Advanced Devices & Groups view improves on filtering and device actions. Use the Devices & Groups directory to view your fleet, organize it with tags, filter it, and perform actions on multiple devices.
Need to switch views? Learn more about switching views in the profile section.
In this article:
- Using the Directory
- Customizing Columns
- Resizing Columns
- Selecting Devices
- How Groups Work
- Performing Actions
Using the Directory
The Directory allows you to see several details about your devices at a glance. You can also customize the columns in your view.
- Device ID: The device’s Esper Console ID. This is also called the Device Name.
- Alias: The device’s alias name (if any).
- Group Name: The group the device is part of (if any).
- Last Seen: The last time the device checked in with Esper. iOS devices have a lower check-in frequency than Android devices.
- Last Seen Timestamp: A timestamp of the last check-in.
- Blueprint: The Blueprint that manages the device (if any).
- In Drift: Whether or not the device is in drift meaning whether or not the device’s configurations match its blueprint.
- OS Platform: The device’s operating system.
Customizing Columns
You can remove, add, or rearrange columns in Actions > Customize List.
In the customize list window, choose from several options:
- Add column: Add a column by clicking on its disabled checkbox.
- Remove column: Remove a column by clicking on its enabled checkbox. Some columns, such as Device Name, cannot be removed.
- Reset to default: Reset the list to the default list view.
- Drag and drop: Drag and drop columns to rearrange their order.
- Freeze: Lock column up to three columns in place when scrolling horizontally.
Click and hold the six dots to rearrange the columns.
Click on the lock icon to freeze a column in place.
When you freeze a column, its position will remain fixed when you horizontally scroll through the device list.
Resizing Columns
To receive columns, hover in the header row of the column you want to resize until you see the tooltip message. Drag that column to the right or left to resize it.
There is a maximum and minimum size for the columns. Once that maximum size is reached, the remaining columns will not be able to be scaled to a larger size.
Selecting Devices
Single device: To perform actions on a single device, click on the ellipsis in the same row as the device or click on the checkbox next to the device and then click on the Actions menu.
Multiple devices on the same page: To perform actions on multiple devices, click on the checkboxes next to the devices and then click on the Actions menu.
Multiple devices on different pages: You can select all devices on the page by clicking on the checkbox at the top of the device list. Selections persist when paginating for Advanced View. Use the Actions menu to perform an action on the selected devices.
All devices: When using the checkbox at the top of the page to select all devices, an option appears to select all devices in the list. Depending on the size of the list, certain actions may or may not be available. Use filters to select devices for the applicable actions. Currently, only the converge operation can be applied to 999+ applicable devices.
How Groups Work
Groups help you organize devices in your tenant and manage them at scale. By structuring devices into groups and subgroups, you can apply actions, assign blueprints, and monitor devices more efficiently.
This article explains how groups are structured in Esper, how parent and subgroups relate to each other, how to view devices and subgroups within a group, and how to perform actions on groups.Click on Groups to see the groups in your tenant.
From this view, you’ll see:
- The group name: The groups at this level are just below the directory level.
- Linked Blueprint: If the group is linked to a blueprint, you’ll see it here.
Subgroup: Any subgroups linked to the parent group.
Group Structure
A group can have many devices and subgroups. From the Groups page, you’ll see the groups that are just below the directory level. All Devices is a special group that sits just below the Directory. It contains all devices that aren’t assigned to specific groups.
If a device belongs to a subgroup, it also belongs to the parent group.
When you perform an action on the parent group, the devices in its subgroups will also receive that action.
Viewing a Group’s Devices
When you select a group, the page displays the devices assigned directly to that group. Devices in subgroups are not included in this view.
The Device and Group toggle automatically switches to Device, indicating that a device-specific filter is applied.
The purple bar at the top of the list shows:
- The number of subgroups within the selected group
- The number of devices assigned directly to the selected group
To view subgroups, either:
- Select a subgroup from the list, or
- Use the Groups toggle to switch to the subgroup view.
Viewing a Group’s Subgroups
The subgroups view shows the subgroups belonging to that group.
Use the breadcrumb menu to navigate the group
Managing Groups
Perform group-specific actions from the groups view. Click on the ellipsis (...) under the Actions column of each group to perform group-level actions.
Create Group: Create a group. Choose the parent group. Defaults to the Directory level. Groups at the directory level can have an optional image associated with them.
Create Sub group: Create a subgroup. Choose the group’s parent group. Defaults to the All Devices group.
Edit Group Details: Edit the group’s name or description. If the group sits at the Directory level, you can also optionally add an image.
Delete Group: Delete the group. If the group has devices in it, you’ll need to remove the devices from that group. For our legacy Templates experience, If the group is linked to a template, you’ll need to remove the group from its linked template before deleting it.
Performing Actions
Actions can be applied to the device list, individual devices, and selected devices. Some actions are dependent on the device’s operating system or other attributes.
Click on the Actions button above the list to perform actions on the list or multiple devices.
Click on the ellipsis (...) next the device to perform actions on that individual device.
Performing Actions on the List
- Group Management: Creates a new group.
- Customize List: Customize the columns.
- Download: Download the list as an excel or CSV file.
Group Actions
To perform an action on the group, click on the Group filter and select the ellipsis (...) next to the group. Then select the action you want to perform on the group.
There are two types of actions you can perform on groups: group management commands and Device commands.
Group Management Commands
- Create Group: Create a group. Choose the parent group. Defaults to the Directory level. Groups at the directory level can have an optional image associated with them.
- Create Sub group: Create a subgroup. Choose the group’s parent group. Defaults to the All Devices group.
- Edit Group Details: Edit the group’s name or description. If the group sits at the Directory level, you can also optionally add an image.
- Delete Group: Delete the group. If the group has devices in it, you’ll need to remove the devices from that group. For our legacy Templates experience, If the group is linked to a template, you’ll need to remove the group from its linked template before deleting it.
Group Actions
When sending a command to a group, the command will only be sent to supported devices in that group.
Check the group’s Event Feed to track the progress of commands sent to applicable devices.
Move to group
Move a device to a group.
For provisioned devices on the Blueprint experience, any blueprint associated with that group is automatically applied.
Rename Device
Add an alias name to identify the device.
Modify Tags
Modify the tags associated with a device. Tags are used to identify the device.
Commands
Perform commands on a device. Devices will need to be connected to a network and communicating with the console to receive the command. Check command progress in the Event Feed.
Lock Screen
This feature is available for: ✓ Android ✓ iOS ✓ Windows
Lock the device’s screen.
Reboot
This feature is available for: ✓ Android ✓ iOS ✓ Windows
Reboot or restart the device.
Ping Device
✓ Android ✓ iOS ✓ Windows
Ping the device to verify if it is online and reachable.
Send Message
This feature is available for: ✓ Android
Send a message to the device.
Beep Device
This feature is available for: ✓ Android
The device will emit a beep sound for five minutes.
Run Script
This feature is available for: ✓ Linux ✓ Windows
Run a script on the device.
Blueprint Actions
Perform commands and actions related to Blueprints.
Converge
Converge a device or group to apply its linked blueprint’s configurations.
You can choose to Immediately Converge or Schedule Converge. You can also choose whether or not to include Provision-only blueprint settings.
Immediately Converge
✓ Android ✓ iOS ✓ Linux ✓ Windows
The changes will take effect immediately.
Schedule Converge
This feature is available for: ✓ Android
Set up a schedule for the Converge command. During that schedule, devices that are communicating with the Esper Console will Converge. Keep the following in mind when scheduling a Converge command:
- Once a device has Converged, it will not Converge again during the same window.
- You can choose between scheduling the Converge for Console time or device time. Device time may make more sense for devices spread out across multiple locations, but may lead to confusion when viewing those devices in the Console.
- Devices that never check in with the Esper Console during the scheduled window will not receive the command. Learn more about Scheduled Commands.
Change Blueprint
Change the device’s blueprint.
Select Change Only to assign the device to a new blueprint without applying that blueprint’s configurations. If you choose Change Only, you can manually apply the settings by pressing Converge.
Select Change & Converge to assign the new blueprint and apply that blueprint’s configurations to the device.
Learn more about Scheduled Converge.
Upgrade to Blueprints
Upgrade to the Blueprints experience. This action is available for devices on the legacy Templates experience. Learn more about the Migrating to the Blueprints experience.
iOS Actions
The following actions can be performed on iOS and iPadOS devices.
Sync iOS Device Info
This feature is available for: ✓ iOS
Retrieves and updates information about the device such as OS version. If you notice that the console version doesn't match the physical device version, you can use this action to keep the console and device versions in sync.
Enable Lost Mode
This feature is available for: ✓ iOS
Activate lost mode for the device. Learn more about Lost Mode.
Disable Lost Mode
This feature is available for: ✓ iOS
Disable lost mode for the device. Learn more about Lost Mode.
Clear Passcode
This feature is available for: ✓ iOS
Disable the device’s passcode. A device with a passcode will not receive blueprint converge commands or other commands, so we recommend disabling passcodes for iOS devices.
Remove Actions
Remove devices or registrations from the console.
Remove Device
Factory Reset the device and remove it from Esper. Some factors, such as whether or not the device is checked in with Esper and the provisioning method (for iOS devices) affect removal. See how to remove Android devices, iOS devices, or Linux devices for more information.
Remove Registration
Remove a device’s registration record. A record of a device is created during seamless provisioning. Sometimes, a registered devices needs to be added to a different tenant. Use this option to remove the registration from a tenant, or remove the registration after the device has been provisioned.