iPhone Configuration for the SBS Administrator Part 2

I will assume you have uploaded the mobileconfig file using your favourite FTP Client, now we can switch to our iPhone.

Open up Safari and navigate to your file.

If you receive an error about the profile not being able to be installed – check your navigating to the correct link.

You will be presented with a screen detailing what the profile is for, and there is an option to click on to Install.

If you click install, you get a message appear on the screen about installing an unsigned profile, and a notification to say it will change settings on the phone. You have the choice to install or cancel.

Clicking Install Now, will start the wizard based installation. Enter your email address, and click Next.

Enter your username, including your internal domain name in the format domain\username and click next.

Enter your password, and click next.

You will see the phone is installing your profile

Depending on your Exchange server security settings, you may have to enable a PIN code on your phone, now is the time you will be prompted to enter a code. This PIN will be used to lock your phone after periods of inactivity – like any normal PIN used on a phone.

You will be asked to confirm your code, and then you will be shown a screen that says the profile has been installed.

If you then close Safari and go to Settings, Mail, Contacts and Calendars, you will see your Exchange account listed, like any other would be and from here you can see which options have been configured by your profile.

So that concludes the process of using the iPhone configuration utility to help configure your iPhones.

* So now that you have followed this through you might be wondering why this is any easier than talking a user through this process? My idea for this process is for an IT Consultant to have a folder per client on his or her website, imagine :

http://www.someconsultancy.com/iPhones/clienta/iphone.mobil…

http://www.someconsultancy.com/iPhones/clientb/iphone.mobil…

So you client calls you up and says, “hey i have a new iPhone, and i need my email” or hopefully ahead of time they let you know they have an iPhone coming, you can make sure they have the link to their .mobileconfig file either by SMS to their phone,  or email to their client computer where they can copy it down.

I see the benefit here that you may even be able to delegate this off to your onsite contact who doesn’t then need to know all the in’s and outs of configuring the iPhone just that they go to xyz link and follow the wizard.

Of course you could have a password protected folder for each customer on a webserver, that has a page with a  hyperlink in it rather than the full URL..