App Repository

All the apps to be installed on the device must be added to the App Repository. Once the apps are added to the App Repository, they can then be distributed and installed on devices. You can add both enterprise apps as well as Store apps across all the four platforms(Android, Chrome, iOS and Windows). In addition to this, you can also add MSI apps to the App Repository as well as add Chrome apps, which can then be distributed and installed on Windows 10 machines and Chromebooks respectively. To test and deploy enterprise apps seamlessly refer to this link

NOTE: App Repository also allows admins to view granular details about the added apps like App Source, App Version and also the license details. You can customize the details to be displayed on the console by clicking on the Column chooser button and selecting the columns to be displayed.

You can add Android apps in bulk to App Repository, as explained here and iOS apps in bulk, as explained here. You can also install Android apps silently without any user intervention as explained here. Silent installation of iOS apps can be done as explained here.

Managing App Store apps

To add free App Store apps into the repository, follow the steps given below.

1. On the web console, navigate to App Repository  
2. Click on Add Apps
3. Click on App Store App under iOS Apps
4. Enter App Name.  While you start entering the name of the App you fill find a list of relevant App names listed from the App store, you can choose the specific App name from the list.
5. Bundle Identifier, which is a unique identifier for the App will be filled in automatically, if you have configured the proxy settings. Refer this to know more about configuring proxy
6. App Store ID  will be filled automatically as soon as you choose the name of the App from the App store.
7. Define App Policies like removing the App from the device, while the MDM profile is removed and restricting App data back up.
8. Click Save to store the App in the App Repository.

For adding paid apps into the App Repository, follow the steps given here

Managing iOS enterprise apps

1. On the web console, navigate to App Repository  
2. Click Add App and Select iOS Enterprise App under iOS App
3. Enter the Name of the App
4. Specify the title of the App, this is mandatory.
5. Click Browse to upload the App
6. Bundle Identifier  - a unique ID for the App, will be filled in automatically.
7. The Version of the App will be filled in automatically
8. Specify the Category  and Supported Devices
9. Upload Image that needs to be displayed
10. Define App Policies like removing the App from the device, while the profile is removed and restricting App data back up.
11. Click on Save to store the App in the App Repository.

Updating iOS enterprise apps

Follow the steps mentioned below to upgrade Enterprise App:

1. Click on Device Mgmt and select App Repository from the left pane.
2. Click on the ellipsis icon present under Actions, against the app which is to be updated.and then on click on Modify App
3. Upload the latest .ipa file. You can see that App version gets modified automatically.
4. Make necessary changes and click Save to save the changes.

The latest version of the App will be updated in the App repository, then it can be distributed to the groups/devices.

Ensure https://ppq.apple.com is allowed on your external firewall to ensure the added enterprise apps are trusted on the device.

Managing iOS app policies

App Policies can be defined to remove the App from the managed devices on MDM profile removal.  You can also restrict the backup of App data. App policies can be modified from the App repository, to modify the App policies follow the steps mentioned below:

1. On the web console, navigate to App Repository
2. Choose the App by name and click on the Modify App button against the same
3.  Edit the App Policies and Save.

This enables the changes made to the App policies will be applied to the Devices to which the App will be distributed henceforth. Devices for which the App has already been distributed will not have these changes reflected to it.

Managing Play Store apps

To add free Play Store apps to the repository, follow the steps given below.

1. On the web console, navigate to App Repository  
2. Click Add App and Select Play Store App under Android Apps
3. Enter the Name of the App
4. Specify the Version of the App
5. Enter the Bundle identifier
6. Specify the license type, and category of the App
7. Choose the devices on which this App is supported
8. You can upload an image which should be displayed as the App Launch icon
9. Click Save to store the settings.

Your Play Store App is ready to be distributed to devices and groups.
To add paid apps into the repository, follow the steps given here
To add Managed Google Play apps, refer this link for more information.

Managing Play Store app updates:

A Play Store app that has been distributed cannot be reverted to it's old version, as restricted by the OS. To prevent users from auto-updating Play Store apps, you can disable auto updates on the device by navigating to Play Store> Settings> Auto app updates > Don't auto update apps.
Apps can still be updated by any of these methods:

• Distributing the updated app from MDM.
• Manually updating the app from the Play Store.
• If the app forces itself to update to the new version.

Note: If an update for a Play Store app is distributed from MDM, the version of the app that needs to be updated cannot be controlled. The app will be updated to the latest version applicable for the device, available on Play Store.

Managing Android enterprise apps

• If the MIUI optimization is turned on in Xiaomi devices, it could cause enterprise app installation failure. It is recommended to turn off MIUI optimization on these devices. For this navigate to Settings -> Build Number, tap the build number 7 times to enable Developer Mode and turn off MIUI optimization.
• In certain cases, the apps distributed after configuring Android for Work might take additional time before initiating silent installation on the devices.

1. On the web console, navigate to App Repository
2. Click on Add App and select Android Enterprise App.
3. Upload the .apk file.
4. The bundle identifier and the version of the app will be automatically filled in once the .apk file is uploaded.
5. Enter the required details.
6. Add App Configurations and App Permissions if required.
7. Click on Save.

Your Android Enterprise App is ready to be distributed to devices and groups.

Updating Android enterprise apps

Follow the steps mentioned below to update enterprise app:

1. On the MDM Server, navigate to App Repository
2. Click on the ellipsis icon(under Actions) present against the app, which you want to update and click on Modify App.
3. Click on the edit icon in the Source and upload the new APK file, which has the latest version of the app.
4. If the APK has been successfully updated, then the App Version is modified and shows the updated version.
5. Make other changes if necessary and click on Save.

The latest version of the app is updated in the App repository, which can be distributed to Groups/devices.

Managing app updates for Enterprise apps:

• An enterprise app that has been updated to a new version, cannot be rolled back to its older version, however, the app can be removed from the repository, and a lower version can be uploaded and then distributed to devices. The data on the previous version of the app will be erased.
• It is always recommended to test a new version of an enterprise on a few devices before rolling out the new version to all the devices. Refer this link for more details.

If your organization has any requirements with regard to app updates please add them here.

Enterprise app deployment best practices:

• While developing an Enterprise app:
  1. It is recommended to upload only a signed APK. In case you've added an unsigned enterprise app and have issues installing the same, it is recommended to have the app signed by the developer. To know more about app signing, click here. If you’re unable to install a signed enterprise app to the App Repository, you can file an appeal here.
  2. Ensure that the app size doesn't exceed 1.5 GB.
  3. Version code refers to the numerical code used to denote the version of APK, while version name is a readable name displayed to the user. Ensure to increase the version code with each app update monotonically. You can optionally change the version name of the updated app. To know how to set application version information, refer this. Updating lower version APK is restricted since apps installed on devices cannot be downgraded, Version code already exists or Version code should be higher error will be shown respectively, if the updated app has the same version code as that of the existing app or if you are trying to downgrade an app.
  4. To avoid installation issues, the existing APK and the updated version of the APK need to have the same signature and Bundle ID. Since Bundle ID uniquely identifies an app, changing it will add the app as a new app in the App Repository.
• While deploying an Enterprise app:
  1. Enterprise apps distributed via MDM can be installed on the device, even if Play Store is restricted. To install enterprise apps without user intervention, refer to this.
  2. To restrict device users from uninstalling the distributed apps, silently install the apps instead of distributing it to the App Catalog.
  3. While updating an enterprise app, distribute the beta version to a test Group before distributing it to the production environment.
  4. It is not recommended to add Play Store apps as an Enterprise app to avoid issues while updating the app. If you are adding a Play Store app that is already present in the App Repository or in Trash as an Enterprise app, Cannot modify Play Store app error will be shown.

Obtaining Bundle Identifier for Play Store Apps    

Follow the steps mentioned below to retrieve the bundle identifier for the Play Store Apps.

1. Go to Google Play Store
2. Lets take Google Drive as the  Play Store App that you wanted to be added to the App repository
3. Click on the app or type the name of the app in the app search.
4. From the URL address bar, select the bundle identifier which is located between  "=" and "&" as displayed in the image below.
   
5. Copy the Bundle Identifier and paste in the Bundle identifier field while adding the Play Store App in App Repository.

Bundle Identifiers are case-sensitive. Ensure the bundle identifier is correctly copied from the Play Store app URL.

Managing Windows Business Store apps

To add Business Store apps to the App Repository and distribute/install them on Windows devices, you need to integrate Windows Business Store with MDM by providing your Azure admin account credentials. Once integrated, all apps previously purchased via the account gets automatically added to the App Repository after you can distribute and install them silently on Windows devices. Any subsequent purchases can be added to the App Repository by manual/automatic syncing. For more details, refer to this.

Managing Windows enterprise apps

1. On the web console, navigate to App Repository.
2. Click Add App and Select Windows Enterprise App under Windows App.
3. Enter the Name of the App.
4. Click Browse to upload the App.
5. If the app has dependent files that are required for the app installation, you will have to upload a .zip file that contains the required dependent files.
6. Specify the App Product ID.
7. Specify Version of the App. 
8. Specify the Category  and Supported Devices.
9. Specify the Description if required.
10. Upload Image that needs to be displayed.
11. Click on Save to add the App in the App Repository.

You have successfully added the Windows enterprise apps.

Upgrading Windows enterprise apps

Follow the steps mentioned below to upgrade enterprise app:

• Click on Device Mgmt and select App Repository from the left pane.
• Click on the ellipsis icon present under Actions, against the app which is to be updated.and then on click on Modify App
• Upload the latest .appx/.xap file. You can see that App version gets modified automatically.
• Make necessary changes and click Save to save the changes.

The latest version of the App will be updated in the App Repository, so that it can be distributed to the groups/devices.

Managing Windows MSI apps

To add MSI apps to the App Repository and distribute/install them on Windows machines, refer to this.

Updating Windows enterprise apps

Follow the steps mentioned below to update enterprise app:

• Click on Device Mgmt and select App Repository from the left pane.
• Click on the ellipsis icon present under Actions, against the app which is to be updated.and then on click on Modify App
• Modify the MSI source file by uploading the new MSI file to the App Repository. You can see that App version gets modified automatically.
• Make necessary changes and click Save to save the changes.

The latest version of the App will be updated in the App Repository and it can be distributed to the groups/devices.

Managing Chrome Web Store apps

Follow the instructions given below to add a Chrome Web Store app to the App Repository:

• Click on Device Mgmt and select App Repository from the left pane.
• Click on Add App and select Web Store App from the dropdown.
• Provide a name for the app, to be added. Then, provide the App Identifier or App ID as explained here.
• Optionally provide a display image, which will be used as the icon instead of the default one. Click Save to add the app to the App Repository

NOTE: Chrome Web Store apps are user specific, not device specific.

This app can now be distributed to the enrolled Chromebooks.

Managing Android apps in Chrome OS

Follow the instructions given below to add Android apps to Chromebooks if you have configured Managed Google Play without G Suite account:

• Login to Google Play for Work with the same G Suite account used for Chrome integration
• Search and select the app to be added to the devices and click Approve.
• Click Approve to accept the app permissions.
• Click Done to finish the approval.
• Configure the approval settings, as to whether you want new app permissions to be updated automatically or prevent app installation until the app permissions have been updated manually. Additionally, you need to specify the e-mail address to be notified of the new app permissions.
• Go to MDM console, add the app to App Repository by navigating to Device Management -> App Repository -> Add App -> Play Store App and distribute the app to Chrome OS devices.

Follow the steps given below to add apps to App Repository if you have configured Managed Google Play with the same G Suite account used for Chrome integration:

• On the MDM console, click App Repository -> Add App -> Add Play Store Apps
• Search and select the app to be added and click Approve.
• After approving the apps, click Save and Sync to add the approved apps to your App Repository.

The apps can now be distributed to Chromebooks.

Managing Chrome Custom apps

• Click on Device Mgmt and select App Repository from the left pane.
• Click on Add App and select Custom App from the dropdown.
• Provide a name for the app, to be added. Then, provide the App Identifier or App ID as explained here.
• Provide the App URL from where the app must be downloaded

Updating Chrome Custom apps

• Click on Device Mgmt and select App Repository from the left pane.
• Click on the ellipsis icon present under Actions, against the app which is to be updated.
• Click on Modify App and provide the App URL from where the updated version of the app must be downloaded.

Obtaining App Identifier for Chrome apps

• Go to Chrome Web Store and search for the app
• From the search results, select the app. The last 32 characters present in the URL constitute the App Identifier