Deploy custom apk (LOB) to android enterprise kiosk mode Intune

Question

Hello all,

i have a question about deploying custom build apps ( from external partners or build in house) for android.
We use mainly android enterprise kiosk mode on our tablets ( about 300 of them) no issues there.
they use google play apps....and managed home screen for the kiosk experience.

for a new project we need to deploy 3 new apps (not available in the pay store, and never will be) in a kiosk mode tablet.
i searched the web and Microsoft Learn and deploying LOB apps is not supported for Android enterprise kiosk.
So i wanted to deploy the apk tot google play private store, according the Microsoft Learn, .but i always get the error: "apk size to big"(190mb) or the error " you can't upload the apk now, try again later".
I tried with an much smaller apk (20mb) same error. (can't upload now, try again later)

When i deploy a tablet in kiosk mode and side load an app, it is possible to install it on the device but after going back to kiosk or reboot the tablet, the app gets removed.
When i modify my config profile to allow developer mode, i can get the app installed (sideload) and it stays on the tablet. we can use the app then. but when going back to kiosk the app is not visible.

so my problem is double.

1. we cant deploy custom build apps to the private store. see errors above.
2. when side loaded: it is not visible in kiosk mode. ( we use the managed screen app for our kiosk tablets)

on this moment we can use the app, but not the way we want. the end user is only allowed to use 1 app (the app we deploy)
if we use the tablet as kiosk, but not with the managed home screen app, the end user still see "settings", "google chrome", ... we want to avoid that

in the future, there will be a second project. similar to this one with custom build apps.

I found a forum, and the people there sayed: use google developer account in a Android/Google console.... my guess is there has to be a other solution to deploy it to the private store inside Intune, like we are trying to do.
is this a bigger issue inside Intune? or...
We (myself and my fellow Intune admin colleague) have the role Intune admin. i don't think this is an issue caused by an "role-rights" issue.

Anyone a solution or advice?
Thanks in advance
Kind regards
Kevin

Answer 1

@kevin deleux , Based as I know, Android kiosk mode is a lockdown mechanism to restrict Android devices to a single application or multiple applications. It only allow the apps you add. So for your phenomenon, I think we can't see the manually install app in kiosk app is the default behavior. here is a link with more details
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/mem/intune/configuration/device-restrictions-android#kiosk

For our issue, we still need to deploy it via managed Google Play store app. In your description, I know we get apk size error. According to Google’s official doc the Create and set up your app - Play Console Help (google.com)
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9859152?visit_id=637876740919983264-4213840459&rd=1#zippy=%2Cmaximum-size-limit
There is limitation for app size and are 150MB and 100 MB

Based on above information, we are not allowed to upload app over this size to neither Play store built-in page and Google Play console. Because, they are both provided by Google service.

Hope it can help.

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Answer 2

Hi Crystal,

I found the information you provided earlier.
we can deploy the app if we sideload it. but it is not "neat" and not the ideal way to go.
we have 300 android devices in kiosk mode with several apps.. all coming from google play store, all working well.

the issue is not only we can't deploy the custom build app because it is to big, we can't deploy any to the private store.
If it is to big.. how do we compress an apk for intune, it would be nice we had a tool like intunewinprepper for the intunewin (win32) app deployment for windows.

I'm not an Android dev, so i can't sign or shrink apk's.. like i found in another forum.

i see a lot of people struggeling with this, regarding the private store inside Intune.
It is not only the issue that the app is to big, other apps get an error as well ( can't upload now, try again later)
An error code would be usefull, but we don't get one....
The LOB way would be the easiest way, but that's not allowed for android Enterpise.
We tried that way several times in the past.

Kind regards
Kevin

Answer 3

Deploying a custom APK (Line of Business app) to Android Enterprise Kiosk Mode using Intune involves several steps:

Prepare the APK: Ensure the custom APK is signed and ready for deployment.

Upload the APK to Intune:

Navigate to the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center.

Select "Apps" > "All apps" > "Add."

Choose "Line-of-business app" and upload your APK file.

Assign the App:

Configure the app’s deployment by assigning it to the appropriate user groups or devices. For further details if anyone want to know about Freecine APK visit here