Turn on location

Time needed: 5 minutes, plus a check-in on each device. You need: permission to publish policies.

Step 1: turn it on in the policyCopy Anchor Link

1. Open the policy for the devices you want to locate and select Edit.
2. Under Location, turn on Report device location.
3. Select Review changes and publish.

Tell people their device's approximate location is visible to IT. On Google-managed devices the Remote support app says so on its screen.

Step 2: what happens on each kind of deviceCopy Anchor Link

Agent devices report an approximate position at their next check-in, and at every check-in after that.

Google-managed devices get the Remote support app installed by the policy, because Google doesn't pass locations on. Someone must open the Remote support app once on each device to connect it. After that it reports about every 15 minutes. Its page shows Remote support app: Connected.

Personal phones and Windows devices never report a location.

Step 3: checkCopy Anchor Link

Within about 15 minutes, the devices appear on Locations, and each device's page lists its positions under Location history.

Things to knowCopy Anchor Link

• Positions are approximate, to within a couple of kilometres. A device that stays in one area reports the same point each time.
• Gaps happen when a device is switched off, offline, or idle; Android delays background work to save battery. The device catches up when it is back.
• If a policy was published before the Remote support app was available to your organisation, open the policy and publish it again (Simplifyd support can re-send it for you).