Kiosk mode not working — connect Managed Google Play and lock device to Chrome

Android

When Managed Google Play is not connected to your Esper account, Chrome and other Play Store apps are unavailable for Blueprint assignment, and kiosk mode cannot be locked to a browser.

Why this happens

Esper distributes apps through Managed Google Play, which requires a one-time binding between your Esper account and a Google account. Until that binding exists, the managed app catalog is empty, so no Play Store app—including Chrome—can be added to a Blueprint or set as the kiosk app.

Before you begin

An Esper account with administrator access
At least one provisioned device
A Google account (Gmail is acceptable for testing; Google Workspace is recommended for production)

Steps

Check your Managed Google Play binding status. In the Esper Console, go to Company Settings → Android Enterprise. If the page shows a connected account, skip to step 3. If it shows Not connected or is blank, continue to step 2.
Connect Managed Google Play to your Esper account. On the same page, click Connect Managed Google Play. You are redirected to Google's Android Enterprise enrollment flow. Sign in with your Google account, complete every step in the Google wizard, and return to the Esper Console. This binding is account-level — you only do this once, not once per device or per blueprint.
Approve Chrome in your managed app catalog. In the Esper Console, go to Apps & Configuration → Managed Google Play. Search for Chrome (package name: com.android.chrome) and approve it for your organization. Apps that are not explicitly approved here cannot be added to any blueprint. Allow 1–5 minutes for the catalog to sync before continuing.
Add Chrome to your blueprint. Go to Blueprints → [Your Blueprint Name] → Apps. Add Chrome to the approved app list. Add any other required apps at the same time.
Enable kiosk mode and set Chrome as the kiosk app. Within the same blueprint, open the Kiosk section. Enable kiosk mode and select Chrome as the kiosk application. This locks the device to Chrome and prevents the user from accessing the home launcher or any other app.
Configure Chrome's managed settings. Still within the blueprint, go to Apps & Configuration → Managed Config and select Chrome. Set the allowed URLs, homepage, or any other browser policy your deployment requires. Managed Config pushes these settings silently without user interaction.
Publish the blueprint and apply it to your device. Save and publish the blueprint. Go to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] and confirm the blueprint is applied to the target device.

Verify: On the physical device, Chrome should launch automatically on boot with no home launcher or other apps accessible to the user. Navigation should be restricted to the URLs you configured. The device record in Devices & Groups → [Device Name] should show a sync status of In Sync within 5 minutes of applying the blueprint.

If this doesn't resolve it

Managed Google Play binding fails or the Google wizard does not complete

Verify that the Google account you used does not already have an Android Enterprise organization attached — each Google account can only be bound to one MDM. If you are using a Google Workspace account, confirm that no conflicting MDM policy is applied at the domain level in your Google Admin console.

Chrome does not appear in the app catalog after binding

Return to Apps & Configuration → Managed Google Play and confirm Chrome is approved, not just searched. Only approved apps are visible during blueprint configuration. If the catalog still appears empty, wait a further 5 minutes and refresh the page.

Kiosk mode is applied but the device is not locked to Chrome

Go to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Activity Feed and check for policy conflicts or failed command entries. Confirm that no second blueprint is being applied to the same device, which could override the kiosk setting.

If the issue persists, contact Esper Support with the device serial number, the blueprint name, and a screenshot of the Activity Feed showing the failed or conflicting entries.

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.