Apple Configurator: installing an app

[c.ec]

To determine if Apple Configurator will work for my company's needs, I have been testing it with my personal iPad.
After hours of testing and reading through documentation, I have 3 questions about using Apple Configurator to install a free app onto iPad.


Question 1: In-use iPads

I have been unsuccessful in using Configurator to install a free app onto my personal 1st-gen iPad. No matter what I try, I get this error message:

Apple ID not authorized.​

Is there any way to use Configurator to install a free app onto an iPad that has previously been associated with an Apple ID?


Question 2: Brand-new iPads

My company needs to install a free app onto 300 new 3rd-gen iPads. Because my tests failed, I don't know if Configurator will actually help us with this task.

Can Configurator be used to simply install a single free app onto a bunch of brand-new iPads?
​

Question 3: Deleting & redownloading the app

The guide Deploying iPhone and iPad: Apple Configurator (apple.com/iphone/business/docs/iOS_Apple_Configurator_Mar12.pdf) says on page 3:

To update apps deployed using Apple Configurator, you must reconnect to the same Mac from which the apps were installed. Additionally, you can’t redownload these apps via iTunes in the Cloud. [emphasis added]​

Our goal is to install the free app onto the 300 iPads and then never to connect these iPads to Apple Configurator again. If the individual users want to update the app, they will need to delete the app and then redownload it from the App Store using their own Apple IDs.

Is it possible to delete a Configurator-installed app and then redownload it using a personal Apple ID?

 

[brand]

To determine if Apple Configurator will work for my company's needs, I have been testing it with my personal iPad.
After hours of testing and reading through documentation, I have 3 questions about using Apple Configurator to install a free app onto iPad.


Question 1: In-use iPads

I have been unsuccessful in using Configurator to install a free app onto my personal 1st-gen iPad. No matter what I try, I get this error message:

Apple ID not authorized.​

Is there any way to use Configurator to install a free app onto an iPad that has previously been associated with an Apple ID?


Question 2: Brand-new iPads

My company needs to install a free app onto 300 new 3rd-gen iPads. Because my tests failed, I don't know if Configurator will actually help us with this task.

Can Configurator be used to simply install a single free app onto a bunch of brand-new iPads?
​

Question 3: Deleting & redownloading the app

The guide Deploying iPhone and iPad: Apple Configurator (apple.com/iphone/business/docs/iOS_Apple_Configurator_Mar12.pdf) says on page 3:

To update apps deployed using Apple Configurator, you must reconnect to the same Mac from which the apps were installed. Additionally, you can’t redownload these apps via iTunes in the Cloud. [emphasis added]​

Our goal is to install the free app onto the 300 iPads and then never to connect these iPads to Apple Configurator again. If the individual users want to update the app, they will need to delete the app and then redownload it from the App Store using their own Apple IDs.

Is it possible to delete a Configurator-installed app and then redownload it using a personal Apple ID?

These questions are better suited for asking Apple directly.

 

[saberahul]

Try this. A quick google search brought it up.

 

[c.ec]

@brand, you may be right. It seems that my questions are too specific and technical to be suitable for user forums.

@saberahul, thanks for the link. I actually read that thread already, but it's certainly possible that there's some piece of wisdom out there I missed . . .

 

[jsmiley125]

I was having this same problem, until I re-read the Apple Configurator Help section abut using VPP redemption codes: iTunes must be "authorized" on the Mac you're using to install the apps via Configurator. So, you have to go in to iTunes, go to the Store menu, and then choose "Authorize This Computer". Make sure you're logged in to the App Store withe ID you used to get the free apps.

After I did that and restarted Apple Configurator, I was able to get the free apps to install on my iPad without using VPP codes.

Hope this helps!

 

[c.ec]

Appreciate the response!

Eventually I realized that the greatest obstacle I was facing was the vague error message, Apple ID not authorized. Because of my expectation that working with an iPad already associated with an Apple ID would cause problems, I misunderstood this error message to be referring to the ID on the iPad.

Instead, it was referring to the ID registered in iTunes (as you mention). Once I finally, finally found "Authorize This Computer" in iTunes, I was able to understand the intended (but not indicated) context for the error message and get past it.