Google Messages App: SMS to shortcode not able to send
Our Provider (Vodafone Germany) is using a SMS shortcode number to be able to order an upgrade on dataplans by sms. Once the monthly contract plan (e.g. 1 GB) have been used users will receive a sms from 70997 to inform that you can answer the SMS with "1" or "2" to restore your data connectivity. We ran into the issue that the Google Messages app seems to have some sort of bug with sending SMS to this kind of shortcode number as it alway says "Not sent" in red error text. Provider tech support told me that the Google messages app is prefixing the number with "49" resulting in a wrong / unknown number (4970997). They cannot fix that from their side as the issue is within Google messages app and asked me to install a 3rd party messages app.... *ugly* Is this something I can request to investigate from here? I will also create a case with Samsung tech support as we are mainly using Samsung devices as our corp. device fleet. Thank you! Kind Regards Daniel
Play Protect Blocking Custom DPC Apps — How to Get Approval or Alternatives?
Hi everyone, I'm a developer who helps enterprises build custom DPC (Device Policy Controller) Reference Documentation apps to manage Android devices based on their unique requirements. Recently, Play Protect has started blocking the installation of custom DPC apps, even when these apps are signed and used internally. The warning claims the app may pose a risk due to access to sensitive data - even though it's strictly for enterprise use. To make things more difficult: Google is no longer accepting registration of custom DPC apps with Android Enterprise, which limits official distribution and management options. Android Management APIs don’t support all use cases, and also have quote limit. I’ve applied twice to join the Android Enterprise portal to build a SaaS-based device management platform, but both requests were rejected without a clear reason. My questions for the community: Is there any official way to get a custom DPC app approved or whitelisted by Play Protect? Are there any alternative ways to manage Android devices at scale (outside of AMAPI or legacy EMM)? How can new developers or startups gain access to Android Enterprise features when onboarding is currently restricted? Any help, direction, or shared experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Kulwinder
What security threats do you experience the most?
Hey everyone, Stop what you’re doing - episode 2 of The Secure Element is out now! Tune in as Bigdogburr and Theresa Lanowitz, Chief Cybersecurity Evangelist at LevelBlue, dive into achieving cyber resilience in an era of boundaryless computing. Their discussion truly reinforced for me just how vital a holistic approach to securing all end-user computing is - from laptops to mobiles, and everything in between - especially with cyberattacks becoming so sophisticated. The role AI plays in crafting these increasingly targeted attacks was a real eye-opener! This episode got me thinking about the real-world threats we’re all facing. What are the kinds of cyber threats you are most confronted with? Cast your vote in the comment section below: Phishing / Quishing/ Smishing (Email, SMS, or QR code tricks) Deepfakes (Convincing fake video/ voice calls) Malicious apps (Apps designed to steal data/ compromise devices) Network attacks (Rogue or Spoofed Wi-Fi, man in the middle, etc.) Other (please share more details in the comments!) And share some wisdom! Do you have some tips on how to identify a cyber attack? If you’ve been targeted, what’s one key lesson learned that you think everyone should hear? Looking forward to reading your stories. Chat soon, Emilie
Impact of Intune's NFC restriction setting on IC card reading and Nearby Share
Hello, I'm managing Android Enterprise devices via Intune and would like to confirm the behavior of a specific device restriction setting related to NFC. ■ Device: AQUOS wish4 (Android), enrolled as a fully managed device ■ Policy applied: Device configuration profile with "Beam data using NFC (work-profile level)" set to Block ■ Policy configuration path in Intune Admin Center: Microsoft Intune Admin Center > Devices > Manage devices > Configuration Platform: Android Enterprise Profile type: Template > Device restrictions Configuration settings > General - Beam data using NFC (work-profile level): Block ○ Background and expectation: My understanding is that this setting is intended to block NFC-based data transfer (i.e., Android Beam) within the work profile. However, I initially assumed it might also block general NFC usage, such as reading contactless transit cards or using mobile wallet services. ○ Test scenario and results: After applying the policy to a fully managed AQUOS wish4 device, I observed the following: The NFC toggle remains available and functional under: Settings > Connection settings > More connection settings > NFC I installed an app that reads contactless transit cards used for public transportation (e.g., Suica or PASMO in Japan) and confirmed that it successfully retrieved the card balance via NFC ○ Interpretation: Based on this behavior, I suspect that the policy only affects the deprecated Android Beam feature, which used NFC for peer-to-peer file sharing. It does not block general NFC functionality such as card reading or mobile payments, nor does it impact newer sharing technologies like Nearby Share or Quick Share, which rely on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Direct. ■ Questions: Is my understanding correct that "Beam data using NFC (work-profile level)" only restricts Android Beam functionality and does not affect general NFC usage? Is there a way to restrict Nearby Share / Quick Share on fully managed Android devices via Intune, or would that require a different configuration or approach? Any insights, documentation references, or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Enabled FRP and now I'm stuck
We're building an Emm solution so while testing I enabled FRP and thought of giving it a shot. So, after factory resetting all i can see is a google window asking me to verify with the account that was previously in the device. What I cannot understand is there was no account signed in except the one google created ( the managed account with the briefcase thingy ). I'd like to understand how can i recover it now? i do have some of the device details on enterprise.devices.get endpoint. Any help would be much appreciated! Rino.
Preferred Password / Passkey / Autofill Missing Policy
Since the installation of Android 15, I'm now unable to set a preferred Passkey / Password service on the phone, and it says its being blocked by an IT policy, contact an admin. Being the admin, and reviewing setting multiple times, there is no policy set that comes close to this. Is there a way to allow this to be used in an enterprise, or is there no fix and it's a hidden policy?Need Help with QR Enrollment for Multiple Devices in Educational Environment – Is External MDM Required?
Hi everyone, I'm managing a large number of Android tablets in an educational environment. I'm trying to enroll the devices using Android Enterprise with QR code enrollment, but I'm having trouble getting the QR method to appear. So far, only Zero-Touch shows as an option, but most of our devices were not purchased through Zero-Touch resellers, so we can't use that method. My main question is: Is it strictly necessary to use an external MDM (like Miradore, Intune, etc.) to generate the QR code, or is there a way to create and use it directly from the Google Admin console or natively through Android Enterprise? We want to deploy the tablets efficiently and avoid entering accounts manually. Ideally, each device would automatically enroll with our managed Google Play account by scanning a QR code after a factory reset. This is especially important in a school context, where we have many students and limited time for configuration. We are already registered in Google Workspace, and the tablets are in a dedicated organizational unit for students. The admin account is managed, and we are using the Android Enterprise platform linked to our domain. For reference, here are two YouTube videos showing the configuration steps I followed (which reflect our current setup): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI-C_y1u8jE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h__pvfp559Q Any advice or clarification would be greatly appreciated. Especially if there’s a native way to enable QR enrollment without needing a full external MDM platform. Thanks in advance!
