What's new 
Opening Hexnode for Work on an Android device shows an “Activate VPN” screen saying, “Your admin has set VPN mandatory for your device.” There are no VPN policies configured for the device, so I’m not sure why this is appearing. In some cases, tapping Proceed does not get past the permission screen. The device has been enrolled for a while and is also used with kiosk/data restriction settings. Is this prompt controlled somewhere outside the VPN policy section?
25 Views
Replies (1)
Marked SolutionPending Review
Hexnode Expert
2 weeks ago
Jul 30, 2026
Marked SolutionPending Review
Hi @jayceon,
This prompt can appear even when no dedicated VPN policy is configured. On Android, Hexnode may use the VPN permission for Data Restriction-related features such as data tracking or web filtering. The prompt is controlled from the Android Data Restriction settings in the Hexnode portal.
If data restriction, data tracking, or web filtering is actively used, the VPN permission may be required for those features to work as expected. In that case, disabling the prompt is only a workaround to bypass the activation screen and may affect those network-based controls.
Recommended approach:
– If the devices do not need Data Restriction features, disable both VPN prompt options under Admin > General Settings > Data Restriction (Android).
– If the devices rely on Data Restriction, keep the prompt enabled and complete the VPN permission activation on the device.
– For kiosk devices, make sure Prompt to activate VPN while in kiosk is configured based on whether the kiosk deployment requires data tracking or filtering.
The key point is that this is not necessarily a VPN configuration policy. It can be triggered by Android Data Restriction settings because Android treats that traffic control mechanism as a VPN permission.
Regards,
Sienna Carter
Hexnode UEM
Save