Enable location tracking for co-managed Windows devices

The Location Tracking feature in Hexnode helps organizations fetch real-time device location details and view the complete history of the device’s previously traversed locations. It becomes extremely useful in locating an asset that is lost/misplaced.

The Location Tracking policy associated with Windows devices lets the MDM console periodically track their location. It also serves as a prerequisite for the Scan Device Location remote action that fetches the device’s location instantaneously.

However, a co-managed Windows device cannot have any policies associated with it. Yet, it does not delimit location tracking for a co-managed device from the Hexnode console. The remote action Enable Location Tracking allows you to enable location tracking for co-managed devices without requiring a policy.

How to execute the Enable Location Tracking action?

1. Open the Hexnode UEM console.
2. Navigate to the Manage tab and select Devices.
3. Select the devices or click on the specific device for which you want to enable location tracking.
4. Select Actions > Enable Location Tracking.
5. After clicking Enable Location Tracking, you can choose whether to enable the Force location tracking without user prompt option:
   1. If enabled, location tracking will be activated without requiring user permission.
   2. If disabled, user permission will be required. A prompt will appear on the device, stating: “Your administrator has requested permission to track the device’s location.” The user must approve this request for location tracking to be enabled.

   

6. Click Enable.

Once the remote action is successfully executed, Hexnode fetches the location of the specified device every 30 minutes.

To fetch the instantaneous location of a co-managed Windows device, you can use the Scan Device Location remote action after the Enable Location Tracking remote action is executed. Otherwise, the action will be greyed out.

1. Open the Hexnode UEM console.
2. Navigate to the Manage tab and select Devices.
3. Click on the device name to access the Device Summary page.
4. Click on Actions > Scan Device Location.

View Device Location

To view the current location of a device using Hexnode UEM:

1. Log in to your Hexnode UEM portal.
2. Navigate to the Manage tab and select Devices.
3. Click on the device name for which you have enabled location services.
4. To access the full location history, click See history, where you can also:
   1. Filter location reports by date.
   2. Export location reports as a CSV file.
   3. Clear the device’s location history.

Disable Location Tracking

Disabling location tracking services on a device will stop it from being tracked.

To disable location tracking on devices using Hexnode UEM:

1. Open the Hexnode UEM console.
2. Navigate to the Manage tab and select Devices.
3. Select the devices or click on the specific device for which you want to enable location tracking.
4. Select Actions > Disable Location Tracking.
5. Click Continue.