Remote Troubleshooting - Android

Pre-requisites

• As MDM uses Zoho Assist to facilitate remote control, a Zoho account is required. You can create a new account here.
• Ensure *.zoho.com:443 and *.zohoassist.com:443 can be accessed both on the device as well as the server. If you've configured any firewall/proxy or any other third-party filters, ensure these domains are whitelisted. Click this to know the list of domains, and this to know the list of ports, to be whitelisted.
• For remote control, the devices must be running Android 5.0 or later and must be provisioned as Device Owner
• For remote view, the devices must be running Android 5.0 or later and must be provisioned as Profile Owner.
• The ME MDM app version installed on the device must be 9.2.224 A or later.
• For unattended remote access, make sure the device is in Kiosk mode.

Advantages

In addition to letting IT admins troubleshoot issues right from the comfort of their desks, MDM’s remote troubleshoot has the advantages

• No additional remote agents required as the ME MDM app itself doubles up as the remote agent.
• No third-party services are used for remote troubleshooting. Instead, Zoho Assist, an in-house remote access solution, was used.
• Zoho Assist is bundled for free with MDM, making the integration seamless.

List of OEMs supporting Remote Control

In addition to remote view, you can also choose to remotely control devices manufactured by certain OEMs as Mobile Device Manager Plus has partnered with these OEMs. This partnership lets MDM get exclusive access to remote control APIs developed by the OEMs. The ME MDM app then gets signed by the OEMs to ensure MDM can remotely control the device using the ME MDM app. Here's the list of OEMs whose devices can be remotely controlled using MDM:

MANUFACTURER	SUPPORTED MODELS
Archos	All models
Ascom	All models
Blade	All models
Bluebird	All models
Cat	All models
CipherLab	All models
Conquest	All models
Crosscall	All models
Cubot	All models
Datalogic	All models
Datamini	T84G and TWG10
Denso WAVE	All models
DDW	All models
DT Research	All models
Genee TV	All models
Honeywell	All models
HP	All models
Lenovo	T3, T4, T5, and M10(1st Gen)
Mobile Demand	All models
Newland	All models
Panasonic	All models
PointMobile	All models
RMX	All models
RugGear	All models
Samsung	Knox supported models*
Skyworth	All models
Sony	All models
Ulefone	All models
Unitech	All models
WishTel	All models
Zebra*	All models with MX version 8.3 and above. Click here to check a device's MX version.
3R Tablet	All models

In case you want MDM remote control support for newer OEMs or other models of the existing OEMs, provide your requirements here.We also support remote control for any OEMs using the universal plug-in.

To troubleshoot Zebra devices remotely, you'll need to enable remote control using StageNow. Follow these steps:
1. Download the applicable PDF - Android 11 & below/Android 13 & above.
2. Using the pre-installed StageNow app, scan barcodes 1 through 3 from the PDF to enable remote control. Once remote control is enabled, you can initiate additional sessions directly from the console.
Alternatively, you can add the Legacy Zebra OEMConfig app to your App Repository and deploy it silently to the devices to enable remote control (only for Android 11 & below).

We have made your job simpler!

Learn how to setup Android Remote Control with MDM, in about 3 minutes through this demo video

Configure Remote Troubleshoot(Not necessary for MDM cloud)

• On the MDM server, click on Device Mgmt from the top menu and select Remote Control from the left menu. Click on Configure Now
• Provide your Zoho account details and login. You can create a Zoho account for free by clicking on the Sign-Up link. In case you’ve two-factor authentication enabled for your account, you need login using an app-specific password, which can be created as explained here.

Once you have signed in, the configuration is complete. You can now remotely troubleshoot the managed devices.

Initiating a remote session

The following steps explain how you can leverage MDM Remote Control to view the device screen and remotely troubleshoot over-the-air:

• On the MDM server, click on Device Mgmt from the top menu and select Remote Control.
• Now, on identifying the device which is having issues, click on the Remote View or Remote Control button present beside the device.
• The remote session view opens in a new tab or a new window, where the device screen is displayed.
• In case of Android devices, a prompt will be shown on the device. The user needs to accept this prompt in order to initiate the remote troubleshooting session.

Note Android restricts initiating background activity for security reasons in Android 12.0 and above profile owner devices. Hence, the remote session can be initiated only after the user accepts the notification prompt asking for consent on the device. This doesn't affect the Device owner devices.

You can initiate a remote session from the Inventory tab as explained below:

• On the MDM Server, click on the Inventory tab and select the device which has to be troubleshooted.
• Click on the Actions button and select Remote Control or Remote View.

Once the user accepts the remote request, the device screen is displayed, and the issues can then be fixed remotely.

Remote Chat

When fixing issues remotely in real-time, IT administrators may need to contact the device user to pass on instructions or understand the problem in greater detail. With the IT administrator already viewing the remote screen, it becomes more taxing to separately contact the device user as well. MDM solves this by allowing the administrator to chat with the device user from the screen view window itself. The IT administrator needs to click on the Chat icon, present on the left of the window, to initiate a chat session with the user, which functions in parallel with the remote session.

Unattended Remote Access

In case of devices in possession of employees, you can notify the users about the remote session to ensure user privacy.

However, in case of unattended devices such as devices used for self-service, digital signage, etc, that are not in the hands of any employee, you’d want to initiate a remote session without any user intervention. You can do that by selecting the checkbox Do not show again when shown the prompt to initiate the remote session is shown on the Android device. From Android 10 and above, a remote session can be executed even without the prompt using managed app configurations. For unattended remote access to go through, the device will need to be in Kiosk mode.

Remote Commands

In addition to chatting with the user, you can also remotely execute commands through the chat window. This is especially useful for the IT administrators, as they execute remote commands right from the device view window itself. The following commands are supported:

These commands can be ideally used in the case of devices provisioned with a Kiosk policy, restricting physical buttons as well. In such a scenario, basic operations such as lock, reboot etc., cannot be performed by the user. Using remote commands lets the Admin do these operations remotely, while still controlling the device.

Switching the Zoho account used for remote troubleshoot

• On the MDM server, click on Device Mgmt from the top menu and Remote Control from the left menu.
• Click on Account Settings from the top menu and click on the Logout button from the dropdown.
• You can then add the new Zoho account as explained above.

Troubleshooting tips:

Errors faced in a remote control session could be due to any of the following reasons:

1. Zoho Assist is not integrated with the MDM server.
2. Zoho Assist login needs to be reauthenticated.
3. The MDM server is not able to reach assist.zoho.com

For more information on the ports that need to be open, and domains that need to be allowed for remote control/remote view to function, refer this.

NOTE: Depending on your region, ensure that the following URL's are allowed:

• *.zoho.com
• *.zoho.com.au
• *.zoho.com.cn
• *.zoho.eu
• *.zoho.in
• *.zohoassist.com
• *.zohoassist.com.au
• *.zohoassist.com.cn
• *.zohoassist.eu
• *.zohoassist.in

Open the ME MDM app on the device, sync the device and retry initiating a remote control session.