Question To start Android, enter your password

[eziebell_saia]

I'm trying to figure out how to stop our devices from entering this 'Android Lock' mode where the device prompts the end user to enter a password before the device completely boots into the OS.

We utilize a Zebra TC57 with a locked down Launcher from our MDM (VMware Workspace ONE UEM). We have about 8000 deployed and frequently receive reports of this issue occurring.

To start, I'm not even sure what the password would be because we do not set a password on these devices, nor do we allow our end users to log-in to any Google account on the device.

It also seems to only be a reoccurring issue on devices that have previously been reported to have the issue. (not confirmed)

We started seeing this pop up in our environment after we upgraded from Android 8 to Android 11. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it as the majority of our devices appear to not be affected.

How can I prevent this from occurring in the future?

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Are you certain all of these Zebra devices are brand new, in mint condition? Or could any of them have been used/refurbished?

Have you tried asking VMWare support about this? It sounds like something the MDM vendor should know about.

 

[eziebell_saia]

100% brand new from the manufacturer (as far back as 2021). I have personally been involved from the beginning and bared witness to the deployment of the hardware. We also utilize Google Zero Touch Portal (but this was implemented after our first iteration) to push configurations during the out of box experience.
In the earlier stages of the various profiles we have pushed to these devices, there were certainly some devices that did not receive the entire profiles and therefore would have been open to manipulation from the end user.

Given the amount of devices we have, it is certainly possible that these are the "few" devices that are causing this repeated problem, but if we send the device off for RMA, why does it continue to occur? I mean, I could just as easily Factory Reset the device with an SD card, myself, rather than go through the RMA process.

I opened a ticket with Zebra and RMA was their recommendation. Certainly there has to be a better way (which is why I'm here trying to find a better answer )

I initially opened a ticket with VMware (I would need to look back or open a new one to tell 100%) and the process they recommended was confusing asking to setup (I believe) some master Google account.

 

[B. Diddy]

This is way beyond my scope, sorry! You might want to post your question here as well: https://www.androidenterprise.community/