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Manage multiple android phones?

I work in an IT department, and have the task to figure out how we control the 30 or so HTC legend and Desire's which will be handed out to our employees.
I would like to keep the phones as safe a passible, with centralized management so we can push apps to all phones, locate them, remote wipe and so on.
Problem 1: Does every employee need their own Google account? or can we use the same account on all phones?
it would take a long time creating them and keeping track of all the accounts.
Problem 2: how do we restrict them from installing apps themselves?
haven't found anything on this yet..
Problem 3: Is there any management software out there for android?
so far I am thinking about using Lookout for antivirus and locating lost phones, it does not support remote wipe for android,(it does for win mo). And using appbrain to push apps to all phones. will this work? or are there better solutions out there?

Why don't you guys go with BlackBerry instead? RIM has targetted their OS way more to these kind of business situations.
Anyway, if you have 1 google account for everyone. Everyone will have the same contacts, same calendar and same gmail e-mails.

The company is placed in Denmark, BlackBerry are not available to us, plus the phones have already been bought.
The Google accounts won’t be used for anything else than the market place. Mail, calendar is over exchange webmail.
Will the contacts be a problem?

Contacts won't be a problem if there are no contacts stored in it. Just gotta make sure nobody starts adding contacts in it. Or simply disable contact syncing all together, but you gotta do that on every phone.
I don't know about the other questions.

Ok, good. So no other problems with shared google accounts?

I would disagree with sharing one google account. There are many other aspects of the google account which are shared. Have you thought about cooking your own roms? You could remove the android market (and other apps) and make it more difficult to sideload apps.

I'd definitely suggest this route. Remove marketplace all together and sideload all of your necessary apps from apks.
OldCrowEW said:
I would disagree with sharing one google account. There are many other aspects of the google account which are shared. Have you thought about cooking your own roms? You could remove the android market (and other apps) and make it more difficult to sideload apps.
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Check out the enterprise products offered by Good Technologies.

OldCrowEW said:
I would disagree with sharing one google account. There are many other aspects of the google account which are shared. Have you thought about cooking your own roms? You could remove the android market (and other apps) and make it more difficult to sideload apps.
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So it is best to have individual accounts for each and every one of the employees?
Don’t think cooking is an option for us, as it not will be allowed by our operator, with warranty and so on..
I will have a look at Good Technologies, on Monday. Does anyone have any experience with their products?

yes, def no sharing of the accounts. All it would take is one person to mess it up for everyone else. You could get Google Apps account for better management but they cost $$.

OldCrowEW said:
yes, def no sharing of the accounts. All it would take is one person to mess it up for everyone else. You could get Google Apps account for better management but they cost $$.[/QUOTE
Google Apps most definitely. Its the only way for you to control 30 phones ---- if your working for a non-profit, then G-Apps is free. You control Google Apps, then you control the phones by natural subordination.
Any other way is going to weigh a heavy demand on your shoulders, big brother.
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Googe Apps
kingzion said:
I work in an IT department, and have the task to figure out how we control the 30 or so HTC legend and Desire's which will be handed out to our employees.
I would like to keep the phones as safe a passible, with centralized management so we can push apps to all phones, locate them, remote wipe and so on.
Problem 1: Does every employee need their own Google account? or can we use the same account on all phones?
it would take a long time creating them and keeping track of all the accounts.
Problem 2: how do we restrict them from installing apps themselves?
haven't found anything on this yet..
Problem 3: Is there any management software out there for android?
so far I am thinking about using Lookout for antivirus and locating lost phones, it does not support remote wipe for android,(it does for win mo). And using appbrain to push apps to all phones. will this work? or are there better solutions out there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its true you need a Google account to set up your phones. However, have you thought about setting up your phones with a Google apps account?
Our company has become very "Google Friendly" as of late. We switched our email server out for a very flexible/scalable Google Apps account.
Instead of giving a gps, phone, and tablet to everyone. We found that all our needs were satisfied with giving everyone a Droid.
I am now in control of upwards 200 phones. All but a few are Android (Droids) all are set up under our Google Apps account. If you talk with your Service provider they should be able to set the phones up for you if you order yours in a bulk order at the same time. And yes everyone will need their own account, you would run into a huge mess if you were only using one account. (email, calender, contacts, and settings would all change with one person adding/subtracting something)
As for managing your users ability to download apps. You could do as suggested and remove the market place after you have installed your needed apps. Or you could limit your users to only downloading free apps. (if you set your phones up using Google Apps they cannot sync a google checkout account to their phone. (Is there a reason you don't want your users to download apps?)
Android 2.2 will give you your other request remote wipe, ease of deployment (exchange account sync), and better security.
If you go with Google you get a great community that will be able to help you out.
Free Apps that may help you out.
instamapper (tracking at its best)
wheresmydroid (turn on gps)
pdanet (internet tether)
barcode scanner
gps (mostly built in)
dropbox (file sharing)
It does take time to set up, but I think you would be very please with the transition.

kingzion said:
I work in an IT department, and have the task to figure out how we control the 30 or so HTC legend and Desire's which will be handed out to our employees.
I would like to keep the phones as safe a passible, with centralized management so we can push apps to all phones, locate them, remote wipe and so on.
Problem 1: Does every employee need their own Google account? or can we use the same account on all phones?
it would take a long time creating them and keeping track of all the accounts.
Problem 2: how do we restrict them from installing apps themselves?
haven't found anything on this yet..
Problem 3: Is there any management software out there for android?
so far I am thinking about using Lookout for antivirus and locating lost phones, it does not support remote wipe for android,(it does for win mo). And using appbrain to push apps to all phones. will this work? or are there better solutions out there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
Have you found any apps that fit your needs? Do you use them? If no, is your organization still interesting in mobile device management service?
I'm asking because I'm working for http://bloove.com (personal phone management service) and we're going to expand our offer to small and medium companies.
This new service will combine existing contact, sms, phone log and bookmark backup for personal phone with MDM features like centralized app management, location and wipe service etc.
We're looking for early adopters who will have a chance to add their custom requirements to the service and get this service for free for up to six months.
Please let me know if you're interested and want to discuss this further.
Thank you,
Rostislav
[email protected]

Failed Retrieving Accounts with Google Voice

When I try to use the Google Voice app, it launches and gets stuck at the "Sign in to your Google Account" screen, with a brief message at the bottom that says "Failed retrieving accounts." It works fine on my Nexus 4 running Nougat (Lineage). Anyone able to use the Google Voice app on the Pixel 2?
I also notice some other weird account behavior, like in the maps app, in the side pane, I don't see my account name to sign in, but I do see it in a pop up if I click on "add account" (and can log in with maps--as well as Play and other apps).
Any thoughts what's up with Google Voice? Uninstalling it and reinstalling it did not help. Neither did restarting the phone several times.
*
[Edit: OMG, I answered my own question after futzing with this for more than an hour. It turned out that Google Play Services did not have permission to access contacts on my device and that caused the weirdness on Google Voice and Maps also.
So I went to: Apps & Notifications > All apps > Google Play services > Permissions and then flipped the switch to enable contacts.
I guess when the pop up says, "If you deny this permission, basic features of your device may no longer function as intended," they mean it. When I was disabling some of this stuff, I figured Google was just trying to scare me away from giving them more personal information (which Google probably considers a basic feature).
The funny thing is that on my Nexus 4 with Lineage, Google Play services has permission to access contacts, in the same place in the settings. But then in the Privacy Guard settings I set it to ignore requests to read or modify contacts from Google Play services and that apparently does not interfere with how it manages accounts. In fact, Privacy Guard says Google Play services has never tried to read or modify my contacts, even though it apparently needs permission to do so or won't work correctly. Weird.]

In my case it was not a permissions issue. My Google Play Services was very old and not updating itself. Loading the latest APK fixed the issue with Google Voice (via Apkmirror). I could not even update from the Play Store.

How I managed to quit Google services cold turkey and lived to tell the tale ;)

Hey folks,
Just sharing my experience getting out of the Google services/framework
I use LineageOS(a custom firmware) with my One Plus 2 and was previously using gaaps pico(the bare minimum) which had Google Services Framework which comes with Google Play Store.
I didn't like the permissions Google Play Store was asking for(almost all permissions) although I made a new Google account and used a gamers gift card to load money onto it to pay for apps, I was just uncomfortable with the privacy policy and all the metadata Google collects.
I searched high and low and found 'Raccoon' and 'Yalp Store' as alternatives to the Google Play Store, ironically I found them using Google Search , Yalp Store is what I went with to download apps from Google Play Store without the Google Services Framework (GSF) and it has the ability to check for app Updates(Yalp Store checks and updates apps using scrapping the Google Play Store, no need for Google Services Framework), I had a choice of using the Yalp Store random account to sign-in or one of my choice. So now I don't install any Gaaps with LineageOS.
I liked the idea of updating apps via Play Store (they are vetted the most in my opinion with respect to security) I don't mind apkmirror but it requires a scrapper to check for updates(which I was too lazy to write).
There were some hiccups using Yalp Store(I signed in with the account In used to pay for apps) for apps like Greenify, that I paid for would not unlock as it required Google Services Framework to do a license check.
There are no push notifications without GSF. The private messenger 'Signal' still works but runs in the background(does not take too much of battery at all).
It's been a two weeks or more without anything Google and even droping Whatsapp. I noticed really good battery life. Had to use various apps(essentials for me) like:
Mail: Bluemail for icloud email
Music: Phonograph (Not GSF dependant)
Video: VLC (Not GSF dependant)
File manager: Solid Explorer PRO (Very cool, uses your IMEI to do a license check initially)
Oneplus Galery and Camera (ported by one of the devs) (btw if you google the OnePlus Gallery on apkmirror, the beta version works fine with the OP2)
Messaging: Signal Messenger
Calendar (com.boxer.calendar): Not GSF dependant
Browser: Firefox and Firefox Focus
Notes: Simplenote
F-Droid: to check for updates to the Yalp Store app (not GSF dependant)
Newpipe (YouTube player which can be downloaded from F-Droid) - Is awesome, can check if your favorite YouTube channels have any updates without signing in, just like the 'YouTube Checker' add-on for Firefox on desktop. Super cool floating popup to watch videos! (non GFS dependant)
Backup: Super Backup (The super backup pro is GSF dependant and cannot complete a license check) I use this app to locally backup Contacts, apps, Calendar events and Messages)
BlueMail checks my email once in a day, just like the old days when they were no smartphones and one would logon on the desktop once a day to check mail, instead of having a fight or flight response everytime a push notification is sent atleast in my case (I can manually do a refresh and check, whenever)
To be honest, it takes some getting used to, but I'm happier in the sense I dont like Google collecting data for their AI and Machine learning, my data is not that important to them and my privacy is not due to any paranoia. I just dont like the concept anymore, I have nothing to hide, it's just the 'Google Free Stuff' comes at a cost, I just watched tech news today and found that Google Chrome, is now, planning to use Machine Learning to determine if the links you click in their browser are Malware, you know what that means right, they have to get access to all the 'links' you click 'to determine' which are Malware. Most people don't get it, others don't care because they feel they have nothing to hide, but, if you really want to go free of either Google or Apple. Stock LineageOS is the best way to go (personal opinion)
Without GSF you have to set a check for notifications(for various apps) at regular intervals, not that battery intensive but counter-intuitive if you dig push notifications.
Wow, feels great to share all that lol.
Also, I found the time to update my 'removal' script to remove all the default ringtones-alarms-notificaton(.ogg file) sounds and copy just the ones I want to use to their respective folders via TWRP flashing (it also removes stuff I dont use in Lineage OS)
https://github.com/forestfirefly/lineageosscript
Have a safe and secure 2018 and please do share any super cool non GSF dependant apps that you use, thanks.
Ps:- Using the LineageOS stock Dialer and Contacts app and really diggin it!
Thanks LineageOS Dev Team for all your hard work, you guys must get that a lot but felt the need to say it
Originally posted here
Update1:
Have moved out of iCloud email and have decided to go with the eco-friendly email provider posteo.de along with the 'K-9 Email' app to fetch email.
Update2:
Am using 'Here WeGo' maps and its not bad at all.
Also switched to APKUpdater(https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/app-apkupdater-t3444517) as Yalp Store was sharing my device info with Google (when using my own account, I noticed it in devices)
Update3:
Decided to use Raccoon by Onyxbits to download apks on my linux machine (Mod Edit: Link removed)
It's good and has the ability to check for updates for apps downloaded
It has the ability to download apps you have paid for based on the google ID you use to log in
Changed from Yalp Store as I found Yalp Store to use the google play api to fetch apps and if any other google framework like microG was to be installed it would get the account credentials from Yalp store, also, using it with the Orbot app, made Google flag my account as a "privacy guy", they seemed to know what's going on.
Using Spotify for music (does not require GSF)
Using Simple Calendar Pro for Calendar
Using firefox as my main browser usinf Opera with VPN for anonymous browsing
Using Firefox Notes for end to end encrypted notes instead of SImplenote
Waiting for RCS (Mod Edit: Link removed) Messaging as I've completely gone off WhatsApp for good! Signal Messanger is good for now.

Same for me.

Why is Play Store Installed Google Phone (dialer) app not recognized as an available dialer, despite all permissions granted, set as default dialer?

Hello,
I've tried to fix this problem for months - it makes using my phone as a phone very painful. I've reached out to Google via the app's feedback, have posted multiple Play Store reviews, have posted in the Google Community Support forum but no one will even acknowledge my posts. DRIVING ME INSANE.
I am trying to use the latest Google "Phone" Android dialer app (version 63.0.364655934 - though every single version has always had this same issue). The app was installed via the Play Store. All permissions have been granted. The app is set as the default dialer as well. I can open the app and dial a number, and incoming calls are working fine. The problem I'm experiencing: if I attempt to make a phone call from any other app, the Google "Phone" app is not listed as an installed dialer in the Android call/dialer intent received list of available dialer options. The default (Samsung) dialer is listed, as well as others (such as Skype for example), but not the blue Google "Phone" app. If I am texting someone in the Google "Messages" app and decide I would like to call that contact, when I touch the call icon the "Complete Using" Android dialer selection menu pops up (the one where you can choose which app you would like to use to complete the action, and whether you want to "Always" use that app or "Just Once") but the Google "Phone" app is not an available option, despite having all permissions granted and being set as the default dialer. This is extremely annoying and drives me crazy all day long and makes it very difficult to use my phone. If I ask Google Assistant to call someone, GA attempts to do so and that dialer selection menu pops up and nothing happens/GA cannot place the call because the Google Phone app is not listed as an option. I cannot make calls from the Google "Contacts" app. I cannot make calls whenever I select a phone number from a website in Google Chrome. It is extremely frustrating. I have sent feedback via the app multiple times, have written multiple reviews on the Google Play store and was told by the developer that my phone needed to have a good signal in order to be able to make calls and that I should submit feedback via the app, despite having clearly stated in my review that I had already submitted feedback multiple times. My phone has perfect signal - that has nothing to do with anything...
I believe it is the result of poor coding in the app's Android manifest / intent settings, and/or perhaps it could be that something conflicts with Samsung's proprietary Android software on my phone. My phone is one of the most common phones out there, and was one of the top selling phones last year in the United States: Samsung Galaxy A10e, on Verizon Wireless. Device software up to date, not rooted (because it's not possible for US Samsung devices to be rooted, unfortunately).
When I look at the App's enabled permissions and services, one permission seems to be disabled, and three services are listed as disabled, despite all permissions being granted in the Phone app's app/permission settings in the main Android Settings menu. Screenshots with more details attached.
Please help - thank you!
Google "Phone" app not recognized as dialer app by Android phone despite all permissions granted - Google Phone app Community

richaardvark said:
Hello,
I've tried to fix this problem for months - it makes using my phone as a phone very painful. I've reached out to Google via the app's feedback, have posted multiple Play Store reviews, have posted in the Google Community Support forum but no one will even acknowledge my posts. DRIVING ME INSANE.
I am trying to use the latest Google "Phone" Android dialer app (version 63.0.364655934 - though every single version has always had this same issue). The app was installed via the Play Store. All permissions have been granted. The app is set as the default dialer as well. I can open the app and dial a number, and incoming calls are working fine. The problem I'm experiencing: if I attempt to make a phone call from any other app, the Google "Phone" app is not listed as an installed dialer in the Android call/dialer intent received list of available dialer options. The default (Samsung) dialer is listed, as well as others (such as Skype for example), but not the blue Google "Phone" app. If I am texting someone in the Google "Messages" app and decide I would like to call that contact, when I touch the call icon the "Complete Using" Android dialer selection menu pops up (the one where you can choose which app you would like to use to complete the action, and whether you want to "Always" use that app or "Just Once") but the Google "Phone" app is not an available option, despite having all permissions granted and being set as the default dialer. This is extremely annoying and drives me crazy all day long and makes it very difficult to use my phone. If I ask Google Assistant to call someone, GA attempts to do so and that dialer selection menu pops up and nothing happens/GA cannot place the call because the Google Phone app is not listed as an option. I cannot make calls from the Google "Contacts" app. I cannot make calls whenever I select a phone number from a website in Google Chrome. It is extremely frustrating. I have sent feedback via the app multiple times, have written multiple reviews on the Google Play store and was told by the developer that my phone needed to have a good signal in order to be able to make calls and that I should submit feedback via the app, despite having clearly stated in my review that I had already submitted feedback multiple times. My phone has perfect signal - that has nothing to do with anything...
I believe it is the result of poor coding in the app's Android manifest / intent settings, and/or perhaps it could be that something conflicts with Samsung's proprietary Android software on my phone. My phone is one of the most common phones out there, and was one of the top selling phones last year in the United States: Samsung Galaxy A10e, on Verizon Wireless. Device software up to date, not rooted (because it's not possible for US Samsung devices to be rooted, unfortunately).
When I look at the App's enabled permissions and services, one permission seems to be disabled, and three services are listed as disabled, despite all permissions being granted in the Phone app's app/permission settings in the main Android Settings menu. Screenshots with more details attached.
Please help - thank you!
Google "Phone" app not recognized as dialer app by Android phone despite all permissions granted - Google Phone app Community
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That's weird never experience that before what's your carrier mines t-mobile and I never had that before I usually only use it to call people

Austinredstoner said:
That's weird never experience that before what's your carrier mines t-mobile and I never had that before I usually only use it to call people
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I'm on Verizon. It's so weird/dumb/annoying! I can't even ask Google Assistant to make a call, or open a contact in the Google Contacts app and then make a call, or click on a contact in the Google Messages app and tap the call icon. All I get is the pop-up menu that shows the disabled/not default Samsung dialer app (green) and Skype Lite, despite all permissions being granted and the Google Phone app being set as the default dialer app. I've tried the beta version as well and it's the same.

I'm constantly having to copy and paste or physically write down numbers because the stupid phone won't function as a phone and Google Support is non-existent and makes me want to chop my head off.

richaardvark said:
I'm on Verizon. It's so weird/dumb/annoying! I can't even ask Google Assistant to make a call, or open a contact in the Google Contacts app and then make a call, or click on a contact in the Google Messages app and tap the call icon. All I get is the pop-up menu that shows the disabled/not default Samsung dialer app (green) and Skype Lite, despite all permissions being granted and the Google Phone app being set as the default dialer app. I've tried the beta version as well and it's the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could u try uninstalling the updates for the dialer app it may just be a bug

Austinredstoner said:
Could u try uninstalling the updates for the dialer app it may just be a bug
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately there's no way to uninstall any updates in the Google phone app, only uninstall the entire Google phone app altogether. Nor can I uninstall any updates for the built-in Samsung dialer app and I can't even disable the app as an app. :-(

I honestly think it's either poor coding on Google's behalf, or Samsung's locked-down / proprietary / Touchwiz crap being all finicky and annoying, or a combination of both. It's so dumb that I can't even use the Google Contacts app to dial a phone number or have Google Assistant place a phone call... with the Google dialer app... lol...

I really need to be able to make damn phone calls without having to copy and paste the number every ****inggggy time. This is absurd. Can someone please help or advise? There's no such thing as Google ****ing support. Their forums are pointless.

Question AppGallery and watch faces for GT3 in the U.S.

I have a Huawei GT 3 and am attempting to use it in the U.S. As a result, the AppGallery and watch faces buttons do not appear in the Health app.
I have attempted to work around this issue by using a VPN and a "mock location" app to indicate that I was elsewhere when installing the AppGallery and Health apps and pairing the watch, but that did not help.
I have seen some guides in this forum mentioning the TaiChi app, but it wasn't clear from an initial cursory reading that the methods being described would address the U.S. locale issue. I would be grateful if someone could confirm that they do before I spend the time and effort installing and experimenting, or if that's not a solution, I'd very much appreciate alternative suggestions. Thanks!

To follow up on this question, I found this post ; since the issue is the Health app and not the watch per se, I thought it would be reasonable to give it a try.
It appears that China has just decided to ban temporary SMS services; none of the pages I visited showed any received messages since a few days ago, and test messages sent to those numbers did not appear. One of the sites mentioned restrictions imposed to combat bank fraud, and several others showed 0 phone numbers online. However, since the watch faces are apparently available in the UK, I decided to try a UK account registration, having verified that one of the UK temporary SMS services actually did work.
I uninstalled AppGallery, Health, and HMS Core apps, turned off the permission to use wifi and Bluetooth for location services, and disabled wifi. After rebooting, I connected (using Thunder VPN) to a UK server, set the location (using the Fake GPS Location mock location app), and installed and started the Huawei AppGallery app. When prompted for a Huawei account, I created a new one using a new PetalMail email account that was registered in the UK, using a temporary UK SMS number to receive the verification code, and proceeded to install the Health app and connect the watch.
After all that, I still do not see AppGallery and watch faces in the Health app. I'm not sure what the Health app is using to determine location, but it consistently warns each time I start it for the first time after installing it that it cannot upload my data to the cloud from my current location, even withthe VPN and mock location services running and wifi and Bluetooth location services disabled.
I have no further ideas of anything to try to make this work. Suggestions will be gratefully received. In the meantime it appears that I will just have to live with the built-in watch faces and apps. (It's a pretty nice watch even with those restrictions.)