Device going to sleep despite "Never Sleep" setting in Esper: troubleshooting unexpected sleep/reboot on kiosk devices

Android

If your kiosk device is going to sleep despite having the "Never Sleep" setting enabled in Esper, use this guide to troubleshoot and resolve the issue.

Before you begin

Check the Esper Activity Feed to confirm your device is sleeping, not rebooting. A device that goes dark is usually entering sleep mode rather than restarting.

Step 1: Confirm the device is sleeping, not rebooting

In the Esper Console, go to Devices & Groups → [Your Device Name] → Activity Feed.
Look for any reboot events in the feed.
If you see no reboot events, your device is entering sleep mode, not rebooting. Continue with the next steps.
If you do see unexpected reboot events not triggered from the Esper Console, contact Esper Support.

Step 2: Verify the "Never Sleep" setting in your Blueprint

Go to Blueprints → [Your Applied Blueprint] → Display Settings.
Confirm that screen timeout is set to Never or the maximum available value.
If the setting is not correct, update it and save.
Re-push the Blueprint to your affected device by going to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Actions and selecting the option to re-apply the Blueprint.

Step 3: Check device compliance status

Go to Devices & Groups → [Your Device Name] → Compliance.
Verify the device shows as compliant with the applied Blueprint.
If the device shows as non-compliant, the device management agent may not have fully applied the policy. Wait a few minutes and refresh the page.
If the device remains non-compliant, proceed to the next step.

Step 4: Request a bug report

A bug report captures the device's power management settings and helps identify why the "Never Sleep" policy is not being applied.

Go to Devices & Groups → [Your Device Name] → Actions → Request Bug Report.
On the device itself, pull down the notification bar and tap Share when the bug report notification appears.
Wait for the bug report to upload to Esper (this may take several minutes).
Once uploaded, download the bug report from the device details page.

Step 5: Review the bug report

Open the bug report file and search for the following:

PowerManagerService log entries
Settings.System.SCREEN_OFF_TIMEOUT current value
Any errors from the device management agent related to policy application

If the bug report shows that SCREEN_OFF_TIMEOUT is being reset by the device's OEM firmware despite Esper's policy, this indicates an OEM override issue. Contact Esper Support with the bug report and your device model details.

Step 6: Check for OEM-specific power management

Some device manufacturers include their own power management settings that can override Android system settings. Check whether your device has any of the following:

A dedicated kiosk or launcher app with a keep-screen-on setting
An OEM-specific power management app or settings menu
A custom power management feature accessible through ADB commands

If your kiosk app has a "keep screen on" option, enable it to supplement Esper's "Never Sleep" policy.

Step 7: Verify the fix

After re-applying the Blueprint and making any configuration changes, monitor the device over an extended inactivity period (at least 2 hours).
Check the Devices & Groups → [Your Device Name] → Activity Feed to confirm no sleep or reboot events appear.
Verify the device screen remains on in the Esper Console.

Additional troubleshooting

Device running a custom OEM firmware

If your device uses a custom OEM ROM, the "Never Sleep" setting may not work as expected. Check your device firmware version:

Go to Devices & Groups → [Your Device Name] → Device Info.
Note the OEM name and firmware version.
Check Esper's documentation or contact Esper Support to determine if your OEM/firmware combination is known to have compatibility issues with the "Never Sleep" setting.

Device sleeping after going offline

If the device only sleeps after losing network connection and reconnecting, the policy may not be re-applying correctly:

Go to Devices & Groups → [Your Device Name] → Device Info.
Check the device management agent version.
If the agent version is outdated, update the device and re-apply the Blueprint.

Still need help?

If you've completed all the troubleshooting steps above and your device is still going to sleep, submit a support ticket. Include your bug report, device model, OEM firmware version, and the steps you've already taken.