Use the Geolocation feature in ZENworks to identify the current geographic location of an enrolled mobile device. It is recommended that this feature be used on a need-only basis and not to continuously monitor the device location. While identifying the device location, only the last known location of the device is retrieved and populated by ZENworks.
For ZENworks to determine the device location successfully, ensure that the following prerequisites are met:
This feature is applicable for iOS supervised devices and Android devices that are enrolled as fully managed devices.
For an Android device, turn on the device’s location services. To enable the device’s location services:
Navigate to the Settings app on the device.
Tap Location.
Enable Location.
NOTE:For a device enrolled in the work-profile mode, even if the location is turned on at the device level, the user can turn it off at the work profile level (applicable on Android 7.0 and newer versions). In such cases, ZENworks will not be able to determine the location of the device.
For an Android device, ensure that the Location permission for the ZENworks Agent app is turned on. For the basic mode of enrollment (devices that are not enrolled in the work profile or work-managed mode), this permission should be granted by the end-user at the time of app installation. If the app is upgraded to the 17.3.0.0. version, then this permission needs to be manually enabled by the end user by navigating to the Settings menu on the device.If the device is enrolled in the work profile or work-managed mode of enrollment, then this permission is automatically granted and cannot be modified by the end user.
For an Android device, the location mode selected by the end-user will enable ZENworks to accurately identify the location of the device. When the Device only mode is set as the location mode, then the device might not be able to report its current location. The Device only mode works better when the user is outdoors. To ensure that the device is able to report its current location, it is recommended that the end user sets the location mode as High Accuracy.
For an Android device, ensure that the device is not in Doze mode.
For an iOS device, enable Lost Mode. You can initiate the Enable Lost Mode quick task on the device. For more information, see Enabling Lost Mode. You do not need to have an iCloud account to locate iOS devices using ZENworks. Even if Lost Mode is enabled through iCloud, ZENworks will be able to identify the location of the device (applicable only on iOS 10.x or later versions). However, if iCloud Lost Mode is enabled on iOS 9.x devices, you will not be able to identify the location of the device using ZENworks.
Associate the Geolocation right to your admin account. To enable this right:
Click Configuration.
Click Administrators.
Click New appearing under the Roles panel.
Click Add appearing under the Rights section.
Select Device Rights.
Retain the default selection Allow appearing next to the Geolocation right.
In ZENworks Control Center, navigate to the Devices tab.
Click a device that you want to locate.
Click the Geolocation tab.
Click Locate Now.
On clicking Locate Now a quick task is sent to the device and only the last known location of the device is identified and populated in ZENworks. The location details such as the address, the longitude and latitude along with the time stamp are di‘splayed. You can also click View on map to view the location on Google Maps.
If the device does not respond within a minute of the quick task initiation, then the operation is timed out. Subsequently, whenever a new location request is sent to the device, the previous location details stored by ZENworks are overwritten with the latest location details.
To ensure that end users are aware that their administrator has obtained the current location of their devices, notifications are sent to the user as email notifications (applicable for iOS and Android devices) and device notifications (applicable only for Android devices), which are sent after the devices are located successfully. Also, while the device location is in the process of being identified, an additional notification is sent to Android 8.0 or newer devices, informing the users that their administrator is attempting to locate their devices.
You can customize the contents of the email notification by navigating to Configuration > Management Zone Settings > Event and Messaging > Email Notifications > Device Located. For more information, see Managing Email Notifications.