Seamless Provisioning

Seamless Provisioning is ideal for streamlined and large-scale rollouts. After you talk to our Sales team, we’ll provide you with the details to share with your original device manufacturer (ODM). Your ODM can then include Esper Agent in the device image, enabling you to provision touch-free. 

Once the device image is prepared by the ODM, customers can register device Serial Numbers or IMEIs through a Template, the Blueprints experience, or API. 

In this section: 

• Blueprints Provisioning 
  • Registering the device with Esper 
    • CSV criteria
• Blueprints API Provisioning
• Removing Seamless Provisioned Devices

Blueprints Provisioning 

For the Blueprints experience, Seamless Provisioning allows devices to use Esper as soon as they're powered on. Esper provides the code and guidance for customers and device manufacturers. It’s available to customers who reached out to our Sales and Technical teams for implementation. 

The Seamless Provisioning process involves integrating Esper code into your Android image so your devices boot up with Esper similar to a custom Esper Foundation. Seamless Provisioning also allows you to place the device’s serial or IMEI number into a blueprint. Once the device connects to the internet, there’s no need to follow the standard Android enrollment steps. It will automatically enroll onto Esper based on the blueprint you set.

Registering the device with Esper

See the IMEI provisioning steps if your device is running Esper Foundation for Android. 

Before registering a device with Esper, you’ll need a blueprint. See how to create a blueprint.  

Step 1: Navigate to the Provisioning Methods section in the Esper console and select Seamless Provisioning as the Provisioning Method. 

Click on the Blueprint tab and optionally select the group. If that group has an assigned blueprint, that blueprint will be automatically selected from the blueprints dropdown. 

If you don’t choose a group, or the group has no assigned blueprint, select the Provisioning Blueprint from the dropdown. 

Step 2: Then, add the Serial Numbers or IMEIs by selecting the identifier from the dropdow and inputting the number. Click Add. 

You can also perform a Bulk Upload. Click Bulk Upload and scroll down to upload a CSV file. Download the template to get started.

CSV criteria 

You can download an example of the CSV from the same screen. The following table explains each header and what is expected in each row. You’ll need to upload a .csv file. If you have trouble, try uploading the file to a spreadsheet program, such as Google Sheets, to check its validity. 

On the device

Once the IMEI or serial numbers are uploaded to the blueprint, and you’ve booted the device, it will automatically be provisioned based on the blueprint.

If you have a Wi-Fi address, it can also be pre-loaded into your blueprint under “Connectivity” “Wi-Fi Access Points”.

If the Wi-Fi SSID cannot be found, or it’s not available before the devices are ready, an option to manually connect to Wi-Fi will appear. Connecting to Ethernet or Wi-Fi will continue the provisioning process, requiring no further input.

Note

If the device's serial/IMEI number has not been placed into a template, the device will need to be added to the blueprint before it can be provisioned. The device will show a graphic instructing you to provision the device. Please note, that devices do not necessarily need a camera to be provisioned. On the bottom left you will see the serial number of the device. Ensure this is placed into your blueprint and the device is connected to the internet. Then refresh the provisioning screen by pressing the home button in the navigation bar. The device will refresh and check the Esper Cloud for the blueprint associated with its serial or IMEI number. The provisioning process will then continue.

Blueprints API Provisioning

You can also provision through the API. You'll need an Enterprise ID and an API key. To get started with Esper’s API, see these articles: 

• API Docs
• API Key Generation
• Common API examples

First, identify the Blueprints ID. In the console, go to the Blueprint Managers, click on the blueprint, and copy the ID from the URL. 

You can also use the Blueprints API to retrieve a list of all of the blueprints in a tenant. 

Then, construct the request and body. 

Request 

POST https://{tenant_name}-api.esper.cloud/api/v2/enterprise/{enterprise_id}/device/

Body

{
   "group_id":"",
   "assigned_blueprint_id":"",
   "tags":[],
   "seamlessInfo":{
      "unique_id":"SMPH00123",
      "unique_id_type":2
   },
}
      

• group_id: Optional. The group ID (found in the group URL similar to the blueprint URL). 
• assigned_blueprint_id: Required. The blueprint ID. 
• tags: Optional. Tags associated with the device. 
• unique_id: Required. The IMEI, IMEI 2, or serial number. 
• unique_id_type: Required. The ID type is expressed as an integer. 
  • 0 → IMEI 1
  • 1 → IMEI 2
  • 2 → Serial Number

Send the response with the body using a tool such as Postman or as a cURL request. Requests may be sent one at a time.

Templates Provisioning

For our Templates experience, Seamless Provisioning allows devices to integrate Esper on first boot. Esper provides the code and guidance for customers and device manufacturers. It’s available to customers who reached out to our Sales and Technical teams for implementation. 

The Seamless Provisioning process involves integrating Esper code into your Android image so your devices boot up with Esper similar to a custom Esper Foundation build. Seamless Provisioning also allows you to place the device’s serial or IMEI number into a Provisioning Template. Once the device connects to the internet, there’s no need to follow the standard Android enrollment steps. It will automatically enroll onto Esper based on the template you set.

Requirements: Reach out to our Sales or Technical Team for details on implementation.

In this section:

• Registering the Device with Esper (Blueprints experience)
• Booting the Device with Esper (Blueprints experience) 
• Provisioning from the Templates API
• Installing on a Device (Legacy Templates experience) 
• Installing from the Cloud Portal (Legacy Templates experience)

Registering the Device with Esper

See the IMEI provisioning steps if your device is running Esper Foundation for Android.

You’ll need a Template. See how to create a Template. 

Step 1: In the Esper Console, go to the Provisioning Methods section. From the Provisioning Method dropdown, select Seamless Provisioning. Then, click on the Template tab and select the Provisioning Template.

Step 2: There are two ways to add the unique identifiers. Either add them one-by-one by selecting the type from the dropdown menu, or bulk upload them to the Template by clicking on the bulk upload link. 

When you click on the bulk upload link, you’ll be directed to the Template. See Uploading Multiple IMEI/Serial Numbers for tips on formatting the CSV.

Device Status Prior to Provisioning 

Once the Serial Numbers or IMEIs are added to Esper, they will appear as devices in the Console. These devices will have limited capabilities and will be in a registered state. 

For Registered devices, you’ll be able to: 

• Move - Move the device to a Group 
• Add Tags - Add device tags to make searching easier 
• Rename Device - Add an alias to the device for better identification
• Change Template - Change the device’s Template 
• Delete Record - Delete the record for the device and remove it from the Console

Booting the Device with Esper

Once the serial or IMEI numbers are uploaded to the Template and you’ve booted the device, it’ll automatically provision. 

If the Wi-Fi SSID cannot be found or it’s not available before the devices are ready, then an option to manually connect to Wi-Fi will appear. Connecting to Ethernet or Wi-Fi will continue the provisioning process, requiring no further input.

Note

The device’s serial or IMEI number will need to be added to a Template before the device can be provisioned. The device will show an image indicating that you can provision the device. Please note: devices do not necessarily need a camera to be provisioned. On the bottom-left, you will see the serial number of the device. Ensure this serial number is added to your Template and that the device is connected to the internet. Then, refresh the provisioning screen by pressing the Home button in the navigation bar. The device will refresh and check the Esper Cloud for the Template associated with its serial or IMEI number. The provisioning process will then continue.

Once devices are added, their status will change from the registered state to Under Provisioning to Online or Offline. You’ll then have capabilities typical of Esper devices.

API Provisioning

Provisioning for the Templates API

You can also provision through the API. To get started with Esper’s API, see these articles: 

• API Docs
• API Key Generation
• Common API examples

First, identify the Template ID. In the Console, go to Provisioning Templates, click on the ellipsis (...) next to the Template, and select Edit. Then copy the ID from the URL. 

        https://sample.esper.cloud/device-templates/edit/124/create-template
      

In this example, 124 would be the Template’s ID. 

Request 

        POST
        https://{tenant}-api.esper.cloud/api/v0/enterprise/{enterprise_id}/devicetemplate/{devicetemplate_id}/imei/
      

Body

        {“imei”:
        "imei"}
      

Register a Serial Number 

        POST
        https://{tenant}-api.esper.cloud/api/v0/enterprise/{enterprise_id}/devicetemplate/{devicetemplate_id}/serial/
      

Body 

        {“serial”:
        "serial_number"}
        

For the Legacy Templates Experience

The following instructions refer to Esper's legacy Templates experience. In most cases, these instructions are provided as a reference. Contact your Esper sales representative if you are unsure of whether or not the following steps apply to your Seamless Provisioning process.

Esper’s Seamless Provisioning provides the code and guidance to integrate Esper software on first boot. It’s available to customers who reached out to our Sales and Technical teams for implementation.

The Seamless Provisioning process involves integrating Esper code into your Android image so your devices boot up with Esper similar to a custom Esper Foundation. Seamless Provisioning also allows you to place the device’s serial or IMEI number into a Provisioning Template. Once the device connects to the internet, there’s no need to follow the standard Android enrollment steps. It will automatically enroll onto Esper based on the template you set.

Requirements: Reach out to our Sales or Technical Team for details on implementation

In this article:

• Installing on a Device
• Installing from the Cloud Portal

Installing on a Device

Once the serial or IMEI numbers are uploaded to the Template and you’ve booted the device, it will be automatically provisioned based on the Template.

If you’d like to pre-configure a particular WiFi SSID, you can do so through the “Provisioning Wi-Fi” section of your Template.

If the Wi-Fi SSID cannot be found or it’s not available before the devices are ready, then an option to manually connect to Wi-Fi will appear. Connecting to Ethernet or Wi-Fi will continue the provisioning process, requiring no further input.

Refer  to IMEI (or Serial number) based Provisioning for more information.

Installing from the Cloud Portal

See the IMEI provisioning steps if your device is running Esper Foundation for Android.

1. In the Esper Console, create or edit a Provisioning Template.

2. Navigate to Manage Devices to upload your serial/IMEI numbers. You can do so either individually or in bulk using the provided blank CSV file.

Individual

Bulk 

Learn more about Bulk Uploading. 

3. Then press Next. In the Preview tab, press Update and save the Template.

Once the device is provisioned, it will automatically be registered with the template.

Remove Seamless Provisioned 

Need to remove a registered device? See the our device commands article.