End of support for ‘Device Admin’ management on Android 10 and above

End of support for ‘Device Admin’ management on Android 10 and above

Google changes to the Android API will have an impact on devices managed through 'Device Admin' mode. From November 2020 Sophos Mobile will not support 'Device Admin' management on Android 10 or above. Customers should instead use ‘Android Enterprise’ which is fully supported and easy to set up in Sophos Mobile.

Detail

Google encourages all customers to use ‘Android Enterprise’ management instead of its predecessor 'Device Admin'. Upcoming changes to the Android APIs will lead to reduced functionality for any Android 10+ devices managed using 'Device Admin'. More specifically, admins will not be able to manage lock screen settings, passwords or disable the camera. From November 2020, Sophos Mobile will not support 'Device Admin' management on Android 10 or above. Furthermore, with Sophos Mobile 9.7, trying to enrol Android 10 or above in 'Device Admin' mode will fail.

Existing Android 9 and earlier devices can continue to be managed in 'Device Admin' mode. We recommend customers move to 'Android Enterprise' as part of their lifecycle refresh.

Sophos Mobile fully supports ‘Android Enterprise’ management and provides information to guide customers through the process of enabling it.

What to do next

More information

Please see the Sophos Mobile admin guide for more details on setting up Android Enterprise:

Sophos Mobile admin guide

Google also provides more detail on the deprecation of 'Device admin' on the following page:

What you need to know about Device Admin deprecation