipes a device, never turns on Lost Mode, never clears a passcode and never reads or changes a password or recovery key, whatever the actions key would allow. Every request is checked against a fixed list: reads for the sync, and the three actions above for the desk.
Where the data shows up
- The company record's SimpleMDM card: how many Apple devices, the share that is encrypted, how many are supervised, how many have not checked in for 30 days or run an OS behind the fleet, and the devices that need attention. It has no action buttons.
- The service desk ticket's Device panel, as described above.
When something looks wrong
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| SimpleMDM rejected the API key | The key was deleted or mistyped. Create a key with read access to Devices, Assignment Groups and Device Groups, paste it, and press Test connection. |
| SimpleMDM accepted the API key but it can't read devices | The key is missing read access. Give it read access to Devices, Assignment Groups and Device Groups in SimpleMDM. |
| A company shows no SimpleMDM data | Its SimpleMDM group is not mapped yet, or a device is in groups mapped to two different companies. Check the Unmapped tab on the card. |
| Encrypted shows a dash | SimpleMDM has not reported FileVault or passcode state for that device yet, or it is a device type that reports neither. |
| An action says SimpleMDM rejected the stored actions key | The actions key was deleted or lacks Devices write access. A Tenant Admin can paste a new one. |