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mauriceatkinson
New Member
September 15, 2025
Question

Activating Device Owner in Android 16

  • September 15, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 1 view

I’m building a parental control app that relies on Device Owner mode. This worked fine on older devices (e.g. Samsung Galaxy S8 running Android 8/9), but it fails on a Pixel 10 Pro running Android 16.

Process:

  • I factory reset the Pixel.
  • At the welcome screen, I scan a QR provisioning code.
  • The QR downloads my signed APK, installs it, and should activate it as the Device Owner.

Problem:

  • On Android 16, the app is installed but Device Owner is not activated.
  • In Settings > Device Admin, my app is listed, but the toggle is off.
  • My MyDeviceAdminReceiver never fires — I see no provisioning broadcast (PROVISIONING_COMPLETE or PROVISIONING_SUCCESSFUL) and no debug logs.



Here is my provisioning json as a starter - juyst in case I am doing something stupid!!

{ "android.app.extra.PROVISIONING_MODE": "device_owner", "android.app.extra.PROVISIONING_DEVICE_ADMIN_COMPONENT_NAME": "com.xxxx.yyyy/.MyDeviceAdminReceiver", "android.app.extra.PROVISIONING_DEVICE_ADMIN_PACKAGE_DOWNLOAD_LOCATION": "https://test.app.com/app-release.apk", "android.app.extra.PROVISIONING_DEVICE_ADMIN_PACKAGE_CHECKSUM": "rePWsxWwsW2wycUDiE_hVHSczS3qaJIdk7fnzDMPDV0", "android.app.extra.PROVISIONING_LEAVE_ALL_SYSTEM_APPS_ENABLED": false, "android.app.extra.PROVISIONING_SHOULD_LAUNCH_RESULT_INTENT": true, "android.app.extra.PROVISIONING_ADMIN_EXTRAS_BUNDLE": { "provision_token": "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx......." } }

 

2 replies

J
jeremy
Level 1.6: Donut
September 19, 2025

Have you tried enabling it with adb afterwards to see if you see any logs/issues when doing so?

    Emilie_B
    Emilie_B
    Community Manager
    September 23, 2025

    Hi @mauriceatkinson and welcome! 

     

    I've consulted our team and this is what they said:

     

    Based on the information you've provided, it sounds like the issue you are experiencing is a direct result of increased security on newer Android versions. On Android 16, the system is much stricter about granting Device Owner privileges.

     

    Your app, while installed via QR code, is not being provisioned in a way that the system now trusts. On older devices, a simple QR code was enough. However, on Android 16, the OS requires a stronger method of trust before it will activate an app as the Device Owner.

     

    Since Android 10, the required method for new enterprise enrolments is to use a QR code that points to the Android Management API.

     

    Here’s a guide on how to get started with the Android Management API

     

    While we do not provide development advisory, all questions related to AMAPI and EMM development should go to Stack Overflow under 'android-management-api' tag, where we have a dedicated team of experts that will help with this topic.

     

    Please let us know if you need any further assistance.

     

    Chat soon, 

    Emilie 

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