Author Topic: 'Locking Down' Tablets  (Read 4086 times)

Dglaz

  • Posts: 20
    • View Profile
'Locking Down' Tablets
« on: May 14, 2019, 17:44:41 »
We are running a number of Acer Iconia and Leveno 7inch tablets with a range of Android releases (4 - 7) that on the whole work very well with Bridgepal and Caffeine. One minor problem we are experiencing is that the status/notification bar, when inadvertently swiped, allows access to a number of settings (e.g. wifi on/off). We are finding that players are accidentally altering these settings as they try to get back to Bridgepal.

I have looked for a solution without success - it is possible ( in later versions of Android) to 'tune' the items that can be altered in this way, but I cannot find a way to 'lock' the status bar. I have tried a lockdown option intended for parental control on the Acers but this does not lock the status bar.  I have also tried using Nova and Evie launchers but no joy.

I am posting this message In the hope that there is a simple solution that I have missed.

David



AlaninMY

  • Posts: 12
    • View Profile
Re: 'Locking Down' Tablets
« Reply #1 on: July 04, 2019, 11:31:51 »
David, I have just bought some Huawei T3 7 inch tablets. These run Android 7.0 and I found that setting the kiosk mode would not work. However after a quick Google search I found that it is possible to pin an app to the screen. It is in the security tab of settings and seems to be a feature of Android 7 so may help with so.e of your units.
Alan

Dglaz

  • Posts: 20
    • View Profile
Re: 'Locking Down' Tablets
« Reply #2 on: August 02, 2019, 10:12:21 »
Thanks for this. I had seen the Pinning option but hadn't been able to implement it. I have read up on it and tried it and while it works when set up it does not survive a reboot of the tablet.

Do you pin each time you run a session ?  We could try this but I was hoping to find a solution which would automate the process.

Rgeards


David

AlaninMY

  • Posts: 12
    • View Profile
Re: 'Locking Down' Tablets
« Reply #3 on: August 03, 2019, 04:24:36 »
Yes, we found that you need to pin the program each time the tablet is started. One option is to leave them turned on and on charge.

However, an update---I managed to get kiosk mode working and will post the solution in a new post for others to find easily.

TonyF

  • Posts: 17
    • View Profile
Re: 'Locking Down' Tablets
« Reply #4 on: August 03, 2019, 11:03:47 »
Hi Folks,

       I've just started looking at kiosk browsing. I carried out a search via google. On the face of it most look quite promising. With some it is possible to lock down everything - tricky when you want to make other changes! (but not impossible - there should always be a 'backdoor' for this type of software). Nearly all are subscription - some, a one off payment  - others are by monthly payments (which could turn out to be expensive!). The one I'm trialling at the moment is Fully Kiosk Browser - cost is realistic and many many available settings! It has a type of screen saving which seems to work predictably - this may help with economising on battery usage.

 If I come across one that meets my criteria I'll post my findings.

Tony

Dglaz

  • Posts: 20
    • View Profile
Re: 'Locking Down' Tablets
« Reply #5 on: August 05, 2019, 09:22:59 »
I have found a suggestion of Kioware Lite, which is free but has a 'nag screen'.

I will try to setup a couple of our tablets to evaluate this - hopefully for Friday,


https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/1752165-need-a-free-kiosk-mode-app-for-an-android-tablet


TonyF

  • Posts: 17
    • View Profile
Re: 'Locking Down' Tablets
« Reply #6 on: August 14, 2019, 11:36:34 »

Hi David,

            I have tried quite a number of 'kiosk' based apps. The most flexible app  - I've found - is Fully Kiosk Browser.

I have successfully completely locked down the Kindles I'm using. One very useful part of the app is a screensaver which turns the screen black and has a 'skeleton' clock displaying. One tap on the screen and you can carry on where you left off.

There's nearly always a downside to any app. In this case it requires a licence which is about £5.70 for one tablet. It is possible to get a 'group' license. For (say)10 the cost is about £50. These are one off payments. So - if you use them long-term the additional cost is quite small.

In my case I've now uninstalled two other apps used in the original setup.

There are about 250 variables, taking quite a while to work all the way though the setup.

Tony