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How to enable Kiosk Mode in devices enrolled via Android Enterprise?

Kiosk Mode is an access control feature that limits the device usage to single or multiple applications. Devices enrolled via Android Enterprise can be restricted to a handful of business-specific apps and websites by enabling kiosk mode. Further, advanced settings can be configured to ensure a perfect Kiosk experience for users.

Note:

To enable Kiosk mode for Android Enterprise devices, the device must be enrolled as device owner.

Enable kiosk mode on Android Enterprise devices

  1. Go to Policies.
  2. Click New Policy and give a name and description for the policy.
  3. Select Kiosk Lockdown.
  4. Under Android Kiosk Lockdown, you can choose from Single App, Multi App, Website Kiosk Settings.
  5. Select the apps you want to whitelist in kiosk mode.
  6. Go to Policy Targets and add the device you want to run in kiosk mode.
  7. Click Save.

Disable kiosk temporarily

The kiosk mode can be disabled temporarily and can be enabled again without disassociating the policy from the device.

Disable via Remote Actions.

  1. Log in to your Hexnode portal.
  2. Go to Manage.
  3. Select the required Devices/Device Groups/Users/User Groups/Domains.
  4. Click on Actions > Disable Kiosk Mode.

Since the policy remains associated with the device, the kiosk mode can be re-enabled instantly from Actions > Enable Kiosk Mode.

Exit from kiosk mode permanently

There are several ways to exit permanently from kiosk mode.

Method 1: Remove the device from Policy Targets

  1. Log in to your Hexnode portal.
  2. Go to Policies and select the kiosk lockdown policy associated with the device.
  3. Go to Policy Targets and click Remove corresponding to the Devices/Device Groups/Users/User Groups/Domains you have configured.
  4. Save the policy.

Method 2: Remove the policy from the device

  1. Log in to your Hexnode portal.
  2. Go to Manage and select the required Devices/Device Groups/Users/User Groups/Domains.
  3. Click on the Policies sub-tab.
  4. Click on the kiosk policy and then click Manage to either modify or archive it. If you’re modifying the policy, remove the device from the Policy Targets tab. Archiving a policy will automatically remove the policy from the device.

Method 3: Archive the policy

  1. Log in to your Hexnode portal.
  2. Go to the Policies tab.
  3. Click on the Archive icon corresponding to the policy or select the checkbox corresponding to the policy name and click Manage > Move to Archive.
Note:


All the methods mentioned above require the Android device to have network connectivity for disabling kiosk mode.

Exit from kiosk mode manually/when the device is offline

Using Exit Password

This password can be used to exit kiosk mode from the user end. When you tap on the kiosk home screen in quick succession, a pop-up message asking for the exit password will appear. There are two ways to set an exit password for Android kiosk.

Global Exit Password: This is a global password used to exit from kiosk mode activated using any policy inside the portal. Tap on the top left corner of the kiosk home screen for the specified number of times in quick succession to get the exit password pop-up. Steps to set Global Exit Password:

  1. Go to the Admin tab > General Settings.
  2. Scroll down to Global Exit Settings (Android).
  3. Type an Exit Passcode and click Save.

Global exit password to exit kiosk mode in devices enrolled via Android Enterprise

Note:


Note that the auto-generated 8-digit exit passcode in the portal can be modified to create a different passcode. The passcode length of the new exit passcode should be in the range of 6-12. The passcode may contain combinations of letters, numbers, or standard punctuation marks.


Kiosk Exit Password: This is a local password that is set inside a policy. It can be used to exit from kiosk mode activated using that particular policy only.
Steps to set a Kiosk Exit Passcode:
  1. Go to the Policies tab and select the policy.
  2. In Kiosk Lockdown sub-tab choose Kiosk Exit Settings under Android Kiosk Lockdown and click Configure.
  3. Enable Allow manually exiting kiosk mode to configure the exit settings.
  4. Set a Kiosk exit password and specify the Number of taps to display the pop-up to enter the exit passcode. Set a value between 5 and 15.
  5. Click Save.

Kiosk exit password to exit kiosk mode in devices enrolled via Android Enterprise

Note:


When a kiosk exit password is defined in a policy, you cannot exit using the Global Exit Passcode. Provide the same kiosk exit password which you have set from inside the policy.

Exit kiosk when the app is open

In the case of single app kiosk mode or when an app is open, to disable kiosk mode, the user can tap the device status bar instead of the home screen.
To enable this feature:

  1. Inside the policy, go to Kiosk Lockdown > Android Kiosk Lockdown > Kiosk Exit Settings.
  2. Enable Exit manually from kiosk mode while an app is open. Ensure that Enable Status Bar option under the Peripheral Settings is disabled.

At the device end, kiosk can be exited by tapping on the top left corner of the screen for the specified number of times in quick succession and entering the global/local exit passcode.

Exit from kiosk after Reboot

If the device is rebooted while in kiosk mode, there will be a delay for the app to relaunch. The user can exit from kiosk mode during this app relaunch delay by tapping on the vacant part of the screen.
To enable this feature:

  1. Inside the policy, go to Kiosk Lockdown > Android Kiosk Lockdown > Kiosk Exit Settings.
  2. Enable Allow manually exiting kiosk mode.
  3. You can disable kiosk on your devices after a reboot if Reboot and tap to exit from kiosk mode option is enabled.
  4. Set a value for Relaunch app (in seconds). The app relaunches in kiosk mode after this specified time.
Note:


This feature won’t work if the Disable power button option inside Peripheral Settings is enabled.

  • Managing 'Android Enterprise' Devices