OEM means Original Equipment Manufacturer, so it is for device manufacturers in general case.
I use OEM installs to preconfigure new devices with Ubuntu MATE LTS to my friends and colleagues with respect to their privacy and settings. Some of these people can't install the Ubuntu on their own, they are not skilled in this area.
From their point of view it looks like the following:
- Boot new device with preinstalled Ubuntu MATE
- Follow the wizard to specify location, language and keyboard layout, hostname (computer name), user name, login and password
- Wait for first reboot and enjoy the system.
Part 1 – preparing device for end-user:
Boot the system into OEM install
In Ubuntu MATE 20.04 LTS (and earlier) press F4 in the bootloader menu, select OEM Install (for manufacturers) and press Enter
Press Enter on Try Ubuntu MATE without installing, wait live system to boot.
Select OEM Install (for manufacturers) in newer versions like upcoming 22.04 LTS directly
Click on Install Ubuntu MATE
Optionally provide series name, for example QATeam
Select your keyboard layout and click on continue
Proceed installation as usual
Specify password for OEM user
Wait for the installer to finish
Click the Restart Now button
Remove the disc and press enter
Allow the machine to reboot
Install all updates by sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
Note: on this step you can also install some other applications globally to the system by APT (maybe using some third-party repositories and PPAs) respecting end-user's wishes.
Restart the computer
Double click the Prepare for shipping to end user icon on the desktop
and provide password to oem user.
Shutdown the system.
This part ends by shipping device to its end-user.
Part 2 - end-user received the device and configures it:
Select a language and click Continue
Select a timezone and click Continue
Select a keyboard layout and click Continue
Add end user details and click Continue
Note: end-user can enable auto-login here if needed.
Wait device to reboot
Type in the end-user's username and password on login screen and hit enter
Notes:
- More detailed instruction may be found on ISO QA testing tracker at Install (OEM setup) .
- The above method also works for other official Ubuntu flavors.