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How to enable Single app Kiosk for iOS

iOS devices can be locked down to a single application using Kiosk mode known as Hexnode single app mode. Locking down a device to a single application confines it to a specific purpose machine. Once the device is powered on, the kiosk-enabled application launches itself automatically, restricting the device usage to a single app. With Hexnode, you can also enforce tighter restrictions or allow further device functionalities while the device is in kiosk mode with Advanced Kiosk settings.

Note:

  • Single app kiosk mode works only on supervised devices running iOS 6+.

Steps to enable single app kiosk lockdown for iOS devices

To enable kiosk mode for iOS devices, follow the steps mentioned below.

Prerequisites:


Before applying the policy, make sure that

  • The devices are enrolled in Hexnode UEM.
  • The app you wish to set up as kiosk is already installed on your devices.

  1. Navigate to the Policies tab on your Hexnode UEM portal.
  2. Choose an existing policy or create a new policy by clicking on New Policy.
  3. Provide a suitable name for the policy if you are creating a new one.
  4. Select Kiosk Lockdown.
  5. Select Single App from iOS Kiosk Lockdown and click Configure.
  6. Click on the + icon on the mobile screen shown and select the app to be put in kiosk mode.
  7. Configure any Advanced Kiosk Settings or User Enabled Options, if required.
  8. Go to Policy Targets tab and select the Devices/Device Groups/Users/User Groups/Domains to which the policy is to be attached.
  9. Click on the Save option.

Once the device is enrolled and the Hexnode UEM app is installed, the setting up of Kiosk mode is a no-brainer.
This is what happens at the device end:

Note:


While configuring the kiosk lockdown policy, you can also enforce additional restrictions on the device. These restrictions are available under Kiosk Lockdown > iOS Kiosk Lockdown > Single App. You can allow or disallow these features on devices running iOS 7.0+.
Advanced Kiosk Settings
Feature Description
Touch When this option is disabled, any touch actions on the device can be prevented. However, Assistive touch will not be disabled.
Device rotation This option, when unchecked, will disable the screen rotation of the device.
Volume buttons The device volume buttons can be disabled completely when this option is unchecked.
Ringer switch This option, when unchecked, will disable the user from using the ringer switch to put the device in silent or loud mode and the device will stay on whichever mode that was already activated.
Sleep wake button When this option is unchecked, it disables the sleep/wake button, keeping the device permanently in its current mode while in kiosk mode. For example, if the device is in wake mode, it will stay in that mode if this option is unchecked.
Auto lock This option, when disabled, will stop the device from locking itself. The auto lock settings configured in the passcode policy will be overruled when this option is checked.
VoiceOver Selecting this option will enable the voice over feature on the device which speaks based on gestures.
Zoom The user can zoom the device screen only if this option is enabled.
Invert colors This option, when checked, gives the user the ability to invert colors by triple-clicking the home button.
AssistiveTouch This option when checked will enable assistive touch feature that creates soft keys for some of the hardware buttons.
Speak selection Selecting this option will enable the speak selection feature which will read out a selection portion of a text.
Voice Control For iOS 13.0+ devices, this option when checked, will enable Voice Control feature that can help control the device using voice.
Mono Audio This option, when checked, will enable Mono Audio which combines stereo audio from both speakers into a single channel. Enabling Mono Audio will disable spatial audio on the device.

User Enabled Options

Choose the settings that users can manage on the device while in single app kiosk mode. These options can be made accessible by triple-clicking on the Home button.

Feature Description
VoiceOver Allows the user to manually enable / disable the VoiceOver feature in the device.
Zoom Checking this option will allow the user to manually enable/disable the Zoom option.
Invert colors This option, when checked gives the user the ability to enable / disable the invert colors feature.
AssistiveTouch When checked, users can either enable or disable the AssistiveTouch feature manually on their devices.
Voice Control For iOS 13.0+ devices, this option when checked, users can enable/disable Voice Control in the device.


Advanced Kiosk Settings for iOS Single App Kiosk lockdown
Notes:

  • You can apply only one kiosk profile to a device at a time.
  • Before adding an app in the kiosk mode, make sure the app is already installed on the device. Failure to do so will result in the freezing of the device in an inoperable mode. You must remove the kiosk profile from the device to recover it.
  • When disabling the sleep/wake button, please remember to adjust the device screen-out time to “None”.
  • While in the kiosk mode, if the device loses network, you cannot make any changes to the device from the Hexnode UEM console.
  • Single App kiosk mode on iOS devices is available on all Hexnode UEM pricing plans.
  • ‘Advanced Kiosk Settings’ and ‘User Enabled Options’ are available on Pro, Enterprise, Ultimate and Ultra pricing plans.

  • Kiosk Lockdown of Devices