About Secured by Knox, Android - Others and Android Go devices

Last updated July 26th, 2023

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Overview

This knowledge base article clarifies the difference between Secured by Knox, Android - Others, and Android Go devices.

Some Samsung devices are incompatible with certain Knox solutions. You can check which category your device falls under at Devices secured by Knox. All fully Knox-supported devices have the Android - Secured by Knox designation, while devices with limited or no Knox compatibility are marked as Android - Others or Android Go.

What’s the difference between a Secured by Knox device and an Android - Others/Android Go device?

Secured by Knox devices include a hardware-backed architecture that ensures your data is protected during boot-up and runtime.

On a hardware level, Android - Others and Android Go devices lack the Root of Trust keys in the Trusted Execution Environment (i.e. the “TrustZone”). While these devices typically cannot support Knox Platform for Enterprise, and by extension the other Knox solutions, special workarounds are implemented to support them in specific Knox cloud products.

Which Knox solutions do Android - Others devices support?

Supported Knox solutions and features:

Knox Mobile Enrollment
Knox Configure
Knox Manage without any Knox Platform for Enterprise or Knox Platform for Enterprise Premium policies
Knox E-FOTA
Android Enterprise (Generic)

Unsupported Knox solutions and features:

Knox Platform for Enterprise
Knox Service Plugin
Knox Manage - Knox Platform for Enterprise or Knox Platform for Enterprise Premium policies
Knox Mobile Enrollment Direct
Knox Capture
Knox Asset Intelligence
Knox Deployment App

Android - Others devices provide only basic security, manageability and customization, and are not ideal for enterprise deployments. To leverage the full Knox feature set, consider selecting a device with the Android - Secured by Knox designation instead.

Which Knox solutions do Android Go devices support?

Supported Knox solutions and features:

Knox Manage without any Knox Platform for Enterprise or Knox Platform for Enterprise Premium policies
Android Enterprise (Generic)

Advanced Knox features that are not supported on certain devices

While most Samsung devices provides best-in-class hardware-based security, policy management, and compliance capabilities beyond the standard features commonplace in the mobile device market, some devices with lighter hardware specs may not support select advanced features.

Please refer to the following articles on related products for the list of such features:

How can I enable Kiosk mode on Android - Others/Android Go devices in Knox Manage?

To use Kiosk mode, please enroll your device in device owner (DO) mode. Kiosk mode on Android Legacy is not supported. To enroll in DO mode:

For devices already in Kiosk mode, perform a factory reset. Then, activate Android Enterprise DO mode before using Kiosk.
For devices that are not yet enrolled, first activate Android Enterprise DO mode before using Kiosk.

Additional information

If you are using the Knox SDK on Android - Others/Android Go devices, see the following resources to learn more: