What you need to know about Device Admin deprecation

Android 10 delivered many helpful features for enterprise admins and users. It also marked the official deprecation of Device Admin-based management, a legacy form of Android management. 

Since our original announcement about this change in 2017 we’ve been encouraging customers to adopt Android Enterprise, which offers a modern management framework for the evolving needs of enterprise customers.

While Android 10 marks the official deprecation of Device Admin, some customers may still be on the legacy management framework because either their devices are not yet upgraded to Android 10 or their Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) Device Policy Controller is not updated to API level 29. 

However, when Android 11 launches later this year, it is expected EMMs will need to update their DPCs to API level 29 by the fourth quarter of 2020. When this occurs, admins will no longer be able to manage lock screen settings, passwords or disable the camera.

We’ve created a new video that outlines many of the key changes that IT admins can expect and strategies to prepare for a transition to Android Enterprise.

To assist customers with this migration, we’ve created the Android Enterprise Migration Bluebook, which provides detailed steps and best practices for moving from a legacy Device Admin deployment to Android Enterprise. We also encourage reaching out to your organization’s EMM provider for assistance with planning.