Devices are created and assigned to employees automatically during enrolment — you do not need to import your device list. This article covers how that works, what to do when it cannot guess the owner, and how to handle unassignment and reassignment so your inventory stays accurate.
Overview
Every device has two states that together tell you where it is:
Availability |
Assignment |
What it means |
|---|---|---|
In use |
Assigned |
Assigned to an employee and actively used |
In stock |
To assign |
In inventory, not assigned to anyone |
In use |
To assign |
Being used, but with no recorded owner |
Archived |
— |
Removed from the fleet |
That third row is the one worth watching: a device in use with no owner is a gap in your inventory, not a harmless state.
How the first assignment happens
You do not import anything. Enrolment does it, and it works differently on computers and on phones.
Computers get a personal installer. Two things identify the owner:
1. The employee signs in with their email on their enrolment page. That generates an installer specific to them.
2. A second check confirms it — the email actually used on the device through single sign-on. This appears in the agent's "used by" field.
The device is then created and assigned on its own, with no action from you.
iPhones and iPads have no personal installer. They all share one enrolment link, so the page itself knows nothing about who is holding the device. The only signal is the sign-in before the profile downloads, and that sign-in only happens when Require IdP authentication is on in MDM > Settings. Turn it on and every iPhone arrives with an owner; leave it off and they all arrive as To assign.
How to use
When it cannot guess
Sometimes there is not enough information to assign automatically: several user sessions on one machine, or a generic installer. You can assign by hand if you know the owner, or turn on Assignment suggestion.
Go to Settings > MDM > Assignment suggestion and choose one of:
- Enable assignment suggestion — suggestions are shown and you approve each one.
- Automatically assign based on suggestion — if the device is unassigned, it is assigned to the most likely employee without asking.
The automatic option earns its keep in fleets with high turnover, where the manual approvals pile up.
Unassign and reassign
From the device inventory or the device panel you can send a device back to stock or reassign it to someone else. Sending a device to stock clears its assignment immediately.
During offboarding the flow asks what to do with the device:
- Return it to stock
- Remove it from the fleet
- Reassign it to another employee
Returning it to stock clears the previous assignment, and the device can then be picked up by automatic assignment.
Android devices are still assigned by hand.
Tips and best practices
- Turn on IdP authentication before you hand out phones. It is the difference between an iPhone fleet that assigns itself and one you sort out manually afterwards.
- Wipe the device when the assignment changes. It protects company data and the previous employee's privacy in one step, and it is far easier to do at handover than to chase later.
- Run every offboarding through the platform, even when someone hands the laptop straight to a colleague. An informal handover is how devices end up in use with no recorded owner.
- Turn on automatic assignment if you have real turnover. The suggestion-only mode means somebody has to approve each one, which quietly becomes a job.
- Audit for "in use / to assign" regularly. Those are the devices your inventory does not really account for.
Troubleshooting and FAQ
Troubleshooting
- A device enrolled but was not assigned. There was not enough information — usually several user sessions on the machine, or a generic installer rather than a personal one. Assign it manually or enable Assignment suggestion.
- Every iPhone comes in unassigned. IdP authentication is off, so nothing identifies the person enrolling. Turn it on in MDM > Settings. Phones already enrolled stay unassigned and need sorting by hand.
- An Android device is never assigned automatically. Automatic assignment does not cover Android yet. Assign those by hand.
-
A device still shows the previous employee after offboarding. The offboarding was not completed through the platform, or the device option was skipped. Send it to stock to clear the assignment.
FAQ
-
Do we have to import our device list?
No. Devices are created and assigned during enrolment.
-
What is the difference between the two Assignment suggestion modes?
The first shows you suggestions to approve. The second applies them on its own when the device has no owner.
-
Does sending a device to stock wipe it?
No, it only clears the assignment. Wiping is a separate action, and it is worth doing at the same time.
-
Can we assign iPhones without turning on IdP authentication?
Only by hand, or by letting Assignment suggestion guess. There is nothing else on a shared enrolment link for the system to go on.