How to Enable Samsung Smart Switch on Fully Managed Devices: A step-by-step Guide

If your organization is scaling up device deployment, seamless data migration is one of the primary challenges you may face. As an effective solution, Samsung Smart Switch provides a fast and user-friendly method for transferring contacts, apps, photos, and settings from one device to a Samsung Galaxy smartphone. It is an advantage for organizations that aim to minimize downtime, which occurs during data migration. 

But, for fully managed (UEM-managed) Android Enterprise devices, Smart Switch is not available by default because enterprise security policies restrict access to apps and tools that transfer data.

So, how can businesses control yet be flexible with device migrations? It is possible by using a unified endpoint management solution. 

Let’s understand the step-by-step process for how IT administrators can enable Samsung Smart Switch on managed devices using Scalefusio UEM. 

What is Samsung Smart Switch, and why does it matter for enterprises

Samsung Smart Switch is Samsung’s official solution for transferring user data from Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS devices to new Galaxy smartphones. It supports several migration methods, such as cable-based, wireless, or via a PC, and enables fast data transfers with minimal manual intervention.

For enterprises, Smart Switch can be highly valuable when:

• Replacing employee devices during hardware refresh cycles.
• Onboarding new hires by preloading corporate apps and settings.
• Recovering from device damage without losing critical business data.

Without a reliable transfer tool, IT teams would face longer setup times, higher support tickets, and potential user frustration.

Why Samsung Smart Switch is blocked on fully managed devices

Fully managed devices operate under the Device Owner (DO) mode of Android Enterprise. In this mode, the enterprise has total administrative control, enforcing strict policies to protect corporate data, minimize vulnerabilities, and prevent misuse.

Smart Switch, while legitimate, requires elevated access to:

• Personal files (photos, videos, contacts)
• System settings and app data
• USB file transfers and device storage

By default, Android Enterprise restricts these operations to prevent unauthorized data movement. From a security standpoint, Smart Switch could potentially be exploited for unintended data exfiltration if left uncontrolled.

Hence, unless explicitly enabled and governed by IT admins, Smart Switch remains inaccessible on fully managed devices.

How to enable Smart Switch on fully managed devices with Scalefusion UEM

Scalefusion UEM allows you to deploy and enable the Smart Switch app on new Scalefusion-managed devices to which the data is to be transferred. 

Pre-requisites : 

For transferring data

1. The new device on which you are transferring data should be EMM-managed. 

2. The old device should have the Samsung Smart Switch Mobile app installed.

For enabling Samsung Smart Switch 

1. To run Samsung Smart Switch configuration on the desired device, device group and device profile,  it needs to be already published or deployed on them with no other configuration. 

Steps to enable Smart Switch via Scalefusion UEM

Step 1: Log in to the Scalefusion dashboard. 

Step 2: Navigate to Application Management from the left menu and click on Play for Work Apps. Here, click on Add from Play Store to view the Google Play Store wizard.

Step 3: Enter the name of the application i.e., ‘Samsung Smart Switch’ in the Google Play Store wizard and hit the enter/return key to search for the application.

Step 4: Click on the ‘Samsung Smart Switch’ icon to see the app details. Click Select to add the application to your repository.

Step 5: Click on the Samsung Smart Switch Mobile app.  

Step 6: From the wizard on the right-hand side, click on the App Configurations tab and click CREATE.

Step 7: The App Configuration wizard will be shown. Enter the details in the wizard as provided below:

• Enter the Configuration name. For eg, Allow SmartSwitch to Run
• Toggle on the setting Allow SmartSwitch Run
• Click Save at the bottom to save the configuration

Step 8: Click on the Samsung Smart Switch app again, go to App Config, and click on the three dots next to the configuration created in step seven above, and click on Publish.

Step 9. Select Device Groups, Device Profiles, or Devices (on which data has to be transferred) and click PUBLISH. 

Step 10: Navigate to the Device Profile and Policies tab. Click on Device Profiles. 

Step 11: Select the device profile where you deployed the Samsung Smart Switch app configuration. Click on the Edit button. 

Step 12: Navigate to Restrictions, click on Device Management, under EMM Settings, and toggle on Allow Backup & Restore.

On the device front

Step 1: Launch the Samsung Smart Switch mobile app on both devices (old and new), and select the content from the old device.

Step 2: Select “Send” on your old device and “Receive” on your new Samsung smartphone. Select items to transfer and click “Transfer”.

Simplify secure device migrations with Scalefusion UEM

Enterprise device migrations demand both speed and control, and Scalefusion UEM delivers exactly that. By enabling Samsung Smart Switch safely on fully managed devices, Scalefusion empowers IT admins to drive seamless data transfers without compromising corporate security.

Through intuitive policy management, app-level configurations, and real-time device monitoring, Scalefusion UEM enables the maintenance of a tightly governed environment even during large-scale hardware refreshes or onboarding projects.

Enable Samsung Smart Switch with Scalefusion today and experience secure, efficient transitions at enterprise scale.