Web App closes immediately on launch: enable and set up Chrome first

Android

Title: Web App closes immediately on launch — enable and configure Chrome first

When a Web App is launched on a managed device, it closes immediately without displaying any content or error message.

Why this happens

Esper Web Apps use Google Chrome as their rendering engine. If Chrome is disabled on the device, or has never completed its first-launch setup, the Web App has no engine to load the URL and silently crashes. Chrome must be both enabled and initialized before any Web App will run reliably.

Steps

1. Enable Chrome on the device. On the device, open Settings → Apps and locate Google Chrome in the app list. If Chrome shows a status of Disabled, tap Enable. Chrome must have an enabled status even if it will not be visible to end users.
2. Complete Chrome's first-run setup. Open Chrome manually on the device. Chrome displays a terms-of-service and permissions screen on its first launch — this screen cannot be bypassed remotely. Accept the Terms of Service, grant any permissions Chrome requests, and skip the Google account sign-in step, which is not required. Close Chrome when setup is complete. Plan to complete this step during device provisioning, before devices are shipped to end users.
3. Test the Web App. Return to the device home screen and launch the Web App. Confirm it opens and displays the correct URL without closing.
4. Hide Chrome from end users (optional). If Chrome should not be accessible to end users, it can be hidden after first-run setup is complete. In the Esper Console, go to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Blueprint, locate Chrome in the app configuration, and set its visibility to Hidden. Apply the updated blueprint to the device. Hiding Chrome is safe; disabling it will break all Web Apps on the device.

Verify: The Web App should open immediately and display the correct URL. If it was previously crashing, the crash will no longer occur after Chrome is enabled and first-run setup is complete.

If this doesn't resolve it

Work through the following checks before contacting support:

• Confirm Chrome is installed and enabled: In the Esper Console, go to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Apps and verify that Google Chrome appears with an installed and enabled status.
• Check the Blueprint for a conflicting policy: Go to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Blueprint and confirm that no app policy is forcing Chrome to a disabled state.
• Test the URL directly in Chrome: Open Chrome on the device and navigate manually to the URL configured in the Web App. If the URL fails to load, verify the device has network access to that address.
• Collect a bug report: In the Esper Console, go to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Actions, select Bug Report, and wait for the report to generate. Attach the report when contacting support.

If the Web App still closes after completing all steps, contact Esper Support and include the bug report collected from the device.

Still need help?

If the steps above don't resolve the issue, submit a support ticket with your device model, Android version, Esper Agent version, and a description of what you've already tried — this helps the support team investigate without a follow-up.