Knox Guard status flow

Last updated August 25th, 2025

Once a device is added to the Knox Guard console, it can potentially go through a combination of states.

Knox Guard device states.

The typical status flow for a device in Knox Guard is as follows:

  1. The reseller uploads the device to the Knox Guard console. The device displays in the Knox Guard device list with the Pending status.

  2. The device is accepted in the Knox Guard console, and its status changes to Activating.

  3. The device boots up and successfully enrolls into Knox Guard. Its status changes to Active, and you can now manage the device.

  4. When you perform an operation on the device, its status may change. For example, Locking, Starting reminder, and Unlocking. Refer to the following table for a complete list of device states.

  5. When a device no longer needs to be managed, you can mark it for completion. The device’s status changes to Completing. You have two days to cancel this action and revert the device to the Active state, if necessary.

  6. If no action is taken after two days, the device’s status changes to Complete and Knox Guard is permanently uninstalled on the device. You can no longer manage this device, but it remains in the device list until you manually remove it from the Knox Guard server.

Device state Description
Pending The reseller has uploaded the device to the Knox Guard console. You can view the device in the Knox Guard device list and either reject or accept it.
Rejected The device was rejected.
Activating The device was accepted, but isn't active in Knox Guard yet. If the your reseller preferences are configured to automatically accept device uploads, the device's state automatically changes from Pending to Activating.
Active The device is actively managed by Knox Guard and can be controlled.
Exchanging A temporary state that exists when an IMEI exchange is in process. This state requires Samsung customer support assistance and is for tracking purposes only. An Exchanging state can't occur when the device is locked.
Resetting The device's associated Knox Guard license has expired or is deleted. Once this status is reported to the Knox Guard server, the device returns to the Pending state.
Starting Reminder Blink reminders are activating on the device.
Stopping Reminder Blink reminders are stopping on the device.
Reminder On Blink reminders are activated on the device.
Locking The device is in the process of locking.
Locked The device is locked.
Unlocking The device is in the process of unlocking.
Completing The device is in the process of completing management. Once complete, it's no longer be managed by Knox Guard.
Completed Device management is complete and the device is no longer managed by Knox Guard.

The Knox Guard client is deactivated and uninstalled from a device if it’s Rejected, or device management is marked as Complete.

A combination of states can exist. For example, Active | Locked or Locked | Offline. This happens when a user is locked out of their device as a result of the Offline device lock policy. As the device is offline, the server only remembers the last state of the device. As a result, a combination of device states displays in the Knox Guard console.

License states

The following table provides information on different license states:

State Description
Registered The license has been added to the account, but isn't active yet.
Active The license is between the Activation start date and Activation end date and can be used in Knox Guard.
Expired The Activation end date has passed and new devices can't be activated using the license.

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