1- page.title=Android Device Administration API
1+ page.title=Device Administration
22@jd:body
3+
34<div id="qv-wrapper">
45<div id="qv">
56 <h2>In this document</h2>
67 <ol>
78<li><a href="#overview">Device Administration API Overview</a>
89 <ol>
10+ <li><a href="#how">How does it work?</a></li>
911 <li><a href="#policies">Policies</a></li>
1012 </ol>
1113 </li>
12- <li><a href="#how">How Does It Work?</a></li>
1314 <li><a href="#sample">Sample Application</a></li>
1415 <li><a href="#developing">Developing a Device Administration Application</a>
1516 <ol>
16- <li><a href="#manifest">Creating the Manifest</a></li>
17- <li><a href="#code">Implementing the Code</a>
18- </li>
17+ <li><a href="#manifest">Creating the manifest</a></li>
18+ <li><a href="#code">Implementing the code</a></li>
1919 </ol>
20+ </li>
21+
22+ </ol>
23+
24+ <h2>Key classes</h2>
25+ <ol>
26+ <li>{@link android.app.admin.DeviceAdminReceiver}</li>
27+ <li>{@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager}</li>
28+ <li>{@link android.app.admin.DeviceAdminInfo}</li>
2029 </ol>
21- </div>
30+ </div>
2231</div>
2332
2433<p>Android 2.2 introduces support for enterprise applications by offering the
@@ -37,22 +46,25 @@ their email and calendar data.</p>
3746solutions for Android-powered devices. It discusses the various features
3847provided by the Device Administration API to provide stronger security for
3948employee devices that are powered by Android.</p>
49+
50+
4051<h2 id="overview">Device Administration API Overview</h2>
52+
4153<p>Here are examples of the types of applications that might use the Device Administration API:</p>
4254<ul>
4355 <li>Email clients.</li>
4456 <li>Security applications that do remote wipe.</li>
4557 <li>Device management services and applications.</li>
4658</ul>
4759
48- <h3 id="how">How Does it Work ?</h3>
60+ <h3 id="how">How does it work ?</h3>
4961<p>You use the Device Administration API to write device admin applications that users
5062install on their devices. The device admin application enforces the desired
5163policies. Here's how it works:</p> <ul>
5264 <li>A system administrator writes a device admin application that enforces
5365remote/local device security policies. These policies could be hard-coded into
5466the app, or the application could dynamically fetch policies from a third-party
55- server. </li>
67+ server. </li>
5668<li>The application is installed on users' devices. Android does
5769not currently have an automated provisioning solution. Some of the ways a sysadmin might
5870distribute the application to users are as follows:
@@ -68,7 +80,7 @@ distribute the application to users are as follows:
6880 <li>The system prompts the user to enable the device admin application. How
6981and when this happens depends on how the application is implemented.</li>
7082<li>Once users enable the device admin application, they are subject to
71- its policies. Complying with those policies typically confers benefits, such as
83+ its policies. Complying with those policies typically confers benefits, such as
7284access to sensitive systems and data.</li>
7385</ul>
7486<p>If users do not enable the device admin app, it remains on the device, but in an inactive state. Users will not be subject to its policies, and they will conversely not get any of the application's benefits—for example, they may not be able to sync data.</p>
@@ -88,12 +100,14 @@ application.</p>
88100<p>To uninstall an existing device admin application, users need to
89101first unregister the application as an administrator. </p>
90102
91- <h3 id ="policies">Policies</h3>
103+
104+ <h3 id="policies">Policies</h3>
105+
92106<p>In an enterprise setting, it's often the case that employee devices must
93107adhere to a strict set of policies that govern the use of the device. The
94108Device Administration API supports the policies listed in Table 1.
95109Note that the Device Administration API currently only supports passwords for screen
96- lock:</p>
110+ lock:</p>
97111<p class="table-caption"><strong>Table 1.</strong> Policies supported by the Device Administration API.</p>
98112<table border="1">
99113 <tr>
@@ -109,7 +123,7 @@ lock:</p>
109123 <td>Set the required number of characters for the password. For example, you
110124can require PIN or passwords to have at least six characters. </td> </tr>
111125 <tr>
112- <td>Alphanumeric password required</td>
126+ <td>Alphanumeric password required</td>
113127 <td>Requires that passwords have a
114128combination of letters and numbers. They may include symbolic characters.
115129 </td>
@@ -128,7 +142,9 @@ pressed a button before the device locks the screen. When this happens, users
128142need to enter their PIN or passwords again before they can use their devices and
129143access data. The value can be between 1 and 60 minutes.</td> </tr>
130144</table>
131- <h4>Other Features</h4>
145+
146+ <h4>Other features</h4>
147+
132148<p>In addition to supporting the policies listed in the above table, the Device
133149Administration API lets you do the following:</p> <ul>
134150 <li>Prompt user to set a new password.</li>
@@ -138,6 +154,7 @@ Administration API lets you do the following:</p> <ul>
138154
139155
140156<h2 id="sample">Sample Application</h2>
157+
141158<p>The examples used in this document are based on the <a
142159href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/ApiDemos/src/com/example/
143160android/apis/app/DeviceAdminSample.html">Device Administration API
@@ -147,7 +164,7 @@ href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/get.html">
147164Getting the Samples</a>. Here is the <a
148165href="{@docRoot}resources/samples/ApiDemos/src/com/example/
149166android/apis/app/DeviceAdminSample.html">complete code</a> for
150- the sample. </p>
167+ the sample. </p>
151168<p>The
152169sample application offers a demo of device admin features. It presents users
153170with a user interface that lets them enable the device admin application. Once
@@ -169,13 +186,17 @@ locks.</li>
169186<img src="{@docRoot}images/admin/device-admin-app.png"/>
170187<p class="img-caption"><strong>Figure 1.</strong> Screenshot of the Sample Application</p>
171188
189+
190+
172191<h2 id="developing">Developing a Device Administration Application</h2>
173192
174193<p>System administrators can use the Device Administration API to write an application
175194that enforces remote/local device security policy enforcement. This section
176195summarizes the steps involved in creating a device administration
177196application.</p>
178- <h3 id="manifest">Creating the Manifest</h3>
197+
198+ <h3 id="manifest">Creating the manifest</h3>
199+
179200<p>To use the Device Administration API, the application's
180201manifest must include the following:</p>
181202<ul>
@@ -207,7 +228,7 @@ intent, expressed in the manifest as an intent filter.</li>
207228 <action android:name="android.app.action.DEVICE_ADMIN_ENABLED" />
208229 </intent-filter>
209230</receiver></pre>
210-
231+
211232 <p>Note that:</p>
212233<ul>
213234 <li>The activity in the sample application is an {@link android.app.Activity}
@@ -218,7 +239,7 @@ subclass called <code>Controller</code>. The syntax
218239an inner class; it just is in this example.</li>
219240
220241<li>The following attributes refer to string resources that for the sample application reside in
221- <code>ApiDemos/res/values/strings.xml</code>. For more information about resources, see
242+ <code>ApiDemos/res/values/strings.xml</code>. For more information about resources, see
222243<a
223244href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/resources/index.html">Application Resources</a>.
224245<ul>
@@ -234,8 +255,8 @@ informative than
234255a label.</li>
235256</ul>
236257
237-
238- <li><code>android:permission="android.permission.BIND_DEVICE_ADMIN"
258+
259+ <li><code>android:permission="android.permission.BIND_DEVICE_ADMIN"
239260</code> is a permission that a {@link android.app.admin.DeviceAdminReceiver} subclass must
240261have, to ensure that only the system can interact with the receiver (no application can be granted this permission). This
241262prevents other applications from abusing your device admin app.</li>
@@ -273,11 +294,15 @@ android.app.admin.DeviceAdminInfo} class. Here are the contents of
273294include all of the policies, just the ones that are relevant for your app.
274295</p>
275296For more discussion of the manifest file, see the <a
276- href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/manifest-intro.html">Android Developers Guide</a>.
277- <h2 id="code">Implementing the Code</h2>
297+ href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/manifest-intro.html">Android Developers Guide</a>.
298+
299+
300+
301+ <h3 id="code">Implementing the code</h3>
302+
278303<p>The Device Administration API includes the following classes:</p>
279304<dl>
280- <dt>{@link android.app.admin.DeviceAdminReceiver}</dt>
305+ <dt>{@link android.app.admin.DeviceAdminReceiver}</dt>
281306 <dd>Base class for implementing a device administration component. This class provides
282307a convenience for interpreting the raw intent actions that are sent by the
283308system. Your Device Administration application must include a
@@ -287,14 +312,15 @@ system. Your Device Administration application must include a
287312this class must have published a {@link android.app.admin.DeviceAdminReceiver} that the user
288313has currently enabled. The {@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager} manages policies for
289314one or more {@link android.app.admin.DeviceAdminReceiver} instances</dd>
290- <dt>{@link android.app.admin.DeviceAdminInfo}</dt>
315+ <dt>{@link android.app.admin.DeviceAdminInfo}</dt>
291316<dd>This class is used to specify metadata
292317for a device administrator component.</dd>
293318</dl>
294319<p>These classes provide the foundation for a fully functional device administration application.
295320The rest of this section describes how you use the {@link
296321android.app.admin.DeviceAdminReceiver} and
297322{@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager} APIs to write a device admin application.</p>
323+
298324<h4 id="receiver">Subclassing DeviceAdminReceiver</h4>
299325<p>To create a device admin application, you must subclass
300326{@link android.app.admin.DeviceAdminReceiver}. The {@link android.app.admin.DeviceAdminReceiver} class
@@ -305,7 +331,7 @@ simply displays a {@link android.widget.Toast} notification in response to parti
305331events. For example:</p>
306332<pre>public class DeviceAdminSample extends DeviceAdminReceiver {
307333
308- ...
334+ ...
309335 @Override
310336 public void onEnabled(Context context, Intent intent) {
311337 showToast(context, "Sample Device Admin: enabled");
@@ -331,30 +357,32 @@ events. For example:</p>
331357 }
332358...
333359}</pre>
334- <h4 id="enabling">Enabling the Application</h4>
360+
361+ <h4 id="enabling">Enabling the application</h4>
335362<p>One of the major events a device admin application has to handle is the user
336363enabling the application. The user must explicitly enable the application for
337364the policies to be enforced. If the user chooses not to enable the application
338365it will still be present on the device, but its policies will not be enforced, and the user will not
339366get any of the application's benefits.</p>
340367<p>The process of enabling the application begins when the user performs an
341- action that triggers the {@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager#ACTION_ADD_DEVICE_ADMIN}
368+ action that triggers the {@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager#ACTION_ADD_DEVICE_ADMIN}
342369intent. In the
343370sample application, this happens when the user clicks the <strong>Enable
344371Admin</strong> button. </p>
345372<p>When the user clicks the <strong>Enable Admin</strong> button, the display
346- changes to prompt the user to enable the device admin application, as shown in <strong>Figure 2</strong>.</p>
373+ changes to prompt the user to enable the device admin application, as shown in figure
374+ 2.</p>
347375
348376<img src="{@docRoot}images/admin/device-admin-activate-prompt.png"/>
349377<p class="img-caption"><strong>Figure 2.</strong> Sample Application: Activating the Application</p>
350378<p>Below is the code that gets executed when the user clicks the <strong>Enable
351- Admin</strong> button shown in <strong>Figure 1</strong> . </p>
379+ Admin</strong> button shown in figure 1 . </p>
352380
353381<pre> private OnClickListener mEnableListener = new OnClickListener() {
354382 public void onClick(View v) {
355383 // Launch the activity to have the user enable our admin.
356384 Intent intent = new Intent(DevicePolicyManager.ACTION_ADD_DEVICE_ADMIN);
357- intent.putExtra(DevicePolicyManager.EXTRA_DEVICE_ADMIN,
385+ intent.putExtra(DevicePolicyManager.EXTRA_DEVICE_ADMIN,
358386 mDeviceAdminSample);
359387 intent.putExtra(DevicePolicyManager.EXTRA_ADD_EXPLANATION,
360388 "Additional text explaining why this needs to be added.");
@@ -379,10 +407,10 @@ protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
379407}</pre>
380408
381409<p>The line
382- <code>intent.putExtra(DevicePolicyManager.EXTRA_DEVICE_ADMIN,
410+ <code>intent.putExtra(DevicePolicyManager.EXTRA_DEVICE_ADMIN,
383411mDeviceAdminSample)</code> states that <code>mDeviceAdminSample</code> (which is
384412a {@link android.app.admin.DeviceAdminReceiver} component) is the target policy.
385- This line invokes the user interface shown in <strong>Figure 2</strong> , which guides users through
413+ This line invokes the user interface shown in figure 2 , which guides users through
386414adding the device administrator to the system (or allows them to reject it).</p>
387415
388416<p>When the application needs to perform an operation that is contingent on the
@@ -402,41 +430,46 @@ if (active) {
402430 // do something else
403431}
404432</pre>
405- <h3 id="admin_ops">Managing Policies</h3>
433+
434+ <h3 id="admin_ops">Managing policies</h3>
406435<p>{@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager} is a public class for managing policies
407436enforced on a device. {@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager} manages policies for one
408437or more {@link android.app.admin.DeviceAdminReceiver} instances. </p>
409438<p>You get a handle to the {@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager} as follows: </p>
410- <pre>DevicePolicyManager mDPM =
411- (DevicePolicyManager)getSystemService(Context.DEVICE_POLICY_SERVICE);<br
412- /></pre>
439+ <pre>
440+ DevicePolicyManager mDPM =
441+ (DevicePolicyManager)getSystemService(Context.DEVICE_POLICY_SERVICE);
442+ </pre>
413443<p>This section describes how to use {@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager} to perform
414444 administrative tasks:</p>
415445<ul>
416446 <li><a href="#pwd">Set password policies</a></li>
417447 <li><a href="#lock">Set device lock</a></li>
418448 <li><a href="#wipe">Perform data wipe</a></li>
419449</ul>
450+
420451<h4 id="pwd">Set password policies</h4>
421452<p>{@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager} includes APIs for setting and enforcing the
422453device password policy. In the Device Administration API, the password only applies to
423454screen lock. This section describes common password-related tasks.</p>
455+
424456<h5>Set a password for the device</h5>
425457<p>This code displays a user interface prompting the user to set a password:</p>
426458<pre>Intent intent = new Intent(DevicePolicyManager.ACTION_SET_NEW_PASSWORD);
427459startActivity(intent);
428460</pre>
461+
429462<h5>Set the password quality</h5>
430463<p>The password quality can be one of the following {@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager} constants: </p>
431464<dl>
432- <dt>{@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager#PASSWORD_QUALITY_ALPHABETIC}</dt><dd>The user must enter a
465+ <dt>{@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager#PASSWORD_QUALITY_ALPHABETIC}</dt><dd>The user must enter a
433466password containing at least alphabetic (or other symbol) characters.</dd>
434- <dt>{@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager#PASSWORD_QUALITY_ALPHANUMERIC}</dt><dd>The user must enter a
467+ <dt>{@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager#PASSWORD_QUALITY_ALPHANUMERIC}</dt><dd>The user must enter a
435468password containing at least <em>both</em> numeric <em>and</em> alphabetic (or
436469other symbol) characters.</dd>
437470 <dt>{@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager#PASSWORD_QUALITY_NUMERIC}</dt><dd>The user must enter a password
438471containing at least numeric characters.</dd>
439- <dt>{@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager#PASSWORD_QUALITY_SOMETHING}</dt><dd>The policy requires some kind
472+ <dt>{@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager#PASSWORD_QUALITY_SOMETHING}</dt><dd>The policy requires some kind
440473of password, but doesn't care what it is.</dd>
441474 <dt>{@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager#PASSWORD_QUALITY_UNSPECIFIED}</dt><dd>
442475 The policy has no requirements for the password. </dd>
@@ -448,6 +481,7 @@ ComponentName mDeviceAdminSample;
448481...
449482mDPM.setPasswordQuality(mDeviceAdminSample, DevicePolicyManager.PASSWORD_QUALITY_ALPHANUMERIC);
450483</pre>
484+
451485<h5>Set the minimum password length</h5>
452486<p>You can specify that a password must be at least the specified minimum
453487length. For example:</p>
@@ -457,29 +491,33 @@ int pwLength;
457491...
458492mDPM.setPasswordMinimumLength(mDeviceAdminSample, pwLength);
459493</pre>
494+
460495<h5>Set maximum failed password attempts</h5>
461496<p>You can set the maximum number of allowed failed password attempts before the
462497device is wiped (that is, reset to factory settings). For example:</p>
463- <pre>DevicePolicyManager mDPM;
464- ComponentName mDeviceAdminSample;
498+ <pre>DevicePolicyManager mDPM;
499+ ComponentName mDeviceAdminSample;
465500int maxFailedPw;
466501 ...
467502mDPM.setMaximumFailedPasswordsForWipe(mDeviceAdminSample, maxFailedPw);</pre>
503+
468504<h4 id="lock">Set device lock</h4>
469505<p>You can set the maximum period of user inactivity that can occur before the
470506device locks. For example:</p>
471507<pre>
472- DevicePolicyManager mDPM;
508+ DevicePolicyManager mDPM;
473509ComponentName mDeviceAdminSample;
474510...
475511long timeMs = 1000L*Long.parseLong(mTimeout.getText().toString());
476512mDPM.setMaximumTimeToLock(mDeviceAdminSample, timeMs);
477513</pre>
478514<p>You can also programmatically tell the device to lock immediately:</p>
479515<pre>
480- DevicePolicyManager mDPM;
516+ DevicePolicyManager mDPM;
481517mDPM.lockNow();</pre>
518+
482519<h4 id="wipe">Perform data wipe</h4>
520+
483521<p>You can use the {@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager} method
484522{@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager#wipeData wipeData()} to reset the device to factory settings. This is useful
485523if the device is lost or stolen. Often the decision to wipe the device is the
@@ -488,7 +526,7 @@ result of certain conditions being met. For example, you can use
488526wiped after a specific number of failed password attempts.</p>
489527<p>You wipe data as follows:</p>
490528<pre>
491- DevicePolicyManager mDPM;
529+ DevicePolicyManager mDPM;
492530mDPM.wipeData(0);</pre>
493531<p>The {@link android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager#wipeData wipeData()} method takes as its parameter a bit mask of
494532additional options. Currently the value must be 0. </p>
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