Date & Time policy not applying on custom Android POS devicesSolved

Hi @ed_evans

Date & Time policy enforcement requires system-level privileges on Android. Devices enrolled by directly installing the Hexnode APK are enrolled through Generic Android Enrollment, which does not provide the level of control needed to modify system date, time, or time zone settings.

To enforce Date & Time settings, the device must be enrolled using one of the supported management modes:

• Android Enterprise Device Owner enrollment for supported Android devices
• Samsung Knox enrollment for compatible Samsung Knox devices

For standard Android devices, Device Owner enrollment is usually completed during the initial setup flow using either:

• Android Enterprise QR code enrollment, or
• The DPC identifier method using afw#hexnodemdm

Once the device is enrolled as Android Enterprise Device Owner, the Date & Time policy can be enforced from Hexnode.

Regards,
Isabel Lora
Hexnode UEM

That makes sense, but what about POS devices that don’t have a camera or the normal Android welcome/setup screen? Ours boots directly into a custom launcher, so there’s nowhere to scan a QR code or enter the afw#hexnodemdm token.

For custom Android POS hardware or OEM builds that bypass the standard Android setup wizard, Android Enterprise Device Owner enrollment can be completed using ADB instead.

The general flow is:

1. Disenroll the device from its existing Generic Android enrollment.
2. Ensure the device is in a clean state for Device Owner provisioning. If accounts are already present on the device, remove them first. A factory reset may be required depending on the device state.
3. Enable USB debugging on the POS device.
4. Connect the device to a computer with Android Debug Bridge installed.
5. Install the Hexnode UEM app required for Android Enterprise management.
6. Use the ADB Device Owner provisioning command from Hexnode’s ADB enrollment documentation.
7. Complete the Hexnode enrollment steps on the device.
8. Associate the Date & Time policy again.

After the device is provisioned as Android Enterprise Device Owner, Hexnode receives the required OS-level privileges to enforce Date & Time restrictions/settings. Without Device Owner or Samsung Knox management, the policy may be associated with the device but will not take effect.

Regards,
Isabel Lora
Hexnode UEM

So the main issue is not the Date & Time policy itself, but the enrollment method? We were assuming that installing the APK was enough because other basic policies worked.

Correct. Generic Android Enrollment can support certain management actions, but it does not grant full device-owner privileges. System-level settings such as Date & Time require Android Enterprise Device Owner or Samsung Knox.

This is why some policies may work on the same device while Date & Time settings do not. Re-enrolling the POS device through Android Enterprise Device Owner using ADB is the suitable approach when QR code and DPC identifier enrollment are not available.

Regards,
Isabel Lora
Hexnode UEM