Lots of Tablets - how do I rename them?

[Gonoff]

My employer is about to buy a lot of Android tablets. I am one of a team who normally supports Windoze systems but, as the only one with an Android tablet (N7) I have been given the job of setting a few things up. The tablets are Acer iConias and are very similar to the N7.

We have thousands of devices floating round our network and have a naming convention to make sense of them. How to we rename these?

They are running 4.1.2 and the only thing I have been able to rename so far is the Bluetooth.

 

[Golfdriver97]

My employer is about to buy a lot of Android tablets. I am one of a team who normally supports Windoze systems but, as the only one with an Android tablet (N7) I have been given the job of setting a few things up. The tablets are Acer iConias and are very similar to the N7.

We have thousands of devices floating round our network and have a naming convention to make sense of them. How to we rename these?

They are running 4.1.2 and the only thing I have been able to rename so far is the Bluetooth.

Welcome to the forums!
Something I am still in the dark about is how would you like to see them renamed? Where do you want to see it?

 

[Gonoff]

Thanks for looking.

I am talking about the device name for the device in the actual operating system. For comparison, when you set up a PC, you are asked to give it a "name". JohnsPC , HAL9000, Zokko or whatever. If I have control of hundreds of devices, I need a system to make sure I am working on the right one. The method we use here is to give things a name that includes their asset number. For example MCO-DSP789654 or AST-LXP521782 where the first bit is the site name, the 3 letter after the dash show the type of device and OS and the numbers are the capital asset number. As long as we don't give 2 identical devices the same asset number there can't be any duplication.

I thing the network traffic can include the device name, if we use an MDM to keep control of the tablets, it would need individual names. Google Play would need some way of showing us which machine is which so when someone asks us to install something, say Kindle or My Tracks, we can ask the user for the asset number and immediately find it.

I can see how to change the Bluetooth name but the tablet still shows up in Google Play as B1-A14 and I don't see where the user could find that if they made a support call.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Thanks for looking.

I am talking about the device name for the device in the actual operating system. For comparison, when you set up a PC, you are asked to give it a "name". JohnsPC , HAL9000, Zokko or whatever. If I have control of hundreds of devices, I need a system to make sure I am working on the right one. The method we use here is to give things a name that includes their asset number. For example MCO-DSP789654 or AST-LXP521782 where the first bit is the site name, the 3 letter after the dash show the type of device and OS and the numbers are the capital asset number. As long as we don't give 2 identical devices the same asset number there can't be any duplication.

I thing the network traffic can include the device name, if we use an MDM to keep control of the tablets, it would need individual names. Google Play would need some way of showing us which machine is which so when someone asks us to install something, say Kindle or My Tracks, we can ask the user for the asset number and immediately find it.

I can see how to change the Bluetooth name but the tablet still shows up in Google Play as B1-A14 and I don't see where the user could find that if they made a support call.

I am not sure about renaming the device, but you can assign owner's information on the lock screen. Settings>Lock Screen>Owner Info. There it brings up a blank field that you can type into. It then would show on the lockscreen itself, that way you aren't taking each tablet and digging through settings.

 

[Golfdriver97]

I just caught the last part of your post. On a desktop, you can access Play by signing in, and then, with the options icon in the right hand corner, you see My orders and settings. Click on that, it will bring you to orders. In the tab there is settings, click that, and there it brings you to a menu in which you can change the device name through Edit.

 

[patruns]

That is fine for the store, but how would that show up on the actual tablet the user is calling in for support of.

Frankly, I think if every tablet had unique gmail account names that would solve the issue. I am not familiar with Google business accounts. Is this possible under such? Using the poster's original naming conventions an address could be something like MCO-DSP789654@gmail.com or however business accounts are named.

 

[Golfdriver97]

That is fine for the store, but how would that show up on the actual tablet the user is calling in for support of.

Frankly, I think if every tablet had unique gmail account names that would solve the issue. I am not familiar with Google business accounts. Is this possible under such? Using the poster's original naming conventions an address could be something like MCO-DSP789654@gmail.com or however business accounts are named.

I don't know. Different accounts are probably the solution.

Sent from a M.O.A.R. Galaxy S3

 

[papafrankm]

Do you want to identify the various devices as they are connected to a network?
Example if I look at my router info through network genie. Each android is I'd,d as "android-aa87......." There is no way that i can modify that info.

Sent from my GT-P5113 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[zkSharks]

You'll need to enable Developer Options on the tablets, but after doing so, use the following setting.

Settings > Developer Options > Device hostname​

This will allow you to change, obviously, the hostname that the tablet uses. You'll want to reboot the tablet to ensure it refreshes properly on the network side. However, not every device may have this option. If you don't see it after enabling Developer Options, use the following method, though it will require root access. You should be able to unroot without having the hostname reset, but don't quote me on that. I'd give it a try with the first tablet to see whether or not it will work.

Install a terminal emulator on the tablet. Enter the following:

> su
> getprop net.hostname
> setprop net.hostname <new_hostname>

The 'getprop' command will return the current hostname, so you can double-check it before setting the new one. Again, reboot to refresh network assignments.

 

[Gonoff]

Thanks Patrick. That sounds about right. I will test it when I go to work on Monday.

As for the suggestion of having a different Google account for each tablet. That is a non starter. The initial rollout is for 20 devices and will pass 200 before long. If I had to push an application to them all out would be unmanageable.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Gonoff]

I can't find anything in the developer options to change the host name.
I've tried it on my own N7 and my Galaxy2. Perhaps it's not a JB thing.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[sudomark3]

You can assign a unique ID to all device. So it will be easy for you to remember the tablet.

 

[mutkey]

I don't know if you already worked this out, but this is how it worked for me. I am using Android 4.1.2

- To edit the device name you will need to do it under WiFi settings,
- you will have to enable it first. Go to your device’s Settings panel and tap on the toggle slider to enable Wi-Fi
- Next, tap on the “Wi-Fi” text to see the configuration screen.,
- Tap on “Wi-Fi Direct” button on the bottom (for Samsung devices, I did it on a Sumsung Grand Duos), or launch options menu to see the “Wi-Fi Direct” option (for AOSP) and then tap on it.
- Now tap on the menu button/icon to see the “Rename Phone” or “Rename Device” option.
- Type in the preferred name in the text box and select OK to save it. Done!

Good luck

 

[mariomp]

I don't know if you already worked this out, but this is how it worked for me. I am using Android 4.1.2

- To edit the device name you will need to do it under WiFi settings,
- you will have to enable it first. Go to your device’s Settings panel and tap on the toggle slider to enable Wi-Fi
- Next, tap on the “Wi-Fi” text to see the configuration screen.,
- Tap on “Wi-Fi Direct” button on the bottom (for Samsung devices, I did it on a Sumsung Grand Duos), or launch options menu to see the “Wi-Fi Direct” option (for AOSP) and then tap on it.
- Now tap on the menu button/icon to see the “Rename Phone” or “Rename Device” option.
- Type in the preferred name in the text box and select OK to save it. Done!

Good luck

I tried this on my Samsung Tab3.
Under Wi-Fi Direct it does in fact show Tab3, however, my router still reports Active Host Name as: android-abeebf4371d16587
This should not be this fricken difficult! I have about 8 android devices in the house, and idiotic number combinations don't help me one bit.

Frustrated,
Mario

 

[mariomp]

Install a terminal emulator on the tablet. Enter the following:

> su
> getprop net.hostname
> setprop net.hostname <new_hostname>

The 'getprop' command will return the current hostname, so you can double-check it before setting the new one. Again, reboot to refresh network assignments.

For me on my Tab3, the 'su' command didn't work.
Does the device have to be rooted for this to work?
Is there an app I can install to get the su (I assume it's superuser) privs to work?
I was able to execute other functions but the 'set' function didn't take.

 

[gm1mqe]

I have just got a tablet and when I use an "advanced IP scanner" on Windows I find its IP address but the name fields are blank. Can anyone help. I tried several suggestions already without any luck.

Thanks, Andy

 

[gm1mqe]

Same for me - I cant find the "su" command either. On other linux I run I can logon as root and do just about anything. I went through the Development options but didnt find anything there to allow su or logon as root. Any sugestions very welcome !

Cheers, Andy

 

[TnCajunNuke]

This worked perfectly for my Note 2. Thanks!

 

[TnCajunNuke]

This worked perfectly for my Note 2. Thanks!

 

[JulianMHall]

Hi All,

Could you identify them by MAC address, which is still unique? From the forums I've been reading on this subject the devices have to be rooted in order to change the device name, which I agree is ridiculous. This sort fo functionality should have been in Android from day one. If I were in business with this issue my concern would be regarding warranties if I rooted devices - would they still be valid if the device needed to be returned but had been rooted? I doubt it.

Kind regards,

Julian