Product Updates

Hello everyone,   We know there are a few Android Enterprise developers in our community here, or you have developers in your team, so we wanted to make you aware of some upcoming Play policy changes. Please note, all developers should also have received a direct email notification and a Play Console inbox message.    To read the Policy announcement, please view this article in the Google Play Developer Help Center. You can view a list of the policy chances in this Policy Deadlines page, together with resources to give developers the support you need to comply. If you are a developer and have follow-up questions we recommend exploring the Google Play Developer Community.   I hope this is helpful.    Thanks, Lizzie

 Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well. AI is a topic on many people's minds at the moment - did you know in a recent workplace technology survey, 50% of employees said they improved productivity and quality of work with AI tools(1)? Android Enterprise is launching a new digital series called Android Talks, focusing on Google AI on Android and we are pleased to officially invite you to the first episode 😀: Android Talks AIJune 5, 20248:30-8:50am PDT Together with special guests from Samsung and Pixel, we’ll talk about how you and your employees can make the most of AI, no matter where work takes them, while demonstrating some of the most groundbreaking business features in action. Join us to learn how you and your employees can radically reduce the time spent on everyday tasks, boost creativity, and improve knowledge – all with the added bonus of more control and stronger security.  To register for this event, please visit the event page here.  (1) CCS Insight Employee Workplace Technology Survey | January 2023

Updated: July 2024 to include link to blog article* Hello everyone, We’re excited to announce improvements to our signup process for new Android Enterprise users. With this new signup experience, we've made it easier and more intuitive for businesses to deploy multiple Google products alongside Android Enterprise.  Key benefits include:Simplified IT Admin Experience: IT admins can now sign up using their corporate email address, eliminating the need for Gmail accounts. This streamlined process reduces the risk of lost or deleted accounts and improves the overall management of credentials. Centralized Setup: Setup tasks, such as syncing users and configuring single sign-on (SSO), can now be performed centrally through the Google Admin console. These changes apply to multiple Google product deployments, saving you time and ensuring consistency across your IT environment. Seamless Upgrade Process: If you wish to add additional Google products (e.g ChromeOS Enterprise Upgrade for Chromebooks, Chrome Browser Cloud Management, Google Workspace) to your existing deployment, you can do so seamlessly without the need for separate registrations. Simply select the products you want to enable in Google Admin Console, and the products will be automatically enabled to your organization’s account. Enhanced flexibility and control: This improved signup experience allows you to bind multiple EMM instances to your customer account. This enables parallel testing of pre-production environments or phased migrations to a new EMM, providing greater flexibility and control over your IT infrastructure. As we continue our commitment to delivering exceptional customer experiences, this improved signup process is designed to help your organization get the most out of Google’s enterprise products. Stay tuned for further updates from your EMM partner as this enhancement is rolled out for new Android Enterprise customers over the coming months. *Learn more about this new sign-up flow in this Android Enterprise blog article: How we are making Android Enterprise signup and access to Google services better Thanks,The Android Enterprise Team

Lock lost corporate devices and get real-time location updates to recover them.   Android Enterprise admins, have you discovered Lost Mode? It’s a new management feature designed to safeguard your organisation's data and recover misplaced devices. No more frantic "phone-finding" missions or compromised sensitive information - Lost Mode empowers you to take control in challenging situations.   Lost Mode empowers device management through: Remote lock down: Instantly lock lost or stolen devices. Gone are the days of helplessly hoping lost devices remain untouched; Lost Mode helps prevent unauthorised access beyond incoming and emergency calls, securing your data, and peace of mind. If the need arises, enrolled devices can also be remotely wiped.    Real-time location tracking: Track the location of a lost device in real-time. Whether nestled under a colleague's desk or left in a taxi, Lost Mode can remotely pinpoint a device's whereabouts for hassle-free recovery.    Lock screen message:  Communicate company contact information directly on the lock screen. If found by a passerby, the pre-set company message will tell them where to return it. Or they’ll have the option to ‘Call owner’ on your chosen contact number with a press of a button, making good deeds a breeze.    Audible locator: Turn your device into a beacon. When Lost Mode is activated, the device begins to ring on full volume, guiding you, or a helpful passerby, towards its hidden location. It’s a step up from breadcrumbs or wasting time aimlessly retracing your steps - follow the audible trail and reclaim your missing tech.   How does it work?   IT admins can easily put a device into Lost Mode from their EMM console. Once the missing device is found, and is back in the right hands, employees can simply exit lost mode with their device passcode and resume business as usual. Or, IT Admins can exit Lost Mode from their EMM console.   Beyond immediate recovery, having this security measure in place enables quick action, minimising the risk of data breaches, improving employee peace of mind and eliminating wasted time searching for misplaced devices.    Next steps   Lost Mode is exclusive to EMMs that use Android Management API, and is currently available for both Work Profile on company-owned devices running Android 13 or later, and fully managed devices on Android 11 or later. To check if this feature has been made available in their console, please contact your EMM.   For a step by step on how to enable Lost Mode on company-owned devices, check out this article in the Help Center.   Otherwise it would be great to hear from you, have you or do you plan to  implement Lost Mode into your device strategy? Which feature do you think will be most useful?

Note: this article has been updated on 03.04.2024 to reflect improvements to the process of provisioning dual-SIM devices via zero-touch. Please see the below steps for best practice.    As individual tools, both zero-touch enrollment and dual-SIM devices offer a wealth of business benefits. But until recently, the two IMEI numbers - one for each SIM card - in a dual-SIM device meant integrating dual-SIM with zero-touch was unreliable and dependent on SIM configuration.   The good news: we’ve enhanced dual-SIM support in zero-touch, improving the reliability of dual-SIM enrollment, and simplifying management.   What does this mean?    This improved integration addresses the known issues some users have previously experienced when provisioning dual-SIM devices with zero-touch.    It means dual-SIM devices don’t need to be registered as two separate devices to be reliably managed. It also minimises the risk of devices being missed during provisioning and getting stuck in a reset loop, or randomly undergoing factory reset.    There is no action required to activate this fix, and you’ll only be visibly impacted if you’ve experienced the issues above. Otherwise, we’d recommend you continue to follow the steps below as best practice.     Here's how it works: Lead with the lowest IMEI: For zero-touch to recognise and configure dual-SIM devices, the device initially needs to be registered with the numerically lowest IMEI. For example, if the two IMEI numbers are 000000000000001 and 000000000000002, you would register the first.  Zero-touch to go: Upon boot up zero-touch will detect the device and provision it, applying your preconfigured settings and apps. Cue smooth sailing.   Tips for a smooth two-step Be aware: If your device is preinstalled with a version of Google Play Services prior to 24.07.12, after setup zero-touch will detect the device, register its serial number, and prompt a factory reset. The next time you set up your device, it will be provisioned through zero-touch.  Communicate with your reseller: Make sure they understand the importance of registering with the lowest IMEI for dual-SIM devices.  Test, test, test:  When integrating dual-SIM devices with zero-touch, begin with a test batch to identify and troubleshoot any hiccups. You may also wish to check this documentation for any known issues. Documentation is key: Clearly document the specific steps for dual-SIM zero-touch deployment so users know what to expect when setting up.   For more details including prerequisites, configurations and a getting started guide, check out this zero-touch enrollment for IT admins article. [To add, to find out how to view the second IMEI number in the Zero-touch portal, take a look here.]   Now, it's your turn to share your thoughts. Do you currently use a dual-SIM device? If so, how do you use it? Was it provisioned through zero-touch?      *Updated 23/4/25 - to add a link to the Help Center article on how to find the second IMEI number

  Hello everyone,   I just wanted to highlight that on December 7th, 2023, Android Enterprise hosted a webinar on 'Setting the standards of mobility in the financial services'.  If you missed it, no need to worry, the recording is now available!   The webinar covers: How Android Enterprise’s flexible, powerful, and modern mobility management solutions can empower your financial organization to meet evolving workplace mobility needs Explore how features like Managed Google Play and Work Profile can simplify your device management strategy Gain valuable insights into industry best practices and strategies from Google and IIFL Finance product leaders If you are working in the financial sector or are looking to find out more about the different solutions available when using Android for work, then I would recommend taking a watch. Click here to visit our webinar page.    If you have any follow-up questions or have any suggestions on future webinar ideas please do share them below.    Thank you, Lizzie

Hello everyone,  We've just shared a new Android Enterprise blog article and ebook regarding mobility for financial services.  In a rapidly evolving industry, financial services organizations need to respond to more than just economic challenges and opportunities. IT and business leaders in banking, asset management, insurance and fintech face hurdles ranging from evolving workforce models with new customer and employee expectations, to the push and pull between strict regulations and a growing digital landscape. Based on recent research, we’ve found five key trends that illustrate how modern mobile solutions, like Android Enterprise, can support the financial services industry in this ever-changing environment. To find out more, please read our Android Enterprise blog article, here.   You can also dive deeper into these learnings by downloading our new ebook “Flexible. Powerful. Modern. The standard of mobility for financial services.”And join our upcoming webinar to hear more about the value of modern mobility for the financial services industry’s unique needs and evolving demands.

Hello everyone,   The news is really in the title here!  😀  We have created a dedicated board here in the Customer Community to highlight any severe service announcement impacting customers. To view the new board, you can find this under the News & Events area or click here: Service announcements     Here are a few tips on using this board:   1. Subscribe to receive email notifications Registered members of the community can subscribe to receive updates (if you are not yet a member of the community and are unsure how to join please take a look at this Help Guide) Sign in and visit the Service announcement board, click on the ‘Options’ button to the right of the screen (this shows as three vertical dots, if viewing on mobile)  Click ‘Subscribe’ and the notifications will go you the email inbox you registered with in the community   How can I contribute to help support these updates? Based on case by case basis, if our Engineering team need more information we may ask you to add any addition context of what you are experiencing, to do this please click ‘Comment’ to add more information in the discussion When a fix is implemented please add a comment to let us know how it’s now performing for you 🙂 If you are a Partner, please continue to visit the Partner Portal to report any issues directly   We know this was a feature that was regularly asked for, so we are hopeful this will be a useful resource for you. It would be great to hear what you think and/or if you have any questions.    Thanks so much, Lizzie and the Android Enterprise Team

17th October, 2023   Following the recent update to our inactive account policies, we would like to reassure our customers that Google Accounts associated with Android Enterprise administration are excluded from these policies.  This exclusion covers the current administrator and owner accounts for Managed Google Play enterprises, user Managed Google Play accounts, and accounts set as an owner or admin in the zero-touch portal.  As a reminder, we recommend that all organizations add multiple owners to their Managed Google Play Account enterprises to ensure that they retain control of the enterprise at all times.   If you have any questions, please do add a comment below.   Thank you.

Hey everyone,   The new Multi EMM feature is now available. This feature will now allow an IT admin to bind multiple EMMs to their customer managed Google domain account, giving more flexibility and control over how you manage your organization's Android devices.        Here are some of the benefits it provides: More flexibility: you can choose the right EMM for each user group in your organization. For example, you can use one EMM for engineers and another for retail staff. Enhanced control: you can now have multiple instances of the same EMM provider, for example a cloud instance and an on-premise instance, to manage different sets of users or test pre-production features Easier migrations: you can now run multiple EMMs in parallel, allowing you to perform phased migrations from an old EMM to the new EMM over time.   Here are some new capabilities to be aware of: Binding multiple EMMs with your Workspace account using the admin console: To get started, simply go to the Admin console and navigate to Devices > Mobile & endpoints > Settings > Third-party integrations > Manage EMM providers.  From here you can generate an enrollment token and use it to bind with one or more EMMs. Visit the Help Center to learn more about binding multiple EMM providers and enable it for your organizational units. Enrolling a device with a Google account: you can select the EMM to use for enrollment by choosing from the dropdown for the OU (Organization Units) in the admin console. All accounts from that OU will have the EMM pushed to their device when they log in. App install by setting policy for the enrolled device: with multi EMM, if a private app is published to any EMM binding ID, then that app is automatically also available to use through other bindings as well.  You can find more information in our Help Center regarding creating web apps and distributing private apps. If you are binding multiple EMMs to a managed Google domain account, you will use the EMM iframe and not play.google.com/work to access the managed Google Play store. Unbinding the EMM through the admin console is done through the Manage EMM providers page. Availability Now available to all managed Google domain accounts, and Google Workspace customers.   If you have any questions or want to provide any feedback, please add a comment below.   Thank you,   Android Enterprise Customer Community Team

4th October, 2023 With the rise of remote working, employees are no longer tied to an office or even a single location. This means that they need tools that can help them switch into work mode seamlessly and be productive no matter where they are. Android 14 makes it easy for employees to work from anywhere, with new customisations and productivity features that work hard to ease hard work - no matter the location. Quick as a click Save work screenshots directly to the Work Profile Have you ever gone to quickly take a screenshot of something work-related as a reference point, only to realise that screenshots have been disabled and miss the moment, or worse - have to painstakingly copy everything down? With Android 14, screenshots taken within the work profile are saved to the work profile. So, businesses can enable the feature with confidence. Employees can take screenshots of work apps and websites, email them to colleagues, upload them to work storage, and work productively without risking security and data leaks.  Control what you shareShare only selected apps with partial screen share No more derailing a meeting with that super cute background pic of your dog, or accidentally risking the details of a new secret project, or even presenting personal messages to your entire team. Partial screen share helps protect employee privacy and affords more control over what’s seen. When making a work call on the go, rather than having to share their whole screen as they find the relevant tab, employees can simply select which profile or app they make visible, so nothing personal accidentally makes it on air, and focus remains firmly on business. Smooth switchingWork effortlessly across profiles Today’s distributed workforce expects the ability to work anywhere anytime, switching fluidly between work and personal. So devices need to do the same. That’s why Android 14 focuses on enhancing the cross-profile experience. When opening a link, employees can choose which profile or app to open it in, saving time having to dive between profiles. And nothing says efficiency like the all-new in-app profile switching. Within Google apps, employees can simply swipe on their profile icon to access their work profile or personal account. For ease, employees can also now view and change their work profile settings from both their work and personal profiles in the settings. Working with youEmpower employees with visual and hearing accessibility features Android Enterprise is here to empower all employees. Visual accessibility features like improved magnification and nonlinear font size scaling, makes it easier for employees to read text without anything being cut off or becoming too large to fit the screen.  The new font size tile in the quick setting menu also means employees can adjust text size quickly, without having to dive into settings - ideal for sharing info with a customer. Android 14 also gives employees more control over how their device interacts with hearing devices. Dedicated hearing aid controls can be accessed with a swipe from the homescreen, and employees can select which sounds go to their speaker, and which to their hearing device for the ultimate audio setup. And for when audio just doesn’t cut it, screen and/or camera flash notifications give visible alerts, so employees can confidently zone into a project, without the fear of missing something important.  Putting the you in uniqueCreate generative AI wallpapers on Pixel devices A business is only as good as its employees, and Android 14 is all about celebrating the unique workforce. Employees using Pixel 8 onward are able to experience Google’s generative AI technology by creating personalised wallpapers that match their personality. With so many of us working on the go, it’s always nice to be able to customise your office.  Learn more about what’s new in our Help Center FAQ. Which feature do you think will have the most impact on your way of working? Which features are you most excited about?Please share any feedback you have below.   Read more Android 14 updates:Advanced security and compliance with Android 14Learn more at the Android 14 webinar

4th October, 2023 With more and more businesses adopting distributed working, Android Enterprise is committed to ensuring companies have the tools to manage their fleet of devices effectively. That’s why Android 14 introduces even more advanced security and granular management features to help you meet the diverse and customized needs of managing and securing your business, in ways that work for you.  Security on a cellular levelSecure devices with 2G connectivity controls As a first-of-its-kind, Android 14 allows IT admins to disable 2G support in their fleet of managed devices. 2G networks do not have the same level of security as successive networks. They lack standard mutual authentication, making them susceptible to Person-in-the-Middle attacks, and are weak to interception and decryption of 2G traffic. However, all mobile devices still support 2G networks, and will automatically connect if no other networks are available, or prompted to in a malicious attack. The ability to turn off the 2G radio completely, or when employees are traveling to high-risk locations, gives companies granular control over potential security risks and offers another layer of security.  Radio silence (if desired or required) Help meet NIAP requirements with managed ultra-wide band Android 14 takes the UWB support that was introduced in Android 13, one step further. Businesses can now manage their UWB radio via an EMM policy to meet NIAP requirements. They can easily enable or disable the radio at any time.   Security as standardIncrease screen lock security with default 6-digit PIN  An increasingly distributed workforce increases the risk of endpoint security threats. That’s why Android 14 steps up security with a default 6-digit PIN requirement. So employees can safely access their devices and data wherever they are, without worrying about unauthorized access. Safe storageProtect access with powerful credential manager controls We're all about efficiency. But convenience shouldn't come at the cost of security. Android 14 lets IT admins manage permissions in the work profile and on fully managed devices to enforce a default credential manager. This way, employees can only save work credentials and passwords to a trusted credential manager. Did somebody say streamlined security? Learn more about what’s new in our Help Center FAQ. Are you planning to adopt Android 14 features immediately? Which of these new security features will be most helpful to you? Please share any feedback you have below.   Related Android 14 updates:Elevate your employee experience with Android 14Learn more at the Android 14 webinar 

Hello everyone,   We are excited to announce that we are now supporting the use of service accounts with the zero-touch enrollment customer API. This feature allows the zero-touch enrollment customer API to be used with continuously-running automated services, whereas previously it was only suitable for interactive services.   The functionality of the API is not changing, but by accessing it using a service account you will be able to deploy new services, such as: Automatically assign the correct configuration to newly-registered devices Monitor your registered devices for changes, e.g. new or removed devices Automatically change the configuration assigned to a device when an employee switches teams or changes location Automatically unregister a device when it is no longer in use   If you are interested in getting started with using the zero-touch enrollment customer API in this way, please complete this form with details of your service account and your zero-touch customer account.   If you have any questions around this, please do reply in the comments below.    Thanks, Lizzie

Hello everyone, You may have arrived in the community today and spotted we are looking a little different. Well, you are not wrong, Android has a new modern look. Android’s new brand update incorporates a logo refresh and to my delight, the Android robot and bugdroid now appears with more dimension and character (plus a full-body appearance!).  To read more about Android's brand update, please take a look at this blog article.  As we build out the Android Enterprise Customer Community, we will start to incorporate more of these new design elements.  Please do share any thoughts you have on the changes? Do you have a favourite robot design or if you could customise your own what would it be ie. a customer community droid  😀 ?