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Deploy or Upgrade to Linewize Connect Filter for iOS

Updated
This article is for IT Support. 

Linewize Connect Filter for iOS protects iOS devices managed by your school’s Mobile device management (MDM). You can configure Connect Filter to apply your Linewize Filter filtering policies to users on and off school network, even when their iOS device is connected to a hotspot or an unfiltered internet connection.

Before you begin

From version 3.0.0, Connect Filter for iOS is distributed as a Custom App. You must use Apple Business Manager (ABM) or Apple School Manager (ASM) to get Connect before you can distribute the app to users via your Mobile Device Management (MDM) tool.

Ensure your users’ iOS devices:

  • Are running iOS or iPadOS 15 or newer.
  • Are supervised by your school’s MDM.
  • Are not running any other filtering software.
  • Do not have a global proxy configured.
  • Connect Filter for iOS needs iOS devices to be enrolled and supervised by your organisation.

1: Register with Apple and Linewize

You must give us your Apple Organization ID and your Apple Organization Name.

  1. Sign into or enrol with either:
  2. Verify your MDM is linked to your Apple account.
  3. Copy your Apple Organization ID and your Apple Organization Name from your Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager.
  4. Contact Linewize Support.
    • Ask to be registered for Linewize Connect Filter and Linewize Connect Filter for iOS.
    • Include your Apple Organization ID and your Apple Organization Name in your message.
  5. Check your email for confirmation of your registration. We’ll also include a .mobileconfig file in our email.

  Tip

You can use ASM or ABM with Managed Apple IDs or federated authentication (Microsoft Entra ID or Google IDs) to remove access to consumer features in iCloud+ (for example Private Relay) and personal functionality (for example Apple TV and Apple Pay).

2: Deploy Linewize Connect Filter

Once you receive the email confirmation from Linewize, you can deploy Connect Filter from Apple using your MDM.

  1. Sign in to school.apple.com or business.apple.com.
  2. If not already enabled, enable Custom Apps in Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager.
  3. Select Custom Apps > Connect Filter in the left navigation panel.
  4. Select a location to assign the licenses.
  5. In Quantity, enter the number of licenses for your iOS devices.
  6. Select Get.
    The licenses will be available in your MDM within ten minutes.
  7. Open your MDM and verify the Connect Filter licenses have synced. Here are the steps for some of the commonly used MDMs:

Connect Filter for iOS is not in MDM’s list of Purchased Apps

  1. If you do not see the Connect Filter in your MDM’s list of purchased apps, please contact your MDM vendor for help.

    Your MDM may require you to toggle your app list to show Custom Apps or use a Volume Pricing Program page to deploy Connect Filter for iOS licensed apps.
  2. Use your MDM to remove the consumer apps Google, Google Go, and YouTube from devices.

    The Connect Filter includes an App Bypass feature that lets you exclude specific apps from being filtered. To use the Connect Filter for iOS App Bypass feature, add apps to your MDM's profile configuration. Contact Linewize Support, who will provide instructions on configuring this App Bypass feature.
  3. Distribute Linewize Connect Filter from your MDM’s catalog, library or app management function.
  4. Distribute the .mobile config file supplied by Linewize from your MDM to the target devices.
  5. Use your MDM to restart the iOS devices, or manually restart them if necessary.

3: Verify the Installation

We recommend that you spot-check several of your iOS devices before distributing them to your users. If you find unexpected results, update your MDM configuration and repeat the device management update.

3.1 Check the device is protected

  1. Restart a managed device and connect it to your school network or the internet.
  2. On the device, open Connect Filter for iOS.
  3. If the device is protected, you will see:

    “This device is being protected by [Linewize Filter Device Name]”.

  4. Additionally on the device, go to Settings.
    If the device is supervised, you will see:

    “This [iPhone] [iPad] is supervised and managed by [Organisation name].

    If the device is not protected, contact Linewize Support to troubleshoot your MDM options and device configuration.

3.2 Test device filtering and reporting

  1. Check Website Access: On the device, go to a website such as weather.com
    The website should open without any issues.
  2. Block the Website: Go to Linewize Filter and add a policy to block the website weather.com
  3. Confirm the Website is Blocked: Try to revisit weather.com on your device.
    Linewize Filter should block the website, showing a message that the website can’t be accessed on the device.
  4. Check the Reports in Linewize Filter: Wait a little while, then go to the blocked section in Linewize Filter.
    Look for activity related to weather.com and make sure it shows that Linewize Filter blocked the website.

3.3 Verify credentials

Open the Connect app on the device to verify the Username and your Linewize Filter Device ID.

If the device displays incorrect details or doesn’t display details, contact Linewize Support to troubleshoot your MDM options and device configuration.

3.4 Verify your school network connection

You can check if an iOS device has successfully connected to your physical Linewize Filter Appliance by finding the device in the event log.

  1. In Linewize Filter, go to Statistics > Realtime > Alerts and Events.
  2. Type “ios” in the Search.
  3. Use the Find in your browser to search for the Usernames.

3.5 Verify device filtering

You can spot-check the devices to verify filtering is protecting your users.

  1. Connect the device to the internet.
  2. Open the Connect app and verify the user’s name is displayed.
  3. Open Safari. Go to an allowed website, like Google, and verify the site loads.
  4. Go to a known blocked website and confirm the Block Page loads.

FAQ

Why should I remove apps like Google and YouTube?

To protect your users, the Chrome browser app and Apple apps (like Safari) allow educational filtering to protect the device. Many consumer apps (like Google, Google Go, and YouTube) do not provide educational filtering access to monitor content.

How do I know which versions of Connect Filter for iOS my users have?

You can also use Linewize Filter’s Advanced Search Report to find users with a specific version of Connect for iOS.

How do I add more Connect Filter licenses?

You can purchase Connect Filter licenses at any time in your Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager. You can also move unused licenses to other parts of your organization.