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Zebra Devices On Android 13 Locked Out

S
SRobinson
BlueTriton Brands Inc

We have 2000+ Zebra TCXX devices, and we are migrating from Android 10 to Android 13.  When Android 13 devices boot up, they do not come online in Soti until the user enters the 6-digit PIN.  Our users are bad about remembering their PIN and we cannot send a PIN change command now, since the device is offline.

We also have an issue supporting devices now.  If we need to send a device restart command to the device, we now no longer are able to remote in or send scripts until the user interacts with the device (enters the PIN).

These are all company owned devices using Android Enterprise.

How do we resolve this issue and get devices online BEFORE the user enters the PIN?

Zebra TC Secure Startup android android 13
a year ago
SOTI MobiControl
ANSWERS
MB
Marcus Breitenthaler
a year ago

Hi,

i had the Same issue with Migrating from Android 11 to Android 13.

In Fact that the Migration takes 1-2 Hours or longer on the Zebra Devices and we have them 7x24h in use.

And that was not working as expectead also when we tryed it manually.

We are upgrading the Device to Android 13, do a factory reset and enroll it new with the QR Code.

That will reduce the Downtime of the device, to in best Case 30 minutes.

With 2024.1.* then inhouse built QR Code generator works very well to enroll Zebra Devices and takes only 5 minutes and the Device is back ready to use.

Sorry it is not answering your question but from us the way of planned Upgrading the Devices.

S
SRobinson
a year ago

Marcus, thanks for your reply.  The upgrade is not our issue.  We will be purchasing Zebra TC27 devices already on Android 14.

Our issue is that users forget their PIN very often.  If the device is online, it is not an issue.  But if the battery has died and/or the device is rebooted, there is no way for us to send a Soti Console command to reset the PIN.  The device is locked, and user cannot get in it.  They will have to send the device to Zebra Repair to get re-imaged.

This is a waste of time and money to have to send the device in.  Surely there is another way to resolve it.

N
NSMOD@soti.net
a year ago

To remotely change the PIN on your Zebra TCXX devices, even when they're offline, use Soti MobiControl's "Reset Passcode" feature.

When resetting the PIN, select "Platform Notification Service" as the delivery method. This allows the new PIN to be sent directly to the device, bypassing the need for it to be online or unlocked.

 

S
SRobinson
a year ago

This does not work.  The Soti MobiControl agent on the device does not start up until the user enters their PIN.  In this scenario, I forgot my PIN so I cannot enter the device, the Soti MobiControl agent never starts after boot up.  So, the device never gets the Reset Password command.

This in my issue.  Every time a user forgets their PIN and the device is rebooted, battery swapped, power dies, etc., there is no way to access it once it boots up.

Android 13 does not allow any type of remote access to the device until the user physically enters the PIN.

N
NSMOD@soti.net
a year ago

When resetting the PIN, select "Platform Notification Service" as the delivery method. This allows the new PIN to be sent directly to the device, not through device agent. So the device don't needs to be connected for this action.

S
SRobinson
a year ago

This does not work.  Nothing is running on the device until the PIN is entered.  The device gets the password reset AFTER the old password/PIN is entered and the device boots up.

S
SRobinson
a year ago

How do I get the Soti MobiControl agent to run prior to the PIN being entered after a reboot?

You comment is not working for me.  I'll open a case with Soti Support to have someone walk me through it.

Unless you have a link to a knowledge article that explains it.

N
NSMOD@soti.net
11 months ago

Hi SRobinson,

Kindly let me know if you have created a case with Soti Support. Kindly use the below URL to create a case with Soti Support.

https://soti.net/services/log-a-case/

We can discuss the further and work for its resolution.

Regards,

Technical Support | SOTI Inc. |1.905.624.9828 | support@soti.net | www.soti.net

S
SRobinson
11 months ago

I have a case open - C01080357.

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