Best practices to back up and restore managed devices

Device management lets organizations monitor every aspect of the device’s lifecycle, from onboarding, configuring, disenrolling, or wiping. A device may be deployed in different scenarios at different stages. The enrollment technique used to onboard a device varies based on the business scenario in which it is supposedly being deployed. Also, a device managed by an organization may be later reconsidered for deployment using another enrollment technique to have extended control over it. It all depends on how the device is expected to function in the workspace.

However, in scenarios wherein your organization plans to re-enroll a device or enroll a device already in use, there are several factors to be considered. For instance, the data loss involved in this process is considerable and cannot be overlooked. Thus, device administrators often prefer backing up data before they are re-enrolled only to be restored later. This document will help you back up the data of a device already enrolled in an MDM and then restore it during re-enrollment.

Backup macOS devices

There are a number of ways you can prefer for backup data on macOS devices.

Perform Time Machine backup

When enabled, Time Machine lets you backup files automatically on your macOS devices on a periodic basis (hourly, daily or weekly). To enable these automatic backups, you need to connect to a compatible storage device where Time Machine can save the backup copies of your data (including applications, music, photos, emails, and documents). These backups can be used to restore your files or recover deleted items that are no longer stored on your Mac. Here are the steps to create backups using Time Machine.

1. Connect a storage device to your Mac

Connect an external storage device, such as a USB drive or Thunderbolt drive. It is ideal to choose a storage device with at least twice the storage capacity of your Mac.

2. Set up the storage device as your backup disk
1. From the Apple menu on the corner of the screen, open System Settings.
2. Navigate to General > Time Machine from the Settings menu.



3. Click on Add Backup Disk to set the storage device as your backup disk.



4. Select your connected storage device and click on Set Up Disk.



5. During the setup process,
   • Your Mac may prompt you to erase the storage device to prepare it for the Time Machine. You can either proceed with the erasure or choose a different backup disk or volume.
   • If the storage device contains backups from another Mac, your Mac may ask if you want to claim those backups. Select this option if you want to include them in the backups for your current Mac.
Note:


After completing the device setup, your Mac will automatically start using the selected storage device to create backups.


3. Make a backup

Choose Back Up Now from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar to back up now, or you can wait for the automatic backup.
After the backup is over, you can remove the USB drive or the storage device you used for backup.

4. Restore your Mac from a backup

Once your device is enrolled in Apple Business Manager (ABM) and assigned to the Hexnode UEM server, the device will be configured for remote management by Hexnode. As part of the device setup, the Setup Assistant will automatically launch when the device is powered on. During this process, you will be given the option to restore your device from a previous backup using Migration Assistant. Alternatively, you can manually open Migration Assistant on the current device to complete the transfer process.

1. Ensure that your Time Machine backup disk is connected to your Mac and powered on.
2. Migration Assistant starts, and when prompted to choose how you want to transfer your information, select the option to transfer From a Mac, Time Machine backup, or Startup disk, and then click Continue.



3. Select your Time Machine backup disk from the options displayed and click Continue.



4. From the list of available backups on the storage device, choose the one you need to restore and click Continue.



5. Select the information you want to transfer, including administrator accounts, from the list of data displayed. If you choose to restore the administrator user account from the backup, create a suitable password for the account.



6. The Migration Assistant will transfer the selected data.



7. Once Migration Assistant completes the process, click Done and log in to the migrated account on your Mac to access its files.



Backup using iCloud

iCloud lets you back up your files, such as photos, videos, and passwords, while securely syncing and providing access to your data across all devices that are signed in with the same Apple Account.

1. Sign in to iCloud
1. On your Mac, open System Settings, click Sign in with your Apple ID and enter your Apple Account and password to log in to iCloud.



2. Under Apple ID Settings, click iCloud and select the apps you want to sync and store data with iCloud.



3. Click on iCloud Drive and then turn on Sync this Mac, to keep your files in sync with iCloud. Use iCloud Drive to store files in iCloud, including those in your Desktop and Documents folders.



2. Restore backup

Method 1:

1. Once your device is enrolled in Apple Business Manager (ABM) and assigned to the Hexnode UEM server, the device will be configured for remote management by Hexnode. Sign in to iCloud using your Apple ID on your Mac.
2. After the enrollment process is complete, open Finder and click on iCloud Drive in the sidebar.



3. Browse to the files you want to restore, then drag and drop them from the iCloud Drive folder to another location, such as your desktop or a different folder.

Method 2:

1. Login to icloud.com using your Apple ID.
2. Click Drive to open iCloud Drive.



3. From the left control panel, select Recents or Browse to locate the files you want to download.



4. Select the files you need and click the Download icon in the top menu.

Manually backup files

To manually back up files such as photos, videos, and documents, simply drag them from your Mac to a USB drive or another external storage device. After the enrollment process is complete, you can restore the files by dragging them back to your Mac.