Zebra Android 13 device in kiosk mode shows “camera keeps stopping” / app blocked messageSolved

Welcome to the Hexnode Community.

If the camera app reports that it is blocked while the device is in kiosk mode, the first thing to verify is whether Hexnode is actually blocking the camera package or one of its dependencies.

Recommended checks:

1. In the Hexnode portal, navigate to Manage > select the device > Applications sub-tab and check the Blocked Packages list.
2. Confirm whether the camera app package or any related system camera package is listed as blocked.
3. Temporarily disable or remove the kiosk policy from the device to verify whether the issue continues outside kiosk mode.
4. If the camera still crashes outside kiosk mode, the issue is unlikely to be caused by the Hexnode kiosk configuration.

Best Regards,
Isabel Lora
Hexnode UEM

I checked the blocked packages list in Hexnode, but I couldn’t find the camera app or anything obvious being blocked. We also tried clearing app data earlier, but the issue kept coming back. Also, we tested removing the kiosk policy completely from the device. The camera still wouldn’t open properly, so it doesn’t look like the kiosk policy was the cause. The same error appeared even outside Hexnode kiosk mode.

I’ve seen something similar on rugged Android devices where the camera service gets stuck and apps report it as blocked or unavailable.

That matches the expected troubleshooting path.

Since the issue persisted after removing the kiosk policy, the camera app was not being blocked by Hexnode. The behavior points more toward a temporary Android OS, firmware, or device-side camera service issue.

The next best step is to restart the device. A reboot restarts the Android camera service and related system processes.

If the same issue occurs repeatedly across Zebra devices of the same model or OS version, it would be best to check with Zebra Support for any known Android 13 firmware, hardware, or camera service stability issues.

Best Regards,
Isabel Lora
Hexnode UEM