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How to enable Peripheral settings for Android devices locked in Kiosk mode

Kiosk mode in Hexnode allows you to completely customize the end-users access to the apps and settings on the devices. The single, multi, and background app policies let you whitelist the apps that have to be added in the kiosk mode. The peripheral settings allow the end-users to access some of the essential settings on the devices while keeping all the other device features hidden. This helps organizations to provide their users access to the necessary settings without completely losing control over the device.

Notes:

Android TV OS supports the configuration of selective peripheral settings.

To configure Peripheral settings

Note:

Enable either Single App/Multi App kiosk mode and then configure peripheral settings.

Navigate to Policies.
Select an existing policy or create a new one by clicking on New Policy.
Select Peripheral Settings from Kiosk Lockdown > Android Kiosk Lockdown and click on Configure.

You will have the following options to configure.

Peripheral settings

Category	Feature	Description
Network	Users can turn Wi-Fi on/off	Allow users to turn on/off Wi-Fi on their kiosk-enabled devices from the peripheral settings. You can long-press on the connected Wi-Fi network to disconnect the Wi-Fi. Notes: On Android 10 devices, enabling either “Users can turn Wi-Fi on/off” or “Connect to and switch between Wi-Fi networks” enables both features on the device. This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+.
	Connect to and switch between Wi-Fi networks	Allow users to connect to different Wi-Fi networks. Notes: On Android 10 devices, enabling either “Users can turn Wi-Fi on/off” or “Connect to and switch between Wi-Fi networks” enables both features on the device. This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+.
	Add hidden Wi-Fi networks	Allow users to connect to hidden Wi-Fi networks. Notes: This option is enabled only if Connect to and switch between Wi-Fi networks is enabled. This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+.
	Users can delete Wi-Fi networks	Allow users to delete Wi-Fi networks. For devices running Android 6 and above, only the networks configured by Hexnode can be deleted. Notes: This option is enabled only if Connect to and switch between Wi-Fi networks is enabled. This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+.
	Users can disconnect from currently connected network	Enable the option to allow the user to disconnect from the currently connected network manually. Further, the user can reconnect to the same network or any other available network. Note: Make sure you have the latest versions of the Hexnode UEM app or Hexnode for Work app installed on the devices.
	Show all available Wi-Fi networks	If enabled, the See More option in the settings panel of a device locked in the kiosk mode will open the Wi-Fi settings page where they can save new Wi-Fi configuration, scan/refresh networks, connect to and switch between available networks. Notes: This option can only be enabled if “Users can turn Wi-Fi on/off” or “Connect to and switch between Wi-Fi networks” is enabled. Supported on: Android 10+ devices enrolled in Hexnode UEM as Device Admin. Android TV OS 10+.
	Auto-exit Wi-Fi settings page in seconds	Choose the Wi-Fi Settings page timeout in seconds from the drop-down menu. By default, this is 10 seconds. If required, you can change this value to 5, 30, 60, 100 or 120 seconds. This restriction works only across the Wi-Fi configurations page of the Settings app of the supported devices while in kiosk. The supported devices are: Android 10+ devices enrolled in Hexnode UEM as Device Admin. Android TV OS 10+. Note: This setting can only be enabled if “Show all available Wi-Fi networks” is checked.
	Wi-Fi Hotspot	Allow users to set up a Wi-Fi hotspot on their devices. The SSID and password would be randomly generated for devices running Android 8 and above. Here, even when the device is connected to the internet, the network will not have any internet access. It can only be used to transfer files/media between the devices.
	Users can configure Wi-Fi hotspot	Allow users to configure Wi-Fi hotspot. The users will be able to set the SSID and password for their hotspot according to their choice. On Android 8+ devices, the user will be redirected to the Settings app of the device to configure the hotspot. Notes: This option is enabled only if “Wi-Fi Hotspot” is enabled. Ensure you have the latest versions of the Hexnode UEM app or Hexnode for Work app installed on the devices.
	Users can turn mobile data on/off	This option allows users to turn mobile data on or off.
	Users can choose preferred network type	Allow users to switch between 2G, 3G, 4G or other network types available on their devices.
	Allow users to turn Bluetooth on/off	Allow users to turn on Bluetooth on their devices and pair with other devices. Note: This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+. On Android 6.0+ devices, location permissions may be required to connect to Bluetooth devices nearby.
Airplane Mode	Allow users to turn on/off Airplane mode on their devices. If enabled, users can access and control the Airplane mode from the settings menu.
Display	Disable system bars	This option disables both status and navigation bars in the rooted devices. Note: When this option is enabled, the device wallpaper will get automatically removed and the keyboard will be disabled.
	Enable status bar	Enables Status Bars in Kiosk Mode. By default, status bars are disabled. This option won’t work if you have disabled the status bar from Android > Advanced Restrictions or if you have checked ‘Disable system bars’ in rooted devices. Learn more. Note: If ‘Users can turn device off’ is disabled, the notification area will retract automatically.
	Keep screen On	Enabling this option will keep the kiosk device’s screen On, until you turn it off manually. Note: The display will turn off regardless of this configuration if ‘Do Not Disturb’ is enabled on devices where Hexnode UEM app does not have the permission to override the DND settings. This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+.
	Users can change brightness	Allow users to adjust brightness on their devices.
	Keep current brightness	Forcefully locks the device’s brightness to the current brightness set on the device. Note: Users can change the brightness level if the option ‘Enable status bar’ is checked.
	Set brightness	Enables admin to adjust brightness of devices from the console. Note: The slider position set here might not accurately represent the device end slider position. The brightness scale and the display brightness curve, which varies with the device model, cause this inaccuracy.
Hardware/software buttons	Disable power button	Enabling this option will clear any PIN, unlock pattern or password saved on the device. Note: ‘Users can turn device off’ option will not work if this option is selected. Works on Android 5.0+ Samsung Knox devices with Customisation SDK above 2.5 (Knox API level 17). Warning: Disabling power button is not natively supported on Android and the screen will turn off as soon as you press the button. However, Hexnode automatically turns the screen back on momentarily to replicate the ‘Disabled’ behavior. The actual delay may vary from a fraction of a second to a few seconds depending on the device.
	Users can turn device Off	Enables users to power off their devices. For Samsung Knox devices, this option will work only if the devices are allowed to power off from Android > Restrictions. Note: Uncheck the option Disable app crash reporting to power off the device. This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+. Exception: This feature has been deprecated in Android 12.
	Disable volume button	This option disables the user from changing the volume of the device. The admin can set the volume for the device from the console. However, if you still press the volume up/down key, the volume indicator will be displayed. But you cannot set anything on the volume indicator, thus showing the default volume set on the device before the policy was applied. Note: For devices running Android 7 and above, the ring volume cannot be muted. It can only be minimized down to level 1. In such cases, grant the Do not disturb access permission (varies with the device model) for the Hexnode app manually from the device settings. This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+.
	Enable Recent apps button	This option enables the ‘Recent apps’ button on the device, thus allowing users to see the recent apps.
Advanced Lock	Lock task mode	Enabling this option would disable all the configurable system UI features such as home button, recent apps button, etc. thus transforming the device into an immersive kiosk. Note: This feature is supported on devices enrolled in Android Enterprise as Device Owner and devices running Android 6.0 or later.
Hexnode UEM Settings	Show option to manually exit kiosk lockdown	Check this box to show the option Exit Kiosk Lockdown on the device peripheral settings. On the device, tapping the option Exit Kiosk Lockdown would bring up the popup to enter the kiosk exit password. Enter the global/local kiosk exit password that you have configured. Note: If both global and local kiosk exit passwords are configured, enter the local password to exit kiosk. This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+.
	Grant Hexnode UEM any newer permissions manually	Enabling this option allows users to grant Hexnode any new permissions required while updating Hexnode app, without exiting from the kiosk mode. Note: This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+.
	Sync device with MDM	Enabling this option allows users to sync the device with the Hexnode portal. It updates the status of the device into the portal such as the battery level, recently applied policies, last checked-in time and more. Note: This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+.
	Show device and server information	This option is enabled to display the device and MDM server information on the device while the device is in kiosk mode. The details can be viewed by clicking on the settings icon located on the top right corner of the screen. Note: This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+.
App Settings	Access app catalogs in kiosk	Check this option to allow the app catalogs to be used in kiosk mode. Notes: App catalog will appear as an icon in kiosk mode with the title App Catalogs. This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+.
	Show blocked package name on the device	Displays package names to users when a package or an app tries to access another non-whitelisted package. Notes: This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+. To unblock the package, you’ll need to add the package to the app inventory and add as background app under Kiosk Lockdown > Android Kiosk Lockdown > Background apps.
	Disable app crash reporting	Disabling this option prevents the transfer of app crash reports to the Play Store. Notes: For devices running Android/Android TV OS 6 and below, users will be able to send app crash reports regardless of whether the Disable App Crash Reporting option is on or off. For devices running Android/Android TVS OS 7 and above, if ‘Users can turn device off’ is disabled, users will not be able to send app crash reports regardless of whether the Disable App Crash Reporting option is on or off.
	Clear apps from background when user leaves the app	This option is enabled to clear apps from background when a user leaves the app. Exiting or minimizing kills the app and relaunching starts the app afresh. For example, if the user is inside the settings page of the camera app, and when the user relaunches the app on pressing the home button, it starts with the camera running instead of the settings page. Notes: This feature won’t log you out of any logged in accounts or close any open tabs in a web browser. This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+.
	Enable required app installation in kiosk	Disable this option to restrict in-house/enterprise app installation on the device locked in kiosk mode. Note: This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+.
Location	Users can add location notes	This option enables the users to push their current location from their mobile devices via Settings > Location Check-in. Note: This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+.
Messenger	View messages sent by admin	Enabling this option allows users to view messages sent by the admin to kiosk devices from the MDM console via the Hexnode Messenger. Note: This feature is also supported on Android TV OS 5.0+.
Other options	Allow users to turn flashlight on/off	Enabling this option will allow users to turn on/off flashlight on their devices in kiosk mode. Note: For devices running Android 6 or below, this feature will be functional only if the ‘Camera’ option under Policies > Android > Restrictions is enabled.
	Allow users to modify device password	When a password policy, policy configuring VPN or a policy adding certificates is associated with the device, the user will be prompted to change the password if an improper password or no password is set. Usually, users will not be able to change the password when the device is in Kiosk mode. Enabling this option will allow users to modify the password even when the device is in Kiosk mode. Note: Choosing “Ask Me later” on the prompt will close the prompt but it will reappear after 10 minutes. Ensure you have installed the latest versions of the Hexnode UEM app or Hexnode for Work app on the devices. Exception: Associating a policy that adds certificates to devices enrolled via Android Enterprise will not ask the user to set a password even if no password is set.
	Auto-exit Settings page in …. seconds	Set the number of seconds the Settings app of the device needs to remain open to facilitate the password change. The values it can have are 5, 10, 30, 60, 80, 100 or 120 seconds. After the set time, the Settings app on the device will close automatically.
	Access peripheral settings	Floating icon: Enabling this option will allow you to see a floating icon for peripheral settings, when you open any app from the kiosk launcher. Floating icon position: Select the position at which the peripheral settings icon should be placed. The options available are Bottom-right, Bottom-left, Top-left, Top-right, and Default. Note: The end-user will be able to change the icon’s position only if the option “Default” is selected. Tap & Swipe gesture: Enabling this option grants you access to peripheral settings through a simple gesture: tapping thrice and then swiping down on the right side of the screen.
	Triple tap on the top-right corner of the screen to show device and server details option	Enabling this option will show the device and server details on triple tapping the top right corner of the kiosk launcher. Note: The Status Bar needs to be disabled for this option to work. This feature is functional for devices running versions below Android 8.
	Triple tap on the top-right corner of the screen to show peripheral settings	Enabling this option will show the peripheral settings on triple tapping the top right corner of the kiosk launcher. Note: The Status Bar needs to be disabled for this option to work. This feature is functional for devices running versions below Android 8.