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:
- The employee signs in with their email on their enrolment page. That generates an installer specific to them.
- 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 created and assigned automatically, with no action from you.
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.
Automatic assignment is not yet available for iOS and Android.
Tips and Best Practices
- 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.
- An iPhone or Android device is never assigned automatically. Automatic assignment does not cover those platforms yet. Assign them 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.