Classroom requirements for unmanaged nearby classes
For unmanaged nearby classes created by you, neither Apple School Manager nor a mobile device management (MDM) solution is required. These classes are also incompatible with:
Managed Apple IDs
Shared iPad
The education configuration profile from your MDM solution that creates MDM-synced classes
Features
Unmanaged nearby classes offer the following features:
You can advertise an unmanaged nearby class for enrolment.
Students can browse for that class from their iPad or Mac.
Students can easily move from room to room with their iPad or Mac.
Students add the class by entering a four-digit invite code provided by you. A student can add more than one class — by the same or different teachers.
Available actions
While the class is active, you can perform the following actions:
Open, lock or share information in apps.
Navigate multiple students to Safari or Apple Books.
View and lock students’ screens.
Mute student devices.
AirPlay a single student’s screen.
Infrastructure requirements
To use Classroom with unmanaged nearby classes, you must have the following infrastructure configurations listed below.
Infrastructure configurations | Requirement |
|---|---|
Wi-Fi with client-to-client communication enabled | Mandatory |
Open ports:
Note: Port 3283 can no longer be used for Classroom app communication. | Mandatory |
Mobile device management (MDM) | Optional |
Teacher device requirements
These are the device requirements for teachers using unmanaged nearby Classroom classes.
Configuration | Requirement |
|---|---|
iPad model | All iPad Pro models iPad 5th generation or later iPad Air 4th generation iPad Air 3rd generation iPad Air 2 iPad mini 5th generation iPad mini 4 |
Mac model | MacBook Pro (Late 2013 or later) MacBook Air (2013 or later) MacBook (2015 or later) Mac mini (2014 or later) iMac (2014 or later) iMac Pro (2017 or later) Mac Pro (Late 2013 or later) |
Minimum supported iPadOS version | iPadOS 14.5 |
Minimum supported macOS version | macOS 11.3 |
Bluetooth enabled | Mandatory |
Set up as Shared iPad | Not permitted |
Supervision | Optional |
MDM | Optional |
Managed Apple IDs | Not permitted |
Student device requirements
These are the device requirements for students joining unmanaged nearby Classroom classes.
Configuration | Requirement |
|---|---|
iPad model | All iPad Pro models iPad 5th generation or later iPad Air 4th generation iPad Air 3rd generation iPad Air 2 iPad mini 5th generation iPad mini 4 |
Mac model | MacBook Pro (Late 2013 or later) MacBook Air (2013 or later) MacBook (2015 or later) Mac mini (2014 or later) iMac (2014 or later) iMac Pro (2017 or later) Mac Pro (Late 2013 or later) |
Minimum supported iPadOS version | iPadOS 14.5 |
Minimum supported macOS version | macOS 11.3 |
Bluetooth enabled | Mandatory |
Set up as Shared iPad | Not permitted |
Supervision | Optional |
MDM | Optional |
Managed Apple IDs | Not permitted |