Mass Deployment for iOS

Available for

✔︎ Prey Tracking
✔︎ Prey Protection
✔︎ Prey Full Suite

Before you start

For mass deployment in any operating system, you will need to have your API Key ready at hand. You can find it in your Control Panel, in the About tab, on the Setup API Key section, as seen in the image below. Just click on it to save to the clipboard.

If you need to deploy Prey on several iOS devices, you can do so using any third-party mobile device management software ( MDM) such as jamf, or Apple Configurator 2 on macOS devices. Below you can find instructions for Apple Configurator; if you wish to deploy remotely via jamf, we suggest visiting this article. If you wish to use any other third-party MDM, please consult their documentation.

Apple Configurator is available for all versions of macOS, and while this step-by-step guide uses Apple Configurator 2, you can use any available version, as directions remain mostly the same.

Due to restrictions set up by Apple, you will not be able to mass-install Prey; this guide will help you in configuring all devices without having to set them up individually.
Once you install Prey on each device, do not log-in to the app, as this may cause conflicts in the set-up.

Connect your device (with Prey installed) to your Mac.

Wait a couple of seconds until the device shows up in Apple Configurator as per the image below.

Prepare a plain text document with your API Key in it, and name it apikey.prey

You can create a plain text file by creating a new document in the native TextEdit app, and then selecting Format > Make Plain Text or hitting the shift+cmd+T keys. TextEdit will save the file with the ".txt" extension by default; to change it, right-click (or cmd+click) on the file and select "Get Info".

There, under the "Name & Externsion" section, just delete the .txt portion of the file and hit enter. A dialogue will ask you to confirm the change of extension to .prey. Hit "Use .prey"

Drag the "apikey.prey" file to the device you want to set up.

In the modal choose to add the document to Prey.

You can also use the "Add" button on top, and select the "apikey.prey" from the folder where you saved it.

Open the Prey app in your device, accept all permissions, and violà!

Configuring Prey with your QR code

If your device fleet is deployed on the field and you're not able to install Prey manually, you can also ask your team to download the Prey app from the App Store, and then send them your account's unique QR code for configuration. This QR code works like your API key and will set up your account's configuration on the devices without having to enter your secret account credentials.

You will find your QR code by clicking on the +Protect New Device button in the top of your main dashboard.