Does anyone know the current procedure to push updates to VPP apps in MobiControl (v15+)?
I found another forum post that covers the process for v13/14, but much of the console seems to have changed since then, so the instructions can't be applied to v15.
Personally, I won't recommend enabling the option "Automatically Update App Version in App Policy to the Latest Version in App Store" in the Update Options tab of an VPP app. I choose to always do some tests to confirm that the new version of VPP apps works fine on TEST device of targeted device models/firmware versions before making any changes.
After such tests has been completed with positive results, just open the related app policy associated with the new VPP app for your PRODUCTION devices. Either choose the "Get Latest Version" button in the App Details tab, or replace the app with a new VPP app entry (but be careful to duplicate/tune all the options and/or Managed App Configuration parameters properly). Then, one can choose the "Automatically request Devices to Update App When App Policy is Updated with New Version" option in the Update Options tab and save the rule so that the MobiControl server will schedule deploying the policy to have apps updated to the specified new version, or alternatively leave the above-mentioned option off and just press the "Update App on Devices" button for the saved policy.
The above flow is recommended at least for the missionary CRITICAL apps. Other non-critical or fully-trusted apps MAY be handled automatically by MobiControl server with virtually no administrator's effort after enabling the two "automatic" Update options mentioned earlier.
In any cases, as VPP apps are actually deployed from Apple VPP backend directly to the target devices, there can always be some uncontrollable delay, sometimes long measured in hours or even days, due to different issues of Apple backend server in your region.
I'm missing the "Get Latest Version" and "Update App on Devices" options in my hosted instance of MC 15, but while trying to find them in my app policy, I did find that if I remove the app from the policy and add it back, MC immediately pulls the updated version of the app to add to the policy.
I have already mentioned in my last post the app can alternatively be "replaced", which literally mean to delete the old entry and add it (i.e. the latest version available in the apps store) back.. Remember to pay attention to various advanced options of the policy to be the same as the old one to ensure a perfect in-place upgrade with no unexpected behaviour incorrectly configured..
Yes, you did. I apologize, I didn't mean to cause any confusion or neglect your helpful advice. I just wanted to put that note in there for anyone else that may have the same question at a later point in time. Thank you for help! It is greatly appreciated!
Hi Topher,
Thank you for posting on Soti Pulse. It is great to see that you came to a resolution on this post.
Kind regards,
Technical Support Specialist | SOTI | +1 905.624.9828 | SOTI.net lDiscussion Forum | Log a Case Online l Facebook l LinkedIn l Twitter