Kiosk mode is not activated even upon successful policy associationSolved

Participant
Discussion
2 months ago Feb 25, 2026

Hello everyone,

We are rolling out Samsung Galaxy Tab A8s as interactive product catalogs for our retail showrooms. I have successfully deployed our standard Single App Kiosk policy to 49 of these tablets without a hitch.

However, the 50th tablet is giving me a massive headache. I applied the exact same Hexnode policy to it, and the management portal shows the policy status as Applied. But the device is definitely not fully locked down. Customers can still pull down the notification shade, toggle the Wi-Fi connection, scroll through system settings, and even use the hardware button to power off the device completely!

It is the exact same hardware model and OS version as the others. Why is the kiosk lockdown completely ignoring my restrictions on this single tablet, and how do I fix it?

Replies (1)

Marked SolutionPending Review
Hexnode Expert
2 months ago Feb 25, 2026
Marked SolutionPending Review

Hi @otis,

Thank you for reaching out to Hexnode Connect! I understand your problem.

Based on your description it is highly likely that your 49 successful tablets were enrolled using Android Enterprise as a Device Owner, which grants Hexnode the advanced privileges required to silently and strictly lock down the device. The problematic tablet, however, appears to be enrolled via Generic Android Enrollment (also known as Device Admin).

When a device uses Generic Android Enrollment, the Android operating system restricts the MDM from silently forcing the device into Kiosk mode. To get this specific tablet fully locked down, you will need to enable Kiosk mode manually on the device itself. Here is exactly what you need to do:

  1. Wake up the problematic tablet and open the Hexnode Agent app.
  2. Inside the app, you will see a prompt or a dedicated section indicating that Kiosk Mode requires manual activation.
  3. Tap to enable it. The app will then ask you to grant a few manual device permissions (such as Usage Data Access, Device Administrator, and Display over other apps).
  4. Once you manually approve those permissions, the kiosk lockdown will instantly take effect. Your restrictions will finally block the notification shade, Wi-Fi toggles, and power button just like the other devices.

Let me know if that clears up the issue or if you need any further help.

Best regards,
George
Hexnode UEM

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