Overview

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Android Enterprise Essentials (Essentials) is an easy, low-cost solution that keeps business devices safe and secure.

Supported devices

All devices that support zero-touch enrollment also support Essentials. Devices that support zero-touch are:

Prerequisites

The prerequisistes are listed below:

Integrate with zero-touch

Essentials works with zero-touch, and to support Essentials you need to have integrated with zero-touch through one of the following approaches:

If you have not integrated with zero-touch yet, follow the zero-touch onboarding guide.

Become an Android Enterprise Essentials partner

Submit your details using this application form to register your interest in becoming an Android Enterprise Essentials partner and our team will contact you regarding the subsequent steps.

Enable your vendor accounts

If you are already an Essentials reseller and you use vendors, Essentials needs to be activated for vendor accounts as well using their vendor ID (visible in the ‘Vendors’ tab of your zero-touch portal). Use the Android Enterprise Essentials Integrations form to request that Essentials is enabled for your vendors.

Create customer accounts

Customer accounts for Essentials are the same as for zero-touch. You can create a new customer account using the zero-touch reseller portal or using the zero-touch reseller API. You can also reuse existing zero-touch customer accounts.

Customers can manage their devices from the Essentials customer portal. This portal is different from the zero-touch customer portal, and the administrators of a customer have access to both portals.

Skip sending welcome email

By default a zero-touch welcome email is sent to the customer when their customer account is created. This email is specific to zero-touch and points to the zero-touch customer portal, which can be confusing for customers using Essentials. This is why we recommend that you skip sending the welcome email for customers using Essentials.

Instead an email will be sent when the first devices are assigned to the customer, this email will invite the customer to sign in to the Essentials portal to accept the Terms of Service. Once the customer has accepted the Essentials Terms of Services, an additional email describing the Essentials product will be sent to them.

When using the reseller portal

If you’re using the zero-touch reseller portal to create customers, check the “Send after devices are assigned” welcome email option when creating the customer account (see screenshot below).

new-customer-creation.

When using the reseller API

If you’re using the zero-touch reseller API to create customers, set the field skipWelcomeEmail to true in the request body.

The following snippet shows an example of the customer creation request:

{
   "companyName": "Example Customer",
   "ownerEmails": ["owner@gmail.com"],
   "skipWelcomeEmail": true,
}

If you’re using a client library to call the zero-touch reseller API, use the Android Enterprise Essentials Integrations form to ask for an updated version of the client library in the language of your choice.

When using the Common Android Reseller Library

If you’re using the Common Android Reseller Library to create customers, use the Android Enterprise Essentials Integrations form to request for an updated version of the library.

With the updated version of the library, use setSkipWelcomeEmail(true) when creating the CreateCustomerRequest.

The following snippet shows an example of the customer creation code:

CreateCustomerRequest request = CreateCustomerRequest.newBuilder()
    .setCustomerName("TestCustomer")
    .addPrimaryEmails("owner@gmail.com")
    .addSecondaryEmails("admin@gmail.com")
    .setSkipWelcomeEmail(true)
    .build();
CreateCustomerResponse response = googleResellerService.createCustomer(request);
String companyId = response.getCustomer().getCompanyReference().getCompanyId();

Customer without a Google Account

If the customer doesn’t provide a Google Account at the beginning, you can start creating a customer account with any email address. The owner emails field in both the reseller API and the reseller portal accepts a non-Google email address. Only one non-Google email address is allowed.

When the first devices are assigned to the customer, they will receive an email which contains a link to the customer portal. If the customer did not provide a Google Account at the beginning, they will be prompted to create a Google Account (or use an existing one) when they click on the link.

Specifying the language for the welcome email

You can specify the language that should be used for the welcome email. In the portal this is done by selecting an option from the 'Language' drop-down in the new customer dialog. If you don't specify a language then en-US is used by default. Supported languages are:

  • Arabic (ar)
  • Chinese (Hong Kong) (zh-HK)
  • Chinese (Simplified) (zh-CN)
  • Chinese (Traditional) (zh-TW)
  • Czech (cs)
  • Danish (da)
  • Dutch (nl)
  • English (UK) (en-GB)
  • English (US) (en-US)
  • Filipino (fil)
  • Finnish (fi)
  • French (fr)
  • German (de)
  • Hebrew (iw)
  • Hindi (hi)
  • Hungarian (hu)
  • Indonesian (id)
  • Italian (it)
  • Japanese (ja)
  • Korean (ko)
  • Norwegian (Bokmal) (no)
  • Polish (pl)
  • Portuguese (Brazil) (pt-BR)
  • Portuguese (Portugal) (pt-PT)
  • Russian (ru)
  • Spanish (es)
  • Spanish (Latin America) (es-419)
  • Swedish (sv)
  • Thai (th)
  • Turkish (tr)
  • Ukrainian (uk)
  • Vietnamese (vi)

If you’re using the zero-touch reseller API to create customers, set the field languageCode to true in the request body.

The following snippet shows an example of the customer creation request:

{
   "companyName": "Example Customer",
   "ownerEmails": ["owner@gmail.com"],
   "skipWelcomeEmail": true,
   "languageCode": "th",
}

Enable Essentials for devices

To enable Essentials for a device you need to set the “additional service” parameter when claiming this device. See instructions below for each integration method.

After you’ve claimed a device with Essentials enabled, you can ship this device to your customer. You should advise the customer to accept the Terms of Service (ToS) in the Essentials portal before their users try to set up the device. The device will automatically be protected by Essentials from the first time it is turned on. Note that if the ToS have not been accepted by the customer, the device enrollment into Essentials will not be successful.

Once the device is set up it by the user it will be marked as “Active” in the Essentials customer portal.

You can also optionally select a prepaid usage model. Devices on the prepaid usage model will be charged up-front, on the first day the service is activated, and the service will be automatically suspended after the end of the prepaid period. Note that the customer is not notified when the end of their prepaid period is reached; it is the responsibility of the reseller to communicate this to the customer and arrange for a renewal.

When using the reseller portal

If you’re using the zero-touch reseller portal to register devices by uploading a CSV file, add the following columns in the CSV file:

Column header Value Meaning
additional_service DEVICE_PROTECTION Enable Essentials on this device
(blank) Do not enable Essentials. Register the device for zero-touch enrollment only.
additional_service_plan ADDITIONAL_SERVICE_PLAN_CONSUMPTION or (blank) The Essentials service will be enabled until it is manually disabled by the reseller of the customer. The cost of the service will be charged in arrears at the end of each billing period.
ADDITIONAL_SERVICE_PLAN_PREPAID The Essentials service will be enabled on additional_service_first_date and will be automatically suspended after additional_service_last_date. The cost of the service for the entire period from the first to the last date, inclusively, will be charged in the billing period in which the first date falls.
additional_service_first_date Date in the format YYY-MM-DD. Example: 2021-01-13 The first date that the Essentials service will be available, inclusively. For devices on the prepaid plan, this field must be set.
(blank) For devices on the consumption plans, this field must be blank.
additional_service_last_date Date in the format YYY-MM-DD. Example: 2021-01-13 The last date that the Essentials service will be available, inclusively. For devices on the prepaid plan, this this field must be set and the date must be at least 90 days from today.
(blank) For devices on the consumption plans, this field must be blank.

The following snippet shows an example CSV file with Essentials enabled for devices. Note that the manufacturer field is optional for cellular devices:

modemtype,modemid,manufacturer,profiletype,owner,additional_service,additional_service_plan,additional_service_first_date,additional_service_last_date
IMEI,3525000000000,,ZERO_TOUCH,123456789,,,,
IMEI,3525000000001,,ZERO_TOUCH,123456789,DEVICE_PROTECTION,,,
IMEI,3525000000002,Google,ZERO_TOUCH,123456789,DEVICE_PROTECTION,ADDITIONAL_SERVICE_PLAN_PREPAID,2020-06-01,2020-12-31
IMEI,3525000000003,Google,ZERO_TOUCH,123456789,,,,
IMEI,3525000000005,Google,ZERO_TOUCH,123456789,DEVICE_PROTECTION,ADDITIONAL_SERVICE_PLAN_PREPAID,2020-10-01,2022-02-14

In the above example:

  • the device with IMEI 3525000000001 is put on the consumption plan;
  • the device with IMEI 3525000000002 will be put on the prepaid plan that will activate on 1st June 2020 and will remain active through 31st December 2020; on 1st January 2021 the Essentials service on this device will be suspended until the service is either renewed or deactivated;
  • the device with IMEI 3525000000005 will be put on the prepaid plan that will activate on 1st October 2020 and will remain active through 14th February 2022; on 15th February 2022 the Essentials service will be suspended.

When using the reseller API

If you’re using the zero-touch reseller API to claim devices, set the field additionalService in the request to DEVICE_PROTECTION to enable Essentials for a device.

The following snippet shows an example claim request:

{
  "deviceIdentifier": {
    "imei": "1111000022220000"
  },
  "sectionType": "SECTION_TYPE_ZERO_TOUCH",
  "customerId": "654785411",
  "additionalService": "DEVICE_PROTECTION"
}

If you’re using a client library to call the zero-touch reseller API, use the Android Enterprise Essentials Integrations form to ask for an updated version of the client library in the language of your choice.

When using the Common Android Reseller Library

If you’re using the Common Android Reseller Library to claim devices, use the Android Enterprise Essentials Integrations form to request for an updated version of the library.

With the updated version of the library, use a zero-touch account (Vendor.GOOGLE) for all devices, including Samsung devices, and use setAdditionalService(AdditionalService.DEVICE_PROTECTION) when creating the DeviceClaim to enable Essentials for a device.

Do not use a Samsung Knox customer ID (Vendor.SAMSUNG), as Knox Mobile Enrollment (KME) does not support Essentials.

The following snippet shows an example of a DeviceClaim:

DeviceClaim.newBuilder()
    .setCustomer(
        CompanyReference.newBuilder()
            .setVendor(Vendor.GOOGLE)
            .setCompanyId("21")
            .build())
    .setDeviceIdentifier(
        DeviceIdentifier.newBuilder()
            .setImei("1234567803")
            .setManufacturer("Google")
            .build())
    .setAdditionalService(AdditionalService.DEVICE_PROTECTION)
    .build()

Disable Essentials for devices

There are two ways to disable Essentials for a device:

  • Disable Essentials but keep the device assigned to the customer. To do so, claim the device again without setting the additional_service parameter. You can do so using the reseller portal, reseller API, or Common Android Reseller Library.
  • Disable Essentials and unassign the device from the customer. To do so, unclaim the device, using the reseller portal, reseller API, or Common Android Reseller Library. If the device is active it is automatically wiped.

Disabling Essentials for a device on a prepaid plan, when today's date is greater than or equal to additional_service_first_date but less than additional_service_last_date, will trigger a negative usage charge equal to the remaining unused prepaid period.

Extending the prepaid period

For devices using the prepaid usage model, you can change or remove the period end date. You would do this if:

  • the customer has paid for a further period, to extend the service; or
  • the customer is switching from a prepaid to a consumption usage model.

Prepaid plans are extended by claiming the device again with the same details, but with a later additional_service_last_date. The new additional_service_last_date must be:

  • at least 90 days in the future, and
  • as least 90 days later than the existing additional_service_last_date. When extending a prepaid plan the additional_service_first_date must not be specified.

The following snippet shows an example CSV file where the period is being extended by an additional 6 months:

modemtype,modemid,manufacturer,profiletype,owner,additional_service,additional_service_plan,additional_service_first_date,additional_service_last_date
IMEI,3525000000002,Google,ZERO_TOUCH,123456789,DEVICE_PROTECTION,ADDITIONAL_SERVICE_PLAN_PREPAID,,2021-06-30

Switching between plans

You can switch a device between the prepaid plan and the consumption plan. This change will prevent the service from being suspended, allowing it to continue until manually deactivated. Note that any prepaid usage period will be ignored once the device is on the consumption plan, and it will start to incur usage charges immediately, so we recommend switching plans only when the end of a prepaid period is reached.

To switch a device from the prepaid to the consumption usage model, using the portal, reclaim the device using the same device details but with the additional_service_plan set to ADDITIONAL_SERVICE_PLAN_CONSUMPTION:

modemtype,modemid,manufacturer,profiletype,owner,additional_service,additional_service_plan,additional_service_first_date,additional_service_last_date
IMEI,3525000000002,Google,ZERO_TOUCH,123456789,DEVICE_PROTECTION,ADDITIONAL_SERVICE_PLAN_CONSUMPTION,,

Billing

Every month Google sends you an invoice for the total usage of all your customers, charged at resale price and prorated on a daily basis. The total amount of the invoice matches the sum of all rows of the usage export for the month, minus any billing adjustments that would be mentioned on the invoice. For details, see the Essentials billing integration guide.