About Device Action Availability

Before taking action on devices, make sure you’re working from an actionable list. Actions are only available based on the devices selected, their state, type, and your user permissions. Use filters for the best results.

Action Availability 

Whether or not an action is available depends on a few factors: 

• Selection check: the devices you selected. 
• Device state: provisioned, onboarded or other states.
• Device type and attributes: operating system, blueprints vs templates, and other conditions.
• User permissions:  role permissions. 

Individual, Group, and Multi-Select Actions 

When selecting multiple devices, an action is only available if it applies to every selected device. If your selection includes devices with different platforms, provisioning types, or states, some actions may not appear. This section explains the different ways to select devices.

Individual device selection: Select a single device by checking its box and clicking Actions, or by using the device’s ellipsis (…) menu.

Group selection: Some actions can be performed at the group level. Certain actions are only available when working from a group. For example, App Management is available only at the group level.

Multi-select: Select multiple devices by checking the boxes next to each device name. Available actions will apply to all selected devices, if eligible.

Select all in the current filter: Select the checkbox at the top of the device list to select all visible devices. You can then choose to select all devices that match the current filter. 

When devices are selected this way, you can perform a dispatch command. Learn more about dispatch actions. 

If an Action is Unavailable 

1. Confirm your permissions 

Some actions may be unavailable for certain user roles. Reach out to your Esper administrator if you believe you should have access to a certain action. 

2. Check how many devices are selected 

Some actions are only available when a single device is selected.

Deselect all devices and select one device to test.

3. Make sure all selected devices meet the same requirements

If you selected multiple devices, the action must be valid for every selected device.

If even one device is not eligible, the action may be unavailable. Check Available Actions by Device Type to see a list of available actions. 

4. Check the device state

Provisioned and Onboarded vs Other states

A majority of device actions can only be applied to Provisioned or Onboarded devices. Use the Device Status filter to select only provisioned and onboarded devices.

iOS devices are in Lost Mode

For iOS devices, a majority of actions are not available in Lost Mode. Use the Security Status filter to adjust the list’s Lost Mode status.

5. Confirm device type and platform

If you select devices running different operating systems (for example, Android and iOS), some actions may not be available. Some actions are limited to:

• Specific operating systems
• Blueprint-based devices
• Template-based devices (Legacy experience)

Available Actions by Device Type

Some actions are only available to certain types of devices. The table below shows general action availability by device type. Availability may still depend on device state, provisioning type, and user permissions. 

If you don’t select any devices, you will be able to modify the device list from the Actions button in the top right of the device page.

[1] Only Templates-based devices on the recommended Esper Agent version. Templates is a legacy feature only available for Android. 

[2] If the device has registration information associated with it. 

[3] For Run Script, select only Linux devices or only Windows devices to enable this action.. However, if your selection contains both Linux and Windows devices the Run Script action will not be available. This is because different types of scripts are used for this command depending on the selection.

How Device States Affect Action Availability 

In addition to device types, device state also affects action availability. If the device is already in a state, such as Lost Mode, you won’t be able to enable Lost Mode on it again. 

The following states can affect action availability: 

Already in Lost Mode 

If a device is in Lost Mode, many actions are unavailable, such as converge, factory reset, ping, and more. Bring the device out of Lost Mode to perform actions on it. 

Registration state 

A registered device is a console entry created through seamless provisioning.

Registered devices appear in black text and cannot be opened from the device list. Only limited actions are available for these devices:

• Add to a group
• Move to a group
• Modify tags

No other device actions can be performed until the device is fully provisioned or onboarded. Use the Device Status filter to select an actionable device state. 

Blueprints-based and Templates-based

Blueprint-based actions such as converge, are not available for Templates-based devices. 

What Doesn’t Affect Action Availability

• Device Last Seen Status: Actions can be performed regardless of last seen time. Commands will be queued if the device isn’t immediately available, but group and remove actions are available. 
• Drift Status: Perform actions on devices regardless of drift state.
• Device Version (with one exception): Commands are available regardless of version for supported devices. Only one action, Upgrade to Blueprints, depends on the Esper Agent version, but not the device version. 

Best Practices 

By default, Before applying an action:

• Filter devices by status (Provisioned or Onboarded).
• Filter by operating system.
• Filter by Lost Mode status if applicable.
• Test the action on a single device if unsure.