Controlling the software updates that are installed on devices
You can control the device software releases that are installed on
Android Enterprise
and Samsung Knox
devices. For Android Enterprise
devices, you can also set an update period for apps that are running in the foreground.For
Android Enterprise
devices with Work space only
and Work and personal - full control
activations, you can specify whether the user can choose when to install available software updates or whether software updates are automatically installed. You can specify different rules depending on the device model and currently installed OS version. For all Android Enterprise
devices, you can also set an update period for apps that are running in the foreground because, by default, when an app is running in the foreground, Google
Play
can't update it. You can also control how Google
Play
applies the changes to the device, for example, specifying whether the user can allow the change or whether the change occurs only when the device is connected to a Wi-Fi
network.For
Android Enterprise
devices with Work space only
and Work and personal - full control
activations, for any devices that you have specified an OS update rule other than the default rule, you can also suspend updates during dates when updates should not occur. For example, you may want to suspend updates during holiday periods. If you want to suspend updates for all devices, you must first create an OS update rule for all devices. For example you could create an OS update rule for all devices running Android
7.0 and later to apply updates automatically at certain hours.On
Samsung Knox
devices, you can use Enterprise Firmware Over the Air (E-FOTA) to control when firmware updates from Samsung
are installed.
Samsung
E-FOTA reached end of service on July 31, 2022. For more information see the information from Samsung. For information about migrating to Samsung E-FOTA One, visit support.blackberry.com to read article 69901.Samsung Knox
devices that are activated as Work space only
(Samsung Knox
), Work and personal - full control
(Samsung Knox
), Work space only
(Android Enterprise
fully managed device), and Work and personal - full control
(Android Enterprise
fully managed device with work profile) support software restrictions using E-FOTA.E-FOTA is not supported for
Work and personal - user privacy
(Samsung Knox
) or Work and personal - user privacy
(Android Enterprise
with work profile) activation types. Controlling firmware versions ensures that users’ devices are using firmware versions that their apps support and comply with your organization’s policies. You can use a device SR requirements profile to create firmware rules for the
Samsung Knox
devices that are activated on UEM
. You can schedule when firmware updates are installed and specify when forced updates must be installed. For more information about E-FOTA, visit enterprise-fota.Depending on the wireless service provider that a device uses, E-FOTA updates may not be available. Some wireless service providers (for example, AT&T and
Verizon
) use their own systems to manage wireless updates. On devices with
MDM controls
activations, you can't control when and how users update their device OS but you can use compliance profiles to restrict a device OS version. For all devices, to enforce a particular action if a restricted software release version is installed on a device, you must create a compliance profile and assign the compliance profile to users, user groups, or device groups. The compliance profile specifies the actions that occur if the user does not remove the restricted software release from the device.You can't control the software releases installed on
iOS
devices, but you can can force supervised iOS
devices to install an available update. For more information, see Update the OS on supervised iOS devices.