Device Actions

Organizations that manage a large number of devices will need to execute actions on devices in bulk. Mobile Device Manager Plus allows admins to simultaneously execute certain actions like restart, shutdown, and clearing app data on multiple devices. 

Remote Restart

This command is to restart devices, and is currently supported for Supervised iOS devices running 10.3 or above, Samsung or non-Samsung devices running 7.0 or later, which have been provisioned as Device Owner, macOS, Windows, and Chrome OS devices.

Remote Shutdown

This command is to shutdown devices remotely, and is currently supported for iOS devices that are Supervised, and running on versions 10.3 and above, and for macOS devices.

Clear App Data

This command is to erase all the data from apps on devices. Once executed, the apps will be reverted to their originally installed state. Clear app data is supported for Knox enabled Samsung devices and non-Samsung devices above version 9.0.

Executing Remote Restart/Shutdown on Groups or Devices

• On the web console, navigate to Device Management > Groups and Devices. Click on the required Groups or Devices tab.
• Select the Group(s) or Device(s) which need to be restarted or switched off, or on which app data needs to be cleared.
• Click on Actions and select Remote Restart,Remote Shutdown, or Clear App Data from the dropdown.
• If Clear App Data is selected, click on Select apps and choose the required apps from the dropdown.The apps are displayed based on their availability in the App Repository.
• Enter a reason for initiating the action on the device(s), which will be used later for auditing purposes.
• Click on Remote Restart, or Remote Shutdown, or Clear App data to execute the required action on the device(s).

Scheduling device actions

To systematically execute Remote Restart and Remote Shutdown, you can configure a schedule based on which these actions will be initiated on the devices in bulk. This eases out device maintenance issues for unattended devices like Point of Sale (POS) devices, digital signage devices, etc.

Watch this 5 minute video to quickly learn how to schedule a restart or shutdown:

1. Scheduled Remote Restart

Devices can be remotely restarted at a preferred date, time, and frequency. Scheduled Remote Restart is currently supported for:

• Supervised iOS devices running 10.3 or above.
• Samsung or non-Samsung devices running 7.0 or later provisioned as Device Owner.


2. Scheduled Remote Shutdown

Devices can be remotely switched off at a preferred date, time, and frequency. Scheduled Remote Shutdown is currently supported for:

• iOS devices that are Supervised, running on versions 10.3 and above.
• macOS devices.

Scheduling Remote Restart and Shutdown for Groups and Devices

1. On the MDM console, navigate to Device Management > Groups and Devices.
2. Click on the Groups tab, and select the Group for which the Remote Restart or Remote Shutdown command needs to be scheduled for.
3. The Frequency to initiate the selected action can be set to Once, or Repeat.

If the Once option is chosen:

• You can choose to initiate the action on the device either Immediately, or at a specific time.
• If the option is set to Later, you can specify a Preferred Date and Time.

If the Repeat option is chosen:

• You can select if the action needs to be initiated on the device either Daily or Weekly.
• If the option is set to Daily, specify the Preferred Time.
• If the option is set to Weekly, specify the Preferred Day(s) and Preferred Time.
4. You can also enable the Expire after option and specify a number of hour(s) in the given box, after which the action will not be executed on the devices. For example, if 2 hours is specified, the action will not be executed on the devices 2 hours after the configured Preferred Time.
5. Click on Next, and enter a reason for executing the action.
6. Click on Proceed to successfully schedule the action for the selected Groups.

MDM will then execute the action based on the schedule configured.

Modifying or deleting a schedule

• To modify or delete an existing schedule, click on the Device Management tab and navigate to Groups and Devices.
• Under the Groups tab, select the required Group.
• Click on the Actions tab, and a list of all the scheduled actions will be displayed.
• Click on the ⋮ icon and choose either Modify or Delete.

Once the necessary changes are made to the schedule, confirm the action by clicking on Modify or Delete.

Suspending a schedule

• To suspend an existing schedule, click on the Device Management tab and navigate to Groups and Devices.
• Under the Groups tab, click on the required Group's name.
• Click on the Actions tab, and a list of all scheduled actions will be displayed.
• Select the required schedule and click on the Suspend button on the top right corner.

The devices will not receive any commands based on the schedule after it is suspended. Once a schedule is suspended, admins will have to create a new schedule to execute scheduled remote commands.

Points to note

• Any ongoing activity on the devices will be disrupted when the command is executed on the devices.
• Devices that do not support the Remote Restart or Remote Shutdown command will not be considered while executing the command. The remaining devices which support the command will be restarted.
• MDM notifies device(s) to clear app data from the selected app(s). This is done using the APIs provided by Samsung, hence MDM cannot check if the app data has been successfully cleared. In case of any issues with initiating the command, contact support.
• If any commands from the MDM server are not executed on the device, verify if the device is connected to the Internet, and re-try the process.
• Devices which do not support the Remote Restart or Remote Shutdown commands will not be listed under the total device count under the Actions column. MDM excludes these device while displaying the total number of devices that have been restarted/shutdown.
• Any actions performed by the admin after the device has been restarted will be executed, once the user manually unlocks the device.
• Any actions performed by the admin after the device is remotely shutdown, will be executed once the device is manually switched on and unlocked by the user.
• Scheduled device actions cannot be executed for specific devices.
• To view specific details of any configured schedules, you can navigate to Device Management> Groups & Devices> Groups> Actions.
• The Frequency of the schedule and the Preferred Date/Days/Time cannot be modified once it is configured.

Server Remarks

While executing Remote Restart or Remote Shutdown, you might come across the following server remarks: