iPad web app kiosk becomes inactive and remote restart does not workSolved

Hi @ed_evans ,

When an iPad shows as inactive, it usually means the device has lost its persistent Apple Push Notification service connection. iOS MDM commands, including Restart Device and Disable Kiosk, depend on APNs to wake the device and deliver the command.

If the APNs connection is already lost, Hexnode UEM can queue the command, but the iPad will not receive it until network communication is restored. This is why manual remote restart may not work once the device is already inactive or non-compliant.

For web app kiosk deployments, two common causes are:

1. WebKit memory buildup: A web app running continuously in kiosk mode can accumulate memory/cache over time. This can cause the browser process to freeze or show a white screen.
2. iOS Wi-Fi power throttling: If the iPad remains idle for a long period, iOS may reduce Wi-Fi activity, which can interrupt the APNs connection required for MDM communication.

To reduce the chance of this happening, configure a scheduled page refresh for the kiosk web app:

• Go to Policies > iOS > Kiosk Lockdown.
• Open the Web App / Hexnode Browser Lite kiosk configuration.
• Set Refresh current page every to a shorter interval, such as 15–30 minutes.
• Save and reapply the policy.

If the current refresh interval is set to something long, such as 300 minutes, the page may run for too long before being refreshed. A shorter refresh interval helps clear WebKit memory and keeps the session active.

Also keep Wi-Fi Auto-Join enabled so the iPad reconnects automatically if the connection toggles during idle periods.

Scheduled device restarts can also help clear OS memory and maintain stability, but if that feature is not available in the current plan, the shorter web page refresh interval is the main practical workaround.

Regards,
Isabel Lora
Hexnode UEM

Does the inactivity reload setting help here? I had assumed that setting the browser to reload after a few minutes of inactivity would be enough, but the page we use has live scripts running in the background.

The inactivity-based reload and the scheduled refresh are slightly different.

An inactivity reload depends on the browser detecting an idle state. If the web page has background scripts, auto-updating content, or continuous activity, iOS may not treat the page as idle. Also, if the web view has already frozen, the inactivity timer may stop working.

For this type of issue, use the scheduled refresh option instead. The setting Refresh current page every runs on a fixed interval regardless of user interaction or background page activity. Setting it to 15–30 minutes is generally more effective than relying only on inactivity reload.

Regards,
Isabel Lora
Hexnode UEM