Esper Device Management: Network Connectivity Behavior

Overview

When provisioning Android tablets in Esper, network configuration is established during the onboarding process. If not handled correctly, this can result in devices becoming effectively “locked” to a specific wireless network, preventing connectivity when moved to a different location. This article explains how network association works during onboarding, why issues occur, and how to properly resolve and prevent them.

How Network Association Works

When a device is onboarded in Esper, it must connect to a wireless network to complete provisioning. During this process, the device stores and prioritizes the SSID used at the time of onboarding. After provisioning is complete, the device will continue attempting to reconnect to that same network.

If the device is later moved to a different environment where the original SSID is unavailable, it will not automatically discover or connect to a new network. Instead, it will continue searching for the previously configured network, resulting in a loss of connectivity.

Because tablets rely solely on WiFi (no ethernet fallback), this behavior can leave the device offline and unable to receive configuration updates from Esper.

Why This Becomes a Problem

Esper pushes configuration updates, including additional WiFi networks, through the device’s active internet connection. If the device cannot connect to any network, it cannot receive these updates. This creates a dependency loop where the device needs connectivity to receive the configuration required to establish connectivity.

Resolution Options

Add WiFi Network via Esper

Additional wireless networks can be configured within Esper by defining the SSID, security type (commonly WPA2), and password. Once applied, the device will attempt to connect to the new network.

This approach is only viable if the device is already online. If the device is offline, it will not receive the updated network configuration.

Factory Reset and Re-Onboard

If the device cannot connect to any network, the most reliable resolution is to perform a factory reset and repeat the onboarding process. During re-provisioning, the correct network for the deployment location should be selected.

This ensures the device associates with the appropriate SSID from the start and avoids dependency on remote configuration updates.

Best Practices

In many deployments, devices are staged by third parties prior to arriving at their final location. Because of this, onboarding often occurs on networks that will not be present at the deployment site. When this happens, it is critical to account for the device’s dependency on the initially configured SSID.

If a device is being staged offsite, all intended production networks should be configured during onboarding whenever possible. This includes adding the destination network credentials ahead of time or ensuring there is a known fallback method (such as a hotspot) to regain connectivity if needed. Without this, devices may arrive onsite unable to connect and require rework.

If the correct network cannot be configured during staging, plan for a factory reset and re-onboarding at the final location as part of the deployment process.

Notes for Kiosk Devices

Kiosk devices, such as MicroTouch units, follow the same general onboarding behavior as tablets. During provisioning, they connect to and prioritize the wireless network used at that time.

The key difference is that kiosk devices support ethernet connectivity. As part of the final steps in the onboarding or staging process, these devices should be configured to use their ethernet connection as the primary network interface.

If ethernet connectivity is lost, the device will fall back to WiFi and attempt to reconnect using the previously configured wireless network.