Android 4.3 DeviceAdmin error for non owner profile

Question

I am using a Nexus 7 which is updated to Android 4.3. I have an application which requires Device Admin rights to Lock/ Wipe device. I have given Device Admin right to my application on Owner Profile. So when i switch to another user profile, i can see my application in list of Device Admin apps. However when i give a Lock command on this non Owner user profile, i get the exception as

"java.lang.SecurityException: No active admin owned by uid XXXXXX".

DevicePolicyManager isActiveAdmin () method also returns true on this profile still it fails to take action and crashes the application.

I assume that once device admin is set for Owner user profile, its automatically applied to all other user profiles.Any idea then why is this happening ? Also, is there any documentation that points out on what care should my application take in order to handle Multiple user profiles in case my app requires device admin rights

"I assume that once device admin is set for Owner user profile, its automatically applied to all other user profiles" -- I certainly would not assume that. I would assume that other profiles, particularly restricted ones, have no ability to work with device admins. That being said, I am not aware of any documentation in this space. — CommonsWare, Sep 23 '13 at 13:41
what i said was based on observation on my Nexus 7 . I will check forcing acivation of DeviceAdmin on other profiles and update here. — Alok Kulkarni, Sep 23 '13 at 15:19
Try uninstalling the app, and reinstalling the apk on that user account, and then adding it as a device administrator and launching the app. — hichris123, Oct 04 '13 at 01:26
This option does not seem user friendly at all. Still i will gv it a try — Alok Kulkarni, Dec 30 '13 at 08:15

score 8 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 20 '13 at 05:49

Have you set in device_admin_sample.xml what admin policy comply with your App expected behaviour?

Set the admin paramenters as

 android:label="@string/enterprise_device_admin" 
        android:permission="android.permission.BIND_DEVICE_ADMIN"> 
     android:resource="@xml/enterprise_device_admin" />

Here is a typical content for your file device_admin_sample.xml:

<activity android:name=".app.DeviceAdminSample"
        android:label="@string/activity_sample_device_admin">
    <intent-filter>
        <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
        <category android:name="android.intent.category.SAMPLE_CODE" />
    </intent-filter>
</activity>
<receiver android:name=".app.DeviceAdminSample$DeviceAdminSampleReceiver"
    android:label="@string/sample_device_admin"
    android:description="@string/sample_device_admin_description"
    android:permission="android.permission.BIND_DEVICE_ADMIN">
    <meta-data android:name="android.app.device_admin"
        android:resource="@xml/device_admin_sample" />
    <intent-filter>
        <action android:name="android.app.action.DEVICE_ADMIN_ENABLED" />
    </intent-filter>
</receiver>

Further reading with step by step instructions that is also worth checking:

Android 4.3 DeviceAdmin error for non owner profile

1 Answers1