Android tablets have gained huge popularity as one of the most versatile devices in the market. Be it for enterprise use where the tablet can be embedded like a kiosk, or for personal use where it can lock android tablet to one app and is used to display educational content for kids, Android tablets always come in handy.
The cost-effective Android display tablets have diverse use cases and the most common one is that of a kiosk. As a kiosk, the Android tablet needs to run a single application, giving users limited access. For example, to fill forms without allowing access to any other app on the device. An Android tablet can also be used as digital signage in a commercial environment where it needs to be locked down in a single application. For kids, Android tablets offer great means of learning, provided they are restricted to education-specific applications and websites.
In all the above-mentioned use-cases, it is essential to lock Android tablet to one app. With its intuitive capabilities and singular dashboard to manage multiple devices, Scalefusion MDM locks Android tablets into a single-app mode within few simple steps.
Getting Started: Enroll your Android tablet on Scalefusion MDM
Before you start using your Android devices like kiosks,
- You need to sign up on Scalefusion. Make sure you use an account that is not G-Suite enabled to sign up.
- Once you create an account, confirm your email address.
- You can now start enrolling your Android tablets on the Scalefusion dashboard. You can customize the Android tablet display by applying company-specific policies to the device.
Learn how to enroll an Android device on Scalefusion
Note that you need to set up the profile in Kiosk/Agent mode and the profile needs to be set to ‘Scalefusion as Launcher’.
Now, you can start using Scalefusion Android MDM for the following tasks:
- Lock Android tablets to run a single app
- Lock Android tablets to browse a single website
Lock Android Tablet to One App Using Scalefusion
Now that you have successfully enrolled an Android device profile that can be managed through the Scalefusion dashboard, you can lock a tablet to a single app. To begin with, you must push apps that you want to run on the Android tablet kiosk. Your Android device will be now locked down in a single app mode.
Here’s a quick guide on how to lock an Android tablet to one app using Scalefusion MDM:
1. Start by navigating to the Enterprise section of the dashboard. Under this section, select the My Apps section. This section displays the list of apps that are currently allowed on the Android tablet.
2. You can also upload your enterprise apps on the Enterprise store and publish it on Android devices. You can also choose from the list of Scalefusion apps. Click on the publish button and select the Device Profile/Device Name that you want this app to be available on.
3. Alternatively, you can publish an app not available previously on the tablet. For Android for Work devices, you can search the app in the ‘Play for work apps’ section. For other devices, you can download the APK of the desired app and upload it like an Enterprise app (as done in step 3)
4. Navigate back to Device Profiles and click on the ‘edit profile’ option. Enable the app that you want to run on the Android tablet.
5. Move to the Kiosk/Launcher Settings. Here, you can choose the Single App mode and select the app you want to run in the single app mode on the Android tablet. Click on the ‘Run all the time’ option to lock the Android tablet to a single app.
6. You can optionally choose to ‘Retain application state when the app is relaunched. This comes in handy for kiosks and other business uses where users perform a certain action and then abandon the device for the next user.
7. Click on ‘next’ and ‘update the profile’. The settings will now reflect on your Android tablet.
8. Your Android tablet will be now locked down in one app mode.
Lock Android tablet to browse a single website using Scalefusion
You can also lock down the tablet to run particular websites. This is useful when Android tablets are used for educational purposes where students can only access a pre-approved website. This feature can also be useful for digital kiosks where users need to access and interact with a single website.
To achieve this, you must first whitelist the website that you want to run on your Android tablet. Scalefusion recommends using Scalefusion Browser to create a controlled browsing environment on Android devices.
- Navigate to the whitelist websites section under Device Profiles. Click on the ‘Whitelist a website’ button.
2. Enter the website name and add the website link. Note that you need to enter the complete domain address of the website (starting with http:// or https://)
3. Click on the ‘publish’ button and select the Device Profile/Device Name that you want this website to be available on. The website can then be accessed on the Android tablet.
4. Now, navigate back to the Device Profile section and lock the Android tablet to the browser app by following the above-mentioned steps in the ‘lock tablet to one app’ section. Make sure that Scalefusion Browser is allowed in the ‘Select Apps’ section.
5. Choose the default launch URL for the browser. This URL has to be one of the previously whitelisted websites. Now your device will run into a single app mode with only one website running on the device. You can enforce all the properties of whitelisted websites to the website running in a single app mode.
6. Now, your Android tablet will be locked down to the browser app running a single website.
Locking your tablet with well-defined user access restrictions can be done during multiple use cases, ideally with an aim to prevent devices and data from being misused, enhance user productivity, and optimize device performance.
Want to lock down your Android tablets into a single app? Sign up on Scalefusion and start your 14-day free trial today.
