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Configuring additional Wi-Fi profiles with MDM
Organizations can ensure that the devices can seamlessly connect to certain Wi-Fi networks by configuring it through Hexnode UEM. MDM configured Wi-Fi networks provide increased data security and reduced workload as it is an over-the-air procedure. An added advantage of configuring Wi-Fi from the portal is that users are oblivious to the Wi-Fi password thereby guaranteeing that it cannot be shared with unauthorized users. The process of configuring additional Wi-Fi on a device is the same as configuring a new Wi-Fi.
- Go to Policies and click on New Policy.
- Provide a name to the policy and select the OS platform (iOS, Android, Windows, macOS) of the device you want to configure the Wi-Fi on.
- Provide the SSID. Service Set Identifier simply implies the name of the network. It is case-sensitive.
- Enable ‘Auto Join’ if the device must connect automatically to the saved network.
- Select the option ‘Hidden Network‘ if the network does not broadcast the SSID and keeps it hidden.
- Choose the Security Type applicable to your network and fill in the necessary details. You can select WEP, WPA/WPA2, Any (Personal), WEP Enterprise, WPA/WPA2 Enterprise, Any (Enterprise), WPA/WPA2 PSK, 802.1x EAP, WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK or WPA/WPA2 Enterprise.
- Provide the Password of the Wi-Fi network.
- Set the Proxy. Proxy can be configured as manual or automatic. Manual proxy requires server, port, authentication and password details while an Automatic proxy requires proxy server URL.
- To configure additional Wi-Fi networks, click on ‘+Add more‘ and repeat steps 3-6.
- Assign the policy to Devices/Device Groups/Users/User Groups/Domain from Policy Targets. Save the policy.
- On supervised iOS/iPadOS, if “Connect to MDM configured networks only” under Policies > iOS > Advanced Restrictions is enabled, then the device will be allowed to connect with Wi-Fi networks configured through the portal only. All other Wi-Fi networks will be restricted. Supported on iOS 10.3+.
- On Android devices, if Policies > Android > Advanced Restrictions > “Configure Wi-Fi” is disabled, users will not be able to connect to external Wi-Fi networks. This restriction paired with the Wi-Fi configuration will ensure that devices connect to MDM configured networks only. Supported on Android Enterprise Device Owner and Android Enterprise Profile Owner only.
- For Windows devices, multiple Wi-Fi networks cannot be configured in the same policy. In this case, separate policies need to be pushed from the portal to the device.
What happens when you push a new Wi-Fi profile?
The new Wi-Fi profile will be configured automatically. When the current Wi-Fi becomes unavailable, the new Wi-Fi will get connected automatically if you have enabled ‘Auto Join’, or you can connect to the Wi-Fi manually.
Exceptional cases
In most of the devices, the new Wi-Fi configuration profile will get added automatically without any prompts. However, in devices like Xiaomi, the user will have to permit the addition of a new Wi-Fi profile manually to enable Wi-Fi profile installation.
- Go to device Settings.
- Select Hexnode MDM from Installed Apps.
- Select Other permissions.
- Enable the option Change Wi-Fi connectivity.
Only after doing so, the new Wi-Fi profile gets installed. Once this is done, no more prompts will appear when you push additional Wi-Fi profiles.
