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  2. BlackBerry UEM 12.13
  3. Administration
  4. Managing Android devices
  5. Supporting Android Enterprise activations
  6. Support Android Enterprise devices without access to Google Play

Support 
Android Enterprise
 devices without access to 
Google Play

To activate devices that don’t have access to 
Google Play
 (for example, due to local restrictions) with 
UEM
, you must install the latest 
BlackBerry UEM Client
 on the device that you want to activate. The method that you use to download the 
UEM Client
 depends on the activation type:
  • Work space only
     (
    Android Enterprise
    ) and 
    Work and personal - full control
     (
    Android Enterprise
    )
    : You must manually download the 
    BlackBerry UEM Enroll
     app from 
    BlackBerry
     and install it on a secondary device. The device that you want to activate must be reset to default factory settings and, before you complete the out-of-box device setup on the device, you use the 
    UEM Enroll
     app on the secondary device to download the 
    UEM Client
     using NFC.
  • Work and personal - user privacy
     (
    Android Enterprise
    )
    : After the out-of-box device setup is completed on the device that you want to activate, you must manually download the 
    UEM Client
     from 
    BlackBerry
     and install it. 
To download the .apk file of the latest 
UEM Enroll
 or 
UEM Client
 app, visit support.blackberry.com/community to read article 42607.
For more information about supporting 
Android Enterprise
 devices without access to 
Google Play
, visit support.blackberry.com/community to read article 57492.

Requirements

If you want to activate devices that don’t have access to 
Google Play
, verify the following:
Requirement
Description
BlackBerry UEM
 environment
Verify the following:
  • BlackBerry UEM
     server version 12.11 or later
  • Integration with 
    Android Enterprise
    : You are not required to integrate 
    UEM
     with 
    Android Enterprise
     if you want to support only devices that don’t have access to 
    Google Play
    . If you want to support a mix of devices that do and don’t have access to 
    Google Play
    , you must integrate the 
    UEM
     environment with 
    Android Enterprise
    .
Activation profile settings
The following activation types are supported for devices that don't have access to 
Google Play
:
  • Work space only
     (
    Android Enterprise
    )
  • Work and personal - full control
     (
    Android Enterprise
    )
  • Work and personal - user privacy
     (
    Android Enterprise
    ) 
Verify the following settings in the activation profile:
  • Deselect the 
    Add Google Play account to workspace
     option. This option is available only if your 
    UEM
     environment is integrated with 
    Android Enterprise
    .
  • If you want to enable 
    BlackBerry Secure Connect Plus
    , select the 
    When activating Android Enterprise devices, enable premium UEM functionality such as BlackBerry Secure Connect Plus
     option. You must upload the 
    BlackBerry Connectivity
     app as an internal app and assign it to users. 
IT policy settings
Only for users that are assigned the 
Work and personal - user privacy
 (
Android Enterprise
) activation type, verify the following in the IT policy: 
  • Enable the 
    Allow installation of non Google Play apps
     IT policy rule to allow the installation of apps outside of 
    Google Play
    .
Non-
BlackBerry Dynamics
 apps
For non-
BlackBerry Dynamics
 apps, add the apps to 
UEM
 as internal apps and assign them to users.
  1. Obtain the .apk files of the apps that you want to assign. For example, to download the latest version of the BlackBerry Connectivity app, visit the BlackBerry myAccount portal.
  2. In the 
    BlackBerry UEM
     management console, on the menu bar, click 
    Apps
    .
  3. Click The Add an app icon > 
    Internal apps
    .
  4. Click 
    Browse
     and select the .apk file.
  5. In the 
    Send to
     field, select 
    All Android devices
    .
  6. Deselect 
    Publish app in Google domain
    . 
  7. Click 
    Add
    .
  8. Repeat the previous steps for each app that you want to add.
  9. Assign the apps to users. The app disposition must be set to 
    Required
    . 
BlackBerry Dynamics
 apps
For 
BlackBerry Dynamics
 apps, upload the internal app source file and assign the app to users.
Perform the following steps to install or update internal apps on devices that don’t have access to 
Google Play
: 
  1. Obtain the .apk files of the 
    BlackBerry Dynamics
     apps that you want to assign.  For example, to download 
    BlackBerry Work
    , visit support.blackberry.com/community and read article 42607.
  2. In the 
    BlackBerry UEM
     management console, on the menu bar, click 
    Apps
    .
  3. Click a 
    BlackBerry Dynamics
     app (for example, 
    BlackBerry Work
    ).  
  4. Click the 
    Android
     tab.
  5. Click 
    Add internal app source file
    . 
  6. Click 
    Browse
     and select the .apk file.
  7. Click 
    Add
    .
  8. Click 
    Save
    .
  9. Repeat the previous steps for each app that you want to add.
  10. Assign the apps to users. The app disposition must be set to 
    Required
    . 
Activating the devices
For devices assigned the 
Work space only
 (
Android Enterprise
) and 
Work and personal - full control
 (
Android Enterprise
) activation types, use the 
UEM Enroll
 app to initiate the download of the 
UEM Client
. For more information, see the BlackBerry UEM Enroll documentation.
For devices assigned the 
Work and personal - user privacy
 (
Android Enterprise
) activation type, manually download and install the 
UEM Client
 app. For more information, visit support.blackberry.com/community and read article 42607.
  • The device on which you install 
    UEM Enroll
     must be running 
    Android
     9 or earlier.
  • The device that you want to activate must be running 
    Android
     9 or earlier.
BlackBerry UEM Client
 app update
To update the 
UEM Client
 app on devices, users must manually download the latest version of the .apk file and install it.  For more information, visit support.blackberry.com/community and read article 42607.