Storage exhaustion on Android devices causes app validation failures and API call errors

Android

Title: App validation failures and API errors caused by device storage exhaustion

When an Esper-managed Android device runs out of storage, app validation failures and API call errors occur — often without a clear on-screen message to indicate the root cause.

Why this happens

Android requires free storage headroom to write temporary files during app validation and API operations. When available storage drops below a safe threshold, these write operations fail and surface as generic app or connectivity errors. Devices running in Kiosk Mode are especially prone to going unnoticed because user-facing storage warnings are suppressed.

Step 1: Check device storage in the Esper Console

Navigate to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Device Details.
Scroll to the Storage section and review the used and available storage breakdown.
If available storage is below 500 MB, continue to the steps below.

Step 2: Collect diagnostic logs

Choose the option that matches your device's current mode.

Option A — Remote bug report (standard devices)

Go to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Actions.
Select Request Bug Report and wait for the report to generate.
Download the report and search it for ENOSPC events, storage-related errors, or app crash entries — these confirm storage exhaustion as the cause.

Option B — ADB bug report (Kiosk Mode devices)

Remote bug reports may fail on Kiosk Mode devices. Use ADB as an alternative.

Confirm ADB is enabled on the device and connect via USB or TCP/IP.
Run the following command to capture the bug report:
```
adb bugreport bugreport_devicename.zip
```
Open the resulting file and search for ENOSPC, storage warnings, or crash logs tied to your app's package name.

Step 3: Identify which apps are consuming storage

Run these ADB commands to pinpoint the source of storage consumption before taking any corrective action.

View overall disk statistics:
```
adb shell dumpsys diskstats
```
View filesystem usage:
```
adb shell df -h
```
Check a specific app's storage footprint, replacing <com.package.name> with the actual package name:
```
adb shell du -sh /data/data/<com.package.name>
```

Step 4: Clear app cache remotely

Go to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Apps.
Select the app consuming excess storage.
Select Clear Cache and wait for the action to complete.
Return to Device Details → Storage and confirm available storage has increased.

Step 5: Factory reset (last resort)

If the device is unresponsive and storage cannot be cleared remotely, a factory reset will erase all device data and restore the device to a provisionable state.

Go to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Actions → Factory Reset.
Confirm the action. The device will reboot and all local data will be erased.
Re-provision the device using your existing Blueprint.

Preventing storage exhaustion

Work with your app development team to implement log rotation and remote data offloading so large files do not accumulate on-device.
Review your blueprint in Apps & Configuration → Blueprints to confirm no configuration is enabling excessive local logging or caching.
If multiple devices in the same group show identical symptoms, check whether a recently pushed blueprint or app update is common to all affected devices — a new app release may be generating excessive local data.

Verify: After clearing cache or resetting the device, return to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Device Details → Storage. Available storage should show a meaningful increase, and any previously failing app validation or API calls should succeed within a few minutes of the device coming back online.

If this doesn't resolve it

If storage appears sufficient but app validation failures or API errors persist, the issue may have a different root cause. Before contacting Esper Support, collect the following:

The bug report file from Step 2
ADB output from the dumpsys diskstats and df -h commands in Step 3
The device's serial number and Esper device ID (visible in Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Device Details)
The name and version of the app experiencing failures
Whether the issue affects a single device or multiple devices in the same group

Still need help?

Still need help? When you submit a support ticket, please include your device storage usage details, the specific apps experiencing validation failures, and any API error messages you're receiving.