Android required apps stuck in Initiated when Play Store is not allowlistedSolved

Participant
Discussion
5 months ago Mar 04, 2026

Hi everyone. I’m deploying several Android apps through Required Apps. At first, the “Add” button was missing under the Required Apps policy, but I realized I needed to open the policy in modify mode to add them.

However, I am running into another issue: while some devices installed the apps fine, others are failing. In the Action History, the app install actions are stuck in Initiated, even after running Scan Device and Scan for Apps, and clearing the Google Play Store app data.

These affected devices have an app allowlist restriction configured. Could an allowlist be blocking the Required Apps from installing, even though they are assigned in the policy? If the Play Store app itself is restricted by the allowlist, does it stop silent app installs?

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Marked SolutionPending Review
Hexnode Expert
5 months ago Mar 04, 2026
Marked SolutionPending Review

Hello,

Thanks for reaching out to Hexnode Connect.

Yes, your suspicion is absolutely correct! Even when applications are deployed silently through Hexnode as Required Apps, the Android operating system still relies on the managed Google Play framework to process and complete the installations.

If a strict allowlist policy is applied to a device and the Google Play Store is not explicitly included in that list, Hexnode will successfully initiate the request, but the device itself will block the download. This leaves the action stuck in the “Initiated” state.

Here is how you can resolve this and get your apps installing:

  1. Allowlist the Google Play Store: Edit your existing allowlist policy and add the Google Play Store using its exact package name: com.android.vending.
  2. Check for Conflicts: Verify that there are no separate blocklist policies accidentally restricting this same package on the affected devices.
  3. Sync and Scan: Save the policy and allow it to sync to the devices. Once synced, run a Scan Device action followed by a Scan for Apps action. The stuck installations should automatically resume and complete.

I hope this gets your app deployments moving again! Feel free to reach out if you have any more doubts or need further assistance.

Best regards,
George,
Hexnode UEM

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