Unofficially without GMS certification modern Android devices do allow for limited Android Enterprise management with an EMM that supports closed network or non-GMS management, but your mileage may vary. These devices may also be referred to as AOSP, and an excellent example of an uncertified, AOSP device is the Kindle Fire.
No, these devices are not officially supported for Android Enterprise and therefore would be expected to be managed using the legacy and mostly deprecated Device Admin APIs. General Is Android Enterprise supported on uncertified (non-GMS) devices? Note: Only the admin account can remove profiles.Below you’ll find a number of frequently asked questions I receive related to Android Enterprise. At that point, you’ll have to just factory reset the phone. Unfortunately, there’s no way to remove the Admin account-which is always the one used during the initial setup process-so you can’t pass the device on to the new user and make them the admin. If you get to a point where you no longer need multiple profiles on a device, you can easily remove the additional profiles. Once you tap it, you’ll be presented with a list of the current users. On Nougat and below, this is found at the top of the bar. To switch profiles, pull down the notification shade twice and tap the user icon. Tap the cog icon next to the new user’s name, then toggle the “Turn on phone calls and SMS” option. To enable this, log back into the admin account (instructions on profile switching are below) and jump into the Users menu again. Once you continue, it’s basically like setting up a new device from scratch.įrom here, just log in to your Google account and set the phone up like normal.īy default, calls and text messages will be disabled on the new user profile. It starts with a short warning on what to expect from this profile. If you choose to set it up now, you’ll immediately be “logged out” of the profile you’re currently using and tossed into the setup menu. Tablets also offer an exclusive “Restricted Profile” for shared devices with kids.Īt this point, you can choose to set the new user up now or wait till later. You can do this on Android phones with Lollipop (Android 5.0) and above, as well as tablets with KitKat (Android 4.4.). If you have a shared device and are into the idea, setting up a new user profile is easy peasy. Just something to keep in mind if you plan to set up your entire family on a single tablet. So, as you can imagine, the more apps installed on each profile, the worse performance will be. In order to make switching between them quick, they effectively run at the same time-the others just keep ticking along in the background. In short, the more users on the phone, the crappier the performance. There is a downside, however: performance. Again, like having two devices in one. When you add a new profile, it literally goes through the entire setup process like a brand new device. This is more than just adding a second Google account alongside your primary-this is literally an entirely different profile, with its own apps, settings, wallpaper, and the like. Not a lot of people realize this, but Android has a very similar feature built in called User Profiles. It’s like having multiple machines wrapped into one.
If you have (or have ever used) a shared Windows PC, then you may already be familiar with the concept here: everyone has their own login, complete with their own apps and settings.