App could not be updated in KioskSolved

Participant
Discussion
3 years ago

Hey everyone!

We have added the apps required by our employees to a multi kiosk. Thing is, when app updates are pushed, they are blocked. Any idea why?

Thanks in advance!

Replies (11)

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Participant
3 years ago
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Prolly because you haven’t added play store to the kiosk. Try that. Gotta solve the issue

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Participant
3 years ago
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No can do. Company policy prohibits employees from accessing the play store.

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Hexnode Expert
3 years ago
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Thanks for reaching out to us, @Cipta!

We understand your concerns about giving the users access to Play Store. That is why Hexnode offers you a simple yet effective solution. You can add Play Store as a 
background app. This can be done by opening the policy and navigating to Kiosk Lockdown > Android Kiosk Lockdown > Background Apps.  Now, apps can be updated in the kiosk seamlessly.

 

Adding Play Store as a Background App

 

Hope that helps.

Cheers!
Gabriel Galbraith
Hexnode UEM

  • This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by  Gabriel.
  • This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by  Gabriel.
  • This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by  Gabriel.
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Participant
3 years ago
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hey, this worked fine, but for some reason, we aren’t able to install the app we built when the phone is in kiosk mode. we have uploaded the app as an “enterprise app”. is this a kinda security issue or something? Does it also mean I can’t update these apps while in kiosk also?

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Hexnode Expert
3 years ago
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Hi there @Layaan! Thanks for reaching out to us!

This issue could be occurring because you haven’t enabled mandatory app installation in kiosk. This can be found under App Settings in peripheral settings by navigating through Kiosk Lockdown > Android Kiosk Lockdown.

 

Enabling mandatory app installation in kiosk

 

For the devices enrolled as Device Owner in the Android Enterprise program, for devices with Hexnode as a system app, and for Samsung KnoxLG GATEKyocera business phones, the apps will install silently. If your device belongs to any of these categories, even if you don’t enable the above option, the apps will get installed automatically.

The enterprise apps can be updated in kiosk either by replacing the existing APK file or by pushing it as another app. You can easily do this without any issues, even when the device is in kiosk mode.

Hope that resolves the issue.

Cheers!
Gabriel Galbraith
Hexnode UEM

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Participant
3 years ago
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Likewise, we’ve approved and deployed a medical application for accessing health records of our patients. Added it to the single app kiosk policy, everything worked fine until we tried to update the app inside the kiosk. Devices are Android enterprise enrolled, the app is managed google app, the app doesn’t update unless the devices are restarted. Sometimes we’ve to restart the devices more than once. Sometimes, a blocked package error (of google play store) showed while installing the app.

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Hexnode Expert
3 years ago
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Hey Saiqa,

I’d love to help you with this! I need a little more information to understand what’s going on:

  • What is the model (Agent type – General Android, Samsung Knox, Kyocera, or any other) of your deployed devices?
  • Have you added the Google Play Store app to the list of background apps as mentioned earlier?

Thanks,
Catherine George
Hexnode UEM

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Participant
3 years ago
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Now added the play store to the background apps, the devices are all samsung knox (android 8)

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Hexnode Expert
3 years ago
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Hey Saiqa,

Thanks for responding. Since you’ve added the Google Play Store app as a background app, you will not be facing any blocked package errors in the future.

Hexnode automatically pushes updates of a Managed Google app if the app is initially distributed via the Mandatory Apps policy. If you’ve distributed the app via the Install Application command, you’ll have to reinitiate the action to push the app update.

If the issue persists, here are some workarounds that can be initiated from the Hexnode UEM console:

Try clearing the cache or data of the Google Play Store app.

Use the Remote App Launch command to launch the Google Play Store app on the device remotely. It enables you to keep the Google Play Store open on the device over the air. Since the app remains alive for the specified duration, any delayed app updates will be pushed to the device automatically. To execute the command, select the device from Manage > Devices, and click on Actions > Remote App Launch. You may choose any of the available configurations as each of them can serve the purpose here.

Now, your app can be seamlessly updated without any further delay.

Hope that resolves your issues!

Catherine George
Hexnode UEM

  • This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by  Catherine.
  • This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by  Catherine.
  • This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by  Michelle.
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Participant
3 years ago
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Same issue as @cipta but in different platform. Not able to update store app added in single app kiosk. Not an issue of the app- tested with other store app. Not an issue of device – tested with iPhones and running iOS 8, 9,10. Thoughts?

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Hexnode Expert
3 years ago
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Hello Natalie,

Thank you for reaching out to us.

Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t support deploying app updates when the device is in Single App kiosk mode. You will not be able to update both Store and VPP apps. To get the updated version of the apps in your kiosk:

  1. Exit from the kiosk mode.
  2. Update the Store app or VPP app in the portal.
  3. Add the updated version of the app to the kiosk policy and associate the policy to the device. The device will enter kiosk mode and you will see the updated app in the kiosk.

Hope that helps.

Cheers!!
Deborah Timothy
Hexnode UEM