Can I edit the Department field for local users in Hexnode?Solved

Hi @eleanor_a ,

For local users, the native Department field on the user profile cannot be edited manually. That field is reserved for directory-synced users, such as users synced from Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, or Google Workspace.

Device custom attributes also cannot be used for this purpose because they apply only to device records, not user profiles. Editing a device attribute will update the device details, but it will not populate or modify the user’s Department field.

For grouping local users by department, team, or role, use User Groups instead:

1. Go to Manage > Groups > User Groups.
2. Click Create Group > Create a user group.
3. Name the group after the department or team.
4. Add the required local users to the group.
5. Save the group.

You can then target policies to that User Group. This is the recommended approach for assigning policies to local users when no directory integration is connected.

Regards,
Isabel Lora
Hexnode UEM

I was expecting the custom attribute to show up on the user profile, but it only appeared under device details. So if I have users with no assigned devices yet, custom attributes won’t help for grouping them, right?

Yes. Device custom attributes are tied to devices, so they are not useful for tagging standalone user profiles. If the goal is to organize users before or regardless of device assignment, User Groups are the right option.

Once the users are added to the appropriate group, policies can be associated with that group instead of relying on a Department value.

Regards,
Isabel Lora
Hexnode UEM