Android kiosk mode not activating after enrollment in HexnodeSolved

Hi @oliver_p, Welcome to the Hexnode Community.

If the Hexnode UEM app and Hexnode Browser are installed but Android kiosk mode does not activate, the first thing to confirm is whether the kiosk policy is actually associated with the device and applied successfully.

You can verify this from the Hexnode UEM console:

1. Go to Policies.
2. Open the Android kiosk policy.
3. Go to Policy Targets.
4. Add the affected device or device group.
5. Save and associate the policy.
6. Go to Manage > Devices > > Action History and check whether the kiosk-related actions completed or failed.

If the policy target is correct but the action history shows policy failures, review the other active policies applied to the same device or user. Conflicting Android restrictions, password settings, or user-mapped policies can prevent kiosk activation even when the kiosk configuration itself is correct.

Regards,
Isabel Lora
Hexnode UEM

The kiosk policy was already added to the device under Policy Targets. The policy configuration also looks correct. But the device still remains outside kiosk and shows the regular launcher with all apps. Action history shows that one of the policy actions failed.

Hi @oliver_p . I have run into something similar before. In our case, the kiosk policy was fine, but another policy assigned through the user was interfering. Removing and reapplying only the kiosk policy to the device helped us narrow it down.

You are correct @yasmin_farooq , in this scenario, the behavior points to a policy application issue caused by user-based policy mapping rather than an issue with the kiosk app installation.

A useful workaround is to temporarily change the device owner and reapply the kiosk policy:

1. Create a temporary test user in Hexnode UEM.
2. Open the affected Android device from Manage > Devices.
3. Change the device owner from the current user to the test user.
4. Associate the Android kiosk lockdown policy with the device or test user.
5. Allow the device to check in and apply the policy.
6. Activate kiosk mode once the policy applies successfully.
7. After kiosk mode is active, change the device owner back to the original user.

This refreshes the user-policy mapping and allows the kiosk policy to apply correctly. If multiple devices are affected, repeat the same process for each affected device.

Also make sure there are no conflicting Android restrictions or password policies assigned through the original user, device group, or user group. If such policies are required, apply them carefully after confirming kiosk mode is active.

Regards,
Isabel Lora
Hexnode UEM