SOTI MobiControl Android Enterprise Plugin and Zebra Devices
Summary
Related SOTI ONE Platform Products
Related Device OS
Environment
Zebra devices OS 8.1 and later
All SOTI MobiControl versions
Description
Background
The SOTI Android Enterprise (AE) service plugin is a companion app to help users gain access to features that are not native to Google’s management suite. The plugin allows for advanced capabilities such as remote control, silent granting of most required system permissions, configuring APN settings, and certificate management. Because these enhancements are ready-made, it greatly benefits the overall customer experience without the need for additional development costs from our partners. As such, many partners choose to sign the SOTI plugin, and this included Zebra devices in the past.
As part of ongoing efforts to enhance capabilities and security between SOTI and their devices, Zebra’s recommendation going forward is to use their extensive Zebra Mobility Extensions (MX) API library to deliver the many features that are normally offered by the SOTI AE service plugin. SOTI has been collaborating with Zebra to implement these MX features directly into the Android Enterprise agent. Development efforts have since shifted to the AE agent, and compatibility with the plugin will no longer be ensured.
Recommendation
It is no longer necessary nor recommended to use the SOTI MobiControl AE plugin for Zebra devices running Android OS 8.1 and later. The plugins available on the SOTI Agent website are meant for legacy and record keeping purposes only. Continuing use of the plugin on Android OS 8.1 devices may result in compatibility issues.
Note: SOTI has tested different configurations to provide the best recommendations. We strongly recommend that you check your most important features before making any changes to your production environment.
Features Built into Agent: (Features supported without plugin)
| Feature | Status: TC51 OS.8.1 | Status: TC52 OS.10 | Status: TC57 OS.11 |
Status: |
Status: |
MX Version |
Notes |
|
APN Configuration
|
Plugin Required |
Plugin Required |
Plugin Required |
Plugin Required |
Plugin Required |
Not supported after 13 and above |
NA |
|
App Upgrade |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
10.3 and above |
We can update all apps as basic function of MDM.(Disable app upgrade:app_upgrade disable net.soti.surf Enable app upgrade: app_upgrade enable net.soti.surf |
|
Battery Optimization |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
7.0 and above |
Batteryoptimize disable: batteryoptimize disable com.android Batteryoptimize allow: batteryoptimize allow com.android.chrome |
|
Certificate Installation |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
4.1 and above |
Profile with a single cert installation. Certificate installation via Profile |
|
Disable Mac Randomization |
Requires OS 11+ |
Requires OS 11+ |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
8.1 and above |
Implemented on Android 10 and above. (To enable MAC randomization: |
|
Enroll Device Owner |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
6.5 and above |
NA |
|
Getting MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission silently |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
10.0 and above |
Notification Access: Ask After enrolling the device on MobiControl, Manage External permission is granted to the device silently. Device user does not need to give permission manually. |
|
Lockdown |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
4.2 and above |
NA |
|
OS Update |
Not server specific. Plugin Not Required |
Not server specific. Plugin Not Required |
Not supported for OS 11 and above through MX config |
Not supported for OS 11 and above through MX config |
Not supported for OS 11 and above through MX config |
4.1 and above |
When used on OS 8.x or later, MX version should be 8.1 and above Verified with the following methods: |
|
Remote Control |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
8.3 and above |
Via Device action |
|
Reserve UID |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
9.2 and above |
Deprecated for OS 13 and above. Push the wipe action and check if agent is persisting. Wipe action will send the Enterprise reset cmd on device and Agent will remain on the device after wiping and enrolled on the MobiControl server. |
|
Set Wi-Fi Frequency Band |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
4.2 and above |
Currently, we only set 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz but starting MX version 11.4 and above we can set 6.0GHZ as well (to be implemented in a future release, no ETA) set_wifi_frequency_band <0/1/2>
|
|
Silent Admin Command |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
4.3 and above |
Implemented for SOTI MobiControl Android Classic Agent. Not supported for AE. |
|
Time synchronization |
Not supported for devices 8 and below |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
6.0 and above |
Via Advanced Config |
|
Uninstall agent used during wipe command |
Plugin Not Required (due to persistence in zebra agent doesn't get uninstall on wipe action) |
Plugin Not Required (due to persistence in zebra agent doesn't get uninstall on wipe action) |
Plugin Not Required (due to persistence in zebra agent doesn't get uninstall on wipe action) |
Plugin Not Required (due to persistence in zebra agent doesn't get uninstall on wipe action) |
Plugin Not Required (due to persistence in zebra agent doesn't get uninstall on wipe action) |
4.1 and above |
Using Wipe action, Agent doesn’t uninstall from device due to Zebra persistence |
|
Wipe Application Data |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
Plugin Not Required |
9.1 and above |
Legacy Script example: wipeapplication com.android.chrome |
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