Firmware flash changes device model identifier, causing duplicate device records and missing Supervisor plugin

Android

When a firmware image is flashed onto an enrolled Esper device and the device's model identifier changes, Esper creates a duplicate device record instead of updating the existing one, leaving the new record without a Supervisor plugin and Remote Access unavailable.

Why this happens

Esper uses the model identifier as part of its unique device fingerprint. When a firmware flash changes that identifier — for example, from TSIM-003 to TSIM-004 — Esper treats the device as entirely new hardware and creates a fresh record. Because Supervisor plugins are deployed per model identifier, the new record has no plugin, which also disables Remote Access. The original record remains in the Console but is no longer bound to the physical device and will not respond to any commands.

Before you begin

Locate the serial number of the affected device.
Confirm the model identifier has changed: navigate to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Device Info and check the Model field on both the original and duplicate records.

Steps

Note the new model identifier. Navigate to Devices & Groups → [Duplicate Device Name] → Device Info and record the value shown in the Model field. You will need this when contacting support.
Request a Supervisor plugin for the new model identifier. Contact Esper Support and provide your tenant name, the new model identifier, and the device serial number. Supervisor plugins are model-specific and must be provisioned by Esper before they can be deployed to your tenant.
Confirm the Supervisor plugin is active on the duplicate record. After Esper Support confirms deployment, navigate to Devices & Groups → [Duplicate Device Name] → Active Plugins and verify the Supervisor plugin appears in the list.
Verify Remote Access is functional. Navigate to Devices & Groups → [Duplicate Device Name] → Remote Viewer and start a session to confirm connectivity is restored.
Remove the stale original device record. Navigate to Devices & Groups → [Original Device Name] → Actions → Remove Device and select Remove Only — do not select Wipe + Remove, because the physical device is no longer associated with this record and a wipe command will have no effect.
Repeat for every affected tenant. If you manage multiple tenants (for example, separate Staging and Production environments), the Supervisor plugin must be requested and deployed independently for each one. Return to step 2 for each tenant that has affected devices.

Verify: The duplicate device record should display the new model identifier, the Supervisor plugin should appear under Active Plugins, and a Remote Access session should launch successfully. The stale original record should no longer appear in Devices & Groups.

If this doesn't resolve it

If the Supervisor plugin appears in Active Plugins but Remote Access is still unavailable, check that the device has an active network connection by navigating to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Device Info and confirming the Network status. If Remote Access remains unavailable after confirming network connectivity, contact Esper Support with the following information:

Device serial number
Tenant name
Old and new model identifiers
A screenshot of Active Plugins showing the Supervisor plugin status
The timestamp of the firmware flash

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.