Recurring ANR on Esper Agent: APN/Mobile-Data Blueprint settings causing hangs

Android

When devices are enrolled with a blueprint containing APN or mobile-data settings, the Esper Agent process enters a hung state every 30–60 minutes, producing recurring Application Not Responding (ANR) errors that appear in device logs and can interrupt foreground applications.

Why this happens

The Esper Agent attempts to apply APN and mobile-data configuration parameters at a regular interval. On devices without the Esper Supervisor plugin installed, the agent lacks the elevated system permissions required to write those settings, causing the process to stall until Android's ANR watchdog terminates it. The cycle then repeats.

Before you begin

Confirm your devices do not have the Esper Supervisor plugin installed. If the Supervisor plugin is present, this issue does not apply and the steps below are not needed. Also confirm the affected blueprint contains at least one of the following before proceeding:

• addNewApnAndSetDefault
• addNewApn
• A global settings block containing data_roaming

Step 1: Confirm the ANR in device logs

1. Go to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Actions and select Request Bug Report. This captures a full system log snapshot from the device.
2. Once the report is available, open Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Device Info → Logs and search for either of the following strings:
   • Application Not Responding: io.shoonya.shoonyadpc
   • input_focus: [Focus request Application Not Responding: io.shoonya.shoonyadpc]
3. Check whether these entries repeat at roughly 30–60 minute intervals. If they do, and the device blueprint contains APN or mobile-data settings, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Clone the affected blueprint

1. In the Esper Console, go to Blueprints.
2. Locate the blueprint currently applied to the affected devices.
3. Open the blueprint and select Clone. Working on a clone protects your production devices while you validate the fix.
4. Give the cloned blueprint a distinct name so it is easy to identify during testing (for example, append -anr-fix-test to the original name).

Step 3: Remove APN and mobile-data settings from the cloned blueprint

1. Open the cloned blueprint and navigate to Esper Settings → Advanced Android Settings → JSON Configuration.
2. Locate and delete the following APN parameters entirely:

   "addNewApnAndSetDefault": { ... },
   "addNewApn": { ... }

3. Locate and delete the data_roaming entry from the global settings block:

   {
     "settings": {
       "global": [
         {
           "key": "data_roaming",
           "value": "1"
         }
       ]
     }
   }

   If data_roaming is the only entry in the global array, remove the entire block. If other keys are present, remove only the data_roaming object.
4. Save the cloned blueprint.

Step 4: Test on a small group of devices

1. Apply the cloned blueprint to one or two devices from the affected fleet, not the entire group. This limits risk while you verify the fix.
2. Wait at least 90 minutes. This window exceeds the typical 30–60 minute ANR recurrence interval and gives enough time to confirm the errors have stopped.
3. Request a new bug report from the test devices via Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Actions → Request Bug Report, then review the logs for the ANR strings from Step 1.

Verify: The ANR strings Application Not Responding: io.shoonya.shoonyadpc should no longer appear in the logs after the 90-minute observation window. The Esper Agent should remain responsive and the Activity Feed for each test device should show no new ANR-related events.

Step 5: Roll out to the full fleet

1. Once the test devices show no ANR errors, apply the updated blueprint to all remaining affected devices in Devices & Groups.
2. Monitor the Activity Feed over the next two hours to confirm the fix holds across the wider fleet.

If data_roaming cannot be removed

If your operational requirements mean the data_roaming setting must remain in the blueprint, do not apply the changes above. Instead, contact Esper Support and provide the following so the issue can be investigated further:

• Bug reports from at least two affected devices
• Confirmation that the Esper Supervisor plugin is not installed on the affected devices
• The full blueprint JSON configuration
• The approximate date the ANRs began, and whether any Esper Agent or OS updates occurred around that time

If this doesn't resolve it

If ANR errors persist after removing the APN and mobile-data settings, contact Esper Support and include the following:

• Bug reports from at least two affected devices collected after the blueprint change was applied
• The name of the updated blueprint and the device group it is applied to
• A screenshot or export of the Activity Feed showing the continuing ANR events

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.