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Customize the home screen dock on the iPhone or iPad with custom configuration profiles

The home screen and dock of an iPhone or iPad can be customized using LogMeIn Resolve MDM.

Before you begin: The home screen and dock can only be customized on iPhones and iPads that are supervised and are running iOS 9.3 or later.
LogMeIn Resolve MDM makes it possible to create custom configurations for your iOS device's home screen, including remotely adding or removing applications from the dock. For general information on custom configuration profiles for iOS devices, see Custom configuration profiles for iOS devices.

Add an application to the home screen dock using a custom configuration profile

Before you begin: A configuration payload is needed to create the custom configuration profile. The payload can be created as a .mobileconfig file using Apple Configurator and uploaded to LogMeIn Resolve MDM, or you can paste the payload into the text box during the configuration profile creation. In this article, we utilize an example payload that adds the Microsoft Outlook app to the dock with iOS's Messages and Camera apps present on the home screen. For more information on the HomeScreenLayout payload, see Apple's documentation.
To add applications to the home screen dock, a custom configuration profile needs to be deployed to the device.
  1. In LogMeIn Resolve MDM, navigate to Management > Configuration profiles and select Add.
  2. In the Add configuration profile wizard, select iOS, then select Next.
  3. Select Advanced (custom), then select Next.
  4. Upload a .mobileconfig file containing the payload by selecting Browse or paste the payload into the Custom configuration text box, then select Next.

    Example: 

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>PayloadContent</key>
    <array>
        <dict>
            <key>Dock</key>
            <array>
                <dict>
                    <key>Type</key>
                    <string>Application</string>
                    <key>BundleID</key>
                    <string>com.microsoft.Office.Outlook</string>
                </dict>
            </array>
            <key>Pages</key>
            <array>
                <array>
                    <dict>
                        <key>Type</key>
                        <string>Application</string>
                        <key>BundleID</key>
                        <string>com.apple.MobileSMS</string>
                    </dict>
                    <dict>
                        <key>Type</key>
                        <string>Application</string>
                        <key>BundleID</key>
                        <string>com.apple.camera</string>
                    </dict>
                </array>
            </array>
            <key>PayloadIdentifier</key>
            <string>com.example.myhomescreenlayoutpayload</string>
            <key>PayloadType</key>
            <string>com.apple.homescreenlayout</string>
            <key>PayloadUUID</key>
            <string>f0b2d13e-a985-4264-9901-707feabddfcd</string>
            <key>PayloadVersion</key>
            <integer>1</integer>
        </dict>
    </array>
    <key>PayloadDisplayName</key>
    <string>Home Screen Layout</string>
    <key>PayloadIdentifier</key>
    <string>com.example.myprofile</string>
    <key>PayloadType</key>
    <string>Configuration</string>
    <key>PayloadUUID</key>
    <string>24c41ae0-f8a9-4d9f-a007-d67b0dc15af4</string>
    <key>PayloadVersion</key>
    <integer>1</integer>
</dict>
</plist>
    The application is added with the values inside the dict element (shown in bold above). The key BundleID is required when the Type of the dock item is Application. The bundle ID is the unique identifier of the application, and in this case, for Outlook, the identifier is com.microsoft.Office.Outlook. For more information on item properties, see Apple's documentation.
    Note: In case the payload is not accepted by LogMeIn Resolve MDM, check if there are any extra spaces in it and remove them. Additionally, ensure that the payload uses straight double quotation marks where applicable.
  5. Enter a name and description for the configuration profile and select Create to finalize the profile creation.
  6. Deploy the configuration profile to the managed devices.

Results: The Microsoft Outlook application is added to the dock.


Microsoft Outlook app added to the dock

Create a custom configuration profile for an empty home screen dock

Before you begin: A configuration payload is needed to create the custom configuration profile. The payload can be created as a .mobileconfig file using Apple Configurator and uploaded to LogMeIn Resolve MDM, or you can paste the payload into the text box during the configuration profile creation. In this article, we utilize an example payload that creates an empty dock with iOS's Messages and Camera apps present on the home screen. For more information on the HomeScreenLayout payload, see Apple's documentation.
Important: For an empty home screen dock, make sure that the <key>Dock</key> line and its associated <array> block are not present in the payload.
To remove all applications from the home screen dock, a custom configuration profile needs to be deployed to the device.
  1. In LogMeIn Resolve MDM, navigate to Management > Configuration profiles and select Add.
  2. In the Add configuration profile wizard, select iOS, then select Next.
  3. Select Advanced (custom), then select Next.
  4. Upload a .mobileconfig file containing the payload by selecting Browse or paste the payload into the Custom configuration text box, then select Next.

    Example: 

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>PayloadContent</key>
    <array>
        <dict>
            <key>Pages</key>
            <array>
                <array>
                    <dict>
                        <key>Type</key>
                        <string>Application</string>
                        <key>BundleID</key>
                        <string>com.apple.MobileSMS</string>
                    </dict>
                    <dict>
                        <key>Type</key>
                        <string>Application</string>
                        <key>BundleID</key>
                        <string>com.apple.camera</string>
                    </dict>
                </array>
            </array>
            <key>PayloadIdentifier</key>
            <string>com.example.myhomescreenlayoutpayload</string>
            <key>PayloadType</key>
            <string>com.apple.homescreenlayout</string>
            <key>PayloadUUID</key>
            <string>f0b2d13e-a985-4264-9901-707feabddfcd</string>
            <key>PayloadVersion</key>
            <integer>1</integer>
        </dict>
    </array>
    <key>PayloadDisplayName</key>
    <string>Home Screen Layout</string>
    <key>PayloadIdentifier</key>
    <string>com.example.myprofile</string>
    <key>PayloadType</key>
    <string>Configuration</string>
    <key>PayloadUUID</key>
    <string>24c41ae0-f8a9-4d9f-a007-d67b0dc15af4</string>
    <key>PayloadVersion</key>
    <integer>1</integer>
</dict>
</plist>
    Note: In case the payload is not accepted by LogMeIn Resolve MDM, check if there are any extra spaces in it and remove them. Additionally, ensure that the payload uses straight double quotation marks where applicable.
  5. Enter a name and description for the configuration profile and select Create to finalize the profile creation.
  6. Deploy the configuration profile to the managed devices.

Results: Applications are removed from the dock.


Home screen with an empty dock

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Article last updated: 3 March, 2025