Adding in-house apps for Android

In-house apps are the internally-developed apps that are uploaded to MobileIron Core. Core makes the apps available to Android devices based on labels that you assign to the apps and devices. You add in-house app to the App Catalog in the MobileIron Core Admin Portal.

If you are adding a new version of an existing app, see Adding new versions of an existing Android app.

Go to Apps > App Catalog.
Click to Add+open the app wizard.
Click In-house.
Click Browse and navigate to the in-house app (.apk) you want to upload.

NOTE: You cannot upload an in-house app that exceeds 2.15 GB.
Click Next.

The app wizard examines the selected package to ensure that it meets requirements for in-house apps distributed for Android devices. If the package is acceptable, the next screen displays.

Use the following guidelines to complete the rest of the screens in the app wizard, clicking Next where applicable:

Section

Item

Description

General

Application Name

Displays the app name defined by the app developer. This is the name that displays to device users. This field is not editable.

Display Version

Displays the version number defined by the app developer. This is the version that displays to device users. This field is not editable.

Code Version

Displays the version defined for the package. This item is not editable.

Description

Enter any additional text that helps describe what the app is for. Users can see this text in Apps@Work.

Category

Select a category if you would like this app to be displayed in a specific group of apps on the device or add a new category.

Click Add New Category to define new categories.

Enter a category Name (up to 64 characters).

Enter a Description (up to 255 characters).

In the Category Icon section, click the Replace Icon button.

Browse and select an icon that will represent this Category.

Click Save.

Apps@Work Catalog

Feature this App in the Apps@Work catalog

If check box is selected, this app appears in the Featured Apps tab in Apps@Work.

Featured Banner

Selecting the check box will display this app as part of the top banner on the Apps@Work Home page on end users' devices. The latest five apps will be picked to be part of Apps@Work Home page.

Allow app downloads over insecure networks

Select the check box if you are providing an Override URL (next field) that uses the HTTP URL scheme instead of HTTPS.

Override URLs are intended for use behind a firewall, using a trusted and secure internal network. Before you use an HTTP URL, make sure you understand the risks of using an insecure connection.

Override URL

If you are using an alternate source for downloading in-house apps, enter that URL here. The URL must point to the in-house app in its alternate location.

Override URLs are intended for use behind a firewall, using a trusted and secure internal network. Manual synchronization is required with the alternate HTTP server on which app are stored.

See Override for in-house app URLs for the requirements for this configuration before using it.

App Icon

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Click the Replace Icon button to replace the icon.

Screenshots

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Click Upload to select and upload optional screenshot files in PNG, GIF, or JPG formats. The supported dimensions are 480x800 pixels and 480x854 pixels. We recommend PNG for best resizing.

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To upload additional screenshots, click Upload.

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To clear the field, click Remove.

App Installation Settings

Require the user to install the latest version of the app in order to run it

Select the check box to ensure the user installs the latest version of this app.

IMPORTANT:

You must select this check box for the entries for each version of this same app in order for this feature to take effect.

Clear the check box for all versions of this app to allow users to work with any version of this app.

For more information, see Specify latest version required for a secure app.

Silent install for Mandatory Apps

This feature only applies to devices that support silent installation.

•

Clearing the check box means the device user will need to manually install the app.

•

Selecting the check box will install the app silently. The app is installed when the device checks in with Core. User action is not required.

If "Silent install for Mandatory Apps" is enabled along with "Silent install for work managed devices", then "Silent install for Mandatory Apps" will take precedence and the app will be installed on the device irrespective of the constraints set for the "Silent install for work managed devices" option. Administrators will need to disable "Silent install for Mandatory Apps" if they want to configure the apps via the "Silent install for work managed devices" option.

For more information, see Silent install and uninstall of mandatory apps.

NOTE:

Silent install is not supported for MAM-only Android devices.

Per App VPN Settings

Per App VPN by Label Only

Select this check box to require the Per App VPN configuration to be assigned to a label that matches the device. If there is no associated label between the VPN configuration and the device, Per App VPN will not be installed on the device.

Clear this check box to assign the per App VPN based on the selections in the Per App VPN field, ignoring labels.

NOTE:

Per app VPN is not supported for MAM-only Android devices.

License Required

The Selected VPNs column lists the VPN configuration that may be installed on the device, in priority order:

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If Per App VPN by Label Only is selected, then the VPN configuration must be assigned to a label matching the device in order to be installed. The first VPN in the list that is also assigned to a label associated with the device has the highest priority.

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If Per App VPN by Label Only is not selected, then the VPN configurations listed are in priority order and do not need to be assigned to a label matching the device.

To populate the Selected VPNs column, select the VPN configuration you created for per app VPN in the All VPNs column, and click the right arrow. You can select multiple per app VPN settings.

To reorder the per app VPN configurations in the Selected VPNs column, drag the configuration names to the correct positions in the list.

See “VPN settings” in the MobileIron Core Device Management Guide for information on creating a per app VPN.

NOTE:

Per app VPN is not supported for MAM-only Android devices.

Android Enterprise (All Modes)

Install this app for Android enterprise

Selecting this check box displays additional fields for Android enterprise app settings. You must be a Global Space administrator to use this setting. Select to enable public and private apps available to device users for download to Android devices. You can change the “Install this app for Android enterprise” setting for each app in the app’s details page at any time.

Silent install for work managed devices

This feature only applies to devices that support silent installation.

•

Clearing the check box means the device user will need to manually install the app.

•

Selecting the check box will install the app silently. The app is installed when the device checks in with Core. User action is not required.

NOTE:

Silent install is not supported for MAM-only Android devices.

Additional settings can be made for silent installs of work managed devices. These settings are applicable for public and private apps. Prerequisite apps are pushed before dependent apps.

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Auto Install Mode - Self hosted apps will not be auto installed.

Do not Auto Install

Auto Install Once

Force Install (default)

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Install Priority - You can prioritize downloading of specific apps before other apps. For example, prioritizing the download of Tunnel and Email apps before other non-critical apps.

Low

Medium (default)

High

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Install only when connected to Wi-Fi - Default is de-selected.

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Install only when charging - Default is de-selected.

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Install only when Idle - Default is de-selected.

For more information, see Silent install and uninstall of mandatory apps.

Block Widget on Home Screen

If selected, the app cannot place widgets on the home screen on work profile devices. For example, calendar apps are not permitted to place calendar widgets on the home screen.

Block Uninstall

Select this feature to prevent the device user from uninstalling the app.

Quarantine app when device is quarantined

(Required for Work profile mode, Work managed device mode, and Managed device with Work profile mode.)

Selected by default, this enables configured compliance actions to hide the app if a policy violation results in a quarantined device. This is a required selection for Work Profile mode, Work Managed device mode and Managed device with Work profile mode.

A second step is required to enable this feature: configure a corresponding compliance action and security policy with that compliance action selected. Once the device is no longer quarantined, the app can be used again. If this option is deselected, the app is available for usage, even when the device is quarantined.

Note The Following:

•

If you change the setting after the app is added, the changed setting will be applied to the app.

Delegated Permissions

Expand this section to apply delegated permissions to this app. Applicable on managed devices.

Configure third-party app runtime permissions

Select this check box to modify runtime permissions for other apps.

Applicable for in-house apps and public / private apps on managed devices with Work profile and Work managed device mode on Android 8.0 through the most recently released version as supported by MobileIron.

Hide and suspend third-party apps

Select this check box to delegate access to this app to have permission to hide and suspend apps.

Manage certificates

Select this check box to allow this app to have access to certificate APIs on the device.

Click Finish.

The app displays in the App Catalog screen. The Source column displays the app as an in-house app.
In order to distribute your app from Google Play store, you need to download the APK Definition file and add the app license key to MobileIron Core.

Adding new versions of an existing Android app

When uploading a newer version of an app, an extra page opens to allow you to select whether to keep the app's old version information or to adopt the information from the app's new version. This feature is applicable to Android in-house / private / self-hosted apps.

Procedure

In the App Catalog, click the Add+ button.

The Add App Wizard opens.
Click In-House.
Click Browse and navigate to the in-house Android or Android enterprise app you want to upload.
Click Next.

The An earlier version of this App exists page opens.
Select an option:
- Another version of this App was previously uploaded. Reuse its description, icon and screenshot(s). If the Description, Icon or Screenshot fields of the new app are empty, then the system will populate those fields with information from the previous app version (default).
- Upload a new description, icon or screen shot. Information related to the Description, Icon or Screenshot fields of the new App will be utilized. If those fields are empty, nothing will be copied from the previous app version.
Click Next and finish configuring the new version of your app (see Adding in-house apps for Android.)

Once finished, the new version displays in the App Catalog.