App permissions for fetching device identifiers on Android 10+Solved

Hey @fleur,

Thanks for reaching out to us.

I’m a little confused about the issue here. Is it to retrieve the IMEI number or the serial number of a particular device?

If it is, you can easily view the serial number/IMEI number of all your enrolled devices by clicking on the Manage tab in the Hexnode portal. If you’re not able to find the IMEI Number or the Serial Number column in the table, click on the edit icon on the top-right corner of the table and check the required options from the window that pops up. Please note that devices starting from Android 10 should be enrolled in the Android Enterprise program in order to view the IMEI/serial number from the portal.

To answer your question regarding app permissions: No, it is not possible because, like you pointed out, Android has added restrictions for third-party applications accessing device identifiers like IMEI numbers and serial numbers starting from Android 10.

However, you could use Hexnode’s Retrieve Device Details API to fetch the required device info from the Hexnode portal and display it on your web app or custom app. Please keep in mind that only a maximum of 10 API calls can be made a day for a particular device. Refer Hexnode API documentation to get a complete list of Hexnode APIs.

Cheers!
Chris Wheeler
Hexnode UEM

Sorry if I wasnt clear before. The devices are shared among the employees according to their work shifts so when any employee contacts us regarding any issues with the device, we identify that device (using the imei numbr fetched by our app on the device) from our own web app by looking up the respective employee it is assigned to. The problem is that our app cannot fetch the imei nmbr anymore since we upgraded the OS and now it is very difficult for the user to identify the device since it is completely locked down to just the required apps.

Okay, got it! If that’s the case, there is a way in which you can allow users to access the device info while in the kiosk mode:

Under Android kiosk settings, navigate to Peripheral Settings > Hexnode MDM Settings and check the option Show device and server information. This will enable a settings icon on the device screen. Clicking this will display a page with the device info and MDM server information, from which the user can let you know the Device ID. You can then identify the particular device by navigating to the Manage tab and searching using the Device ID.

Alternatively, the user can also dial *#06# on the keypad to get the IMEI number of the device, provided you have the Dialer app allowed in the kiosk mode.

Hope this helps. Let us know if you’ve any further queries.

Cheers!
Chris Wheeler
Hexnode UEM

Thanks! The settings option would work…wouldn’t make sense to integrate using api just for this requirement. I’m confused with how hexnode, also being ‘third-party’ app, is able to access the info on Android 10+ devices though.

That is because the Hexnode app, being the device or profile owner app, has the READ_PHONE_STATE permission to access the device identifiers like IMEI number and serial number.

Do reach out if you’ve further queries.

Have a great day!
Chris Wheeler
Hexnode UEM