Provisioning stuck on "Waiting for device admin or owner rights": reset via Esper logo tap or clear existing Device Owner

Android

Title: Provisioning stuck on "Waiting for device admin or owner rights" — clear existing Device Owner

When a device gets stuck during provisioning displaying "waiting for device admin or owner rights," the Esper Agent cannot complete enrollment and the device remains unmanaged.

Why this happens

Android permits only one application to hold Device Owner privileges at a time. If a previous MDM application or an earlier Esper enrollment was not fully removed before provisioning began, that application still occupies the Device Owner role and blocks the Esper Agent from claiming it.

Step 1: Try the quick reset

On the "waiting for device admin or owner rights" screen, rapidly tap the Esper logo 5–10 times in quick succession. This triggers a built-in provisioning reset that clears the current enrollment attempt without a full factory reset.
Wait for the device to return to its initial setup screen.
Retry provisioning using your original method (QR code, Zero-Touch, KME, or ADB).

Verify: The device completes provisioning and appears in Devices & Groups with a status of Online or Provisioned within 5 minutes.

Step 2: Identify the existing Device Owner via ADB

If the quick reset does not resolve the issue, identify which application currently holds Device Owner rights before deciding on a remediation path.

Connect the device to a computer via USB.
Enable USB debugging on the device under Settings → Developer Options → USB Debugging.
Run the following command to list the current Device Owner:
```
adb shell dpm list-owners
```
Note the fully-qualified component name returned. This is the application blocking provisioning.

Step 3: Remove the existing Device Owner

Choose the appropriate option based on your situation.

Option A — Remove via ADB (if no factory reset is possible): Run the following command, replacing <component> with the component name returned by dpm list-owners:
```
adb shell dpm remove-active-admin <component>
```
Note: this command fails if the existing Device Owner application has device admin protections enabled. If it fails, use Option B.
Option B — Factory reset (most reliable): Factory reset the device to remove all Device Owner assignments from the Android system. Do not complete the initial Android setup after the reset — begin provisioning immediately when the setup wizard appears to prevent any application from re-claiming Device Owner rights.

After removing the Device Owner using either option, retry provisioning using your original method (QR code, Zero-Touch, KME, or ADB).

Verify: The device completes provisioning and appears in Devices & Groups with a status of Online or Provisioned within 5 minutes. Running adb shell dpm list-owners should now return the Esper Agent as the Device Owner.

If this doesn't resolve it

If the device is still stuck on the "waiting for device admin or owner rights" screen after completing all steps above, contact Esper Support and include the following information:

Device manufacturer and model
Android OS version
Provisioning method used (QR code, Zero-Touch, KME, or ADB)
Output from adb shell dpm list-owners
Whether Option A or Option B was attempted and what happened

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.