iPad Supervised by Another Computer: The Complete Guide

You may see the message "this iPad is supervised by another compute and cannot be used with this computer" when you try to sync your iPad with your computer.

This may happen if the iPad that you are trying to connect is a second-hand device or was connected to an MDM profile that you were not aware of.

When an iPad is supervised by another computer, you will find that you are unable to sync the iPad with iTunes, transfer files or even use the messaging app.

If you don't have the necessary passwords to delink the device from the MDM profile, you may find it very difficult to use the device.

In this article we will look at this problem in greater detail and show you how you can overcome it.

Why is This iPad Supervised by Another Computer?

An iPhone or iPad may be supervised as part of a security feature that is commonly used by businesses and schools to control the device's activities and data.

This is often known as Mobile Device Management and it is used to monitor and control devices that may be owned by an organization, business, or school.

These organizations may choose to supervise the device to ensure that their property is only used exclusively for purposes approved by the organization and that are in line with its policies.

These devices are often password-protected and therefore cannot be connected to any other computer.

If you bought a new iPad and you see that it is supervised by another computer, it is likely that you purchased a device that belonged to a corporate or educational institution.

You will therefore need to find a way to remove this supervision so you can use the iPad more freely.

How Do I Know if iPad is Supervised?

You may be able to tell if your device is supervised by another computer even without having to connect the device to the computer.

If your iPad is running iOS version 10 or later, you can check its Remote Management status from the Settings app.

When you open the Settings app, your name should appear at the top of the screen.

And, when you open the Profiles & Device Management tab, you should be able to see who controls the device as well as a list of all the features that may be restricted or disabled.

What Can It See?

If your device is supervised by another computer, you may wonder what that computer can see and the data that it has access to.

Here's a breakdown of all the data and features that the IT department of the school or corporate institution can have access to on your device:

• The IT department will not be able to read SMS messages or iMessages that may be on the device. They will however be able to tell the total number of contacts and messages that may be on your device. The administrators will be able to see SMS messages that you get via cellular carrier without involving the iMessage app.
• There is no MDM protocol that allows the IT department to view, modify, or even delete the photos and videos in the Photos App or iCloud Photos. But the admins can turn off the iCloud Photos feature as a way to ensure students and employees do not overload the Apple ID with personal photos and media.
• As long as you use a personal email account via webmail, the IT department will have no access to your emails. They will not be able to read your emails even if you use the local Mail app.
• Because the MDM software is meant to manage the devices, it will not have access to your browsing history on Safari or Chrome. But the administrators can restrict various aspects of the browser or even block the browser usage at all. Administrators may also ask you to use VPN in the corporate network as a way to monitor browser traffic.
• MDM can also allow the administrators to track the device's location if the device is put in "Lost Mode." The administrator can simply put the iPad in Managed Lost Mode and be able to see the location of the device. Doing this will lock the device and you will be unable to use the device until the administrator turns off Managed Lost Mode.

How to Get Rid of Supervision on iPad or iPhone

Supervision in this way can be very restrictive, particularly if the device is no longer owned by the organization or company.

But you can be able to remove this supervision using an iPhone screen unlocking tool like Unlockit. Here's how to do that:

Step 1: Make sure that the device is actually supervised by the MDM profile.

Step 2: Go to Unlockit website to place an order for Unlockit.

Step 3: Download the Unlockit software onto your computer.

Step 4: Connect the iPad to the computer and make sure the Find My iPhone is turned off on your device.

Step 5: Open Unlockit, from the main window, click on the "Bypass MDM Lock" then the"Start" button and wait for the MDM supervision to be removed.

In a few minutes, the iPad will no longer be supervised and the administrator will no longer be able to monitor the device remotely.

Once the process is complete, your device will restart and you will be able to set it up as a new device.

Wrap Up

Even if you found out that your iPad is being supervised by another computer, and you are unable to know the password, now with Unlockit, you should be able to get control of your device, without any tethers to any company, organization, or institution.