How to enroll Android devices with/without Camera and/or Google Play Services support?

Generally, mobile devices used for work have built-in cameras and support Google Play Services. However, in a few organizations, such as those related to Defence and high-security red zones, devices with cameras are prohibited for security reasons. Google Play Services may also not be supported in specific devices or regions. In some cases, a device may not support both. For management of these devices using MDM, different enrollment methods are available to suit each case. The cases and methods have been discussed below.

Troubleshooting tips

  1. Devices with Camera but no support for Google Play Services

    In this case, the devices can be enrolled using EMM Token Enrollment, Android Debug Bridge (ADB), or Near-Field Communication (NFC) methods. Prior to enrollment, on the MDM console, navigate to Enrollment->ME MDM app (under Android), set Communication Type to Periodic, and save the changes.

  2. Devices with both Camera and Google Play Services support

    These device can be enrolled using any of the enrollment methods listed here.

NOTE:

  • If you were unable to enter the JSON data, contact mdm-support@manageengine.com (MDM On-premises) or mdmcloud-support@manageengine.com (MDM Cloud).
  • Devices with a low camera resolution can also be enrolled using the enrollment methods for devices without a camera.
  • Devices without Google Services:

    Android devices that do not support Google Mobile Services can be added via NFC enrollment or Android Debug Bridge(ADB) enrollment methods. To enroll devices running android 9.0 and above via EMM Token enrollment, contact Support.
    The following functionalities are also different for these devices:

    1. Instant Agent-Server Communication : MDM uses Google Firebase messaging to communicate with the devices. Since this is not possible, the devices communicate with the server directly, once every 60 minutes. Note: If the frequency of contacting the server has to be changed, please contact Support.
    2. Silent installation of Play Store apps : Silent installation of Play store apps is dependent on Google Play Services and hence, is not available. However, features are in development so that when an app is published in the MDM app catalog, it redirects the device user to the native app store to install, if the particular app is available.
    3. Enterprise Factory Reset Protection : Not supported.
    4. SafetyNet Attestation : Not supported.
    5. Google Play Protect : Not available because it is part of Google Play services.