> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://firespark.cloud/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Connect a Google Play account > Link this merchant to a Play Console account so Fire spark can enroll kiosk tablets and publish the private app. Kiosk tablets are company-owned Android devices. Fire spark cannot lock them to your app, enroll them with a QR, or push private updates until this merchant is linked to a **Google Play account**. This page is for operators and store leads. You do not need to be a developer. If you do not have a kiosk channel yet, start with [Set up kiosks](https://firespark.cloud/docs/guides/channels/kiosk.md). ## Why Fire spark asks for Google Play A kiosk is not a customer’s phone. It sits on the counter all day. If anyone can open the public Play Store, the tablet leaves your ordering app, picks up other software, and stops taking orders. Google’s business tools for this are: | Google name | What it means for you | | - | - | | **Android Enterprise** | Turns the tablet into a managed work device. Staff cannot treat it like a personal phone. | | **Managed Play** | A private catalog for *your* app. The kiosk APK is not listed for the public. | | **Android Management API** | The connection Fire spark uses, after you approve it with your Google account, to enroll tablets and install that private app. | Fire spark uses that Google connection to: * Generate the enrollment QR (`afw#setup`) so a tablet can join as a kiosk * Keep the tablet locked on the private kiosk app * Upload APKs to Managed Play and roll them out store by store Until the connection is **active**, **Releases** stays blocked. **Devices** still works: you can claim a tablet by code, send refresh/reload/unlink commands, and edit payment overrides. Play is required to lock the tablet and publish private APKs. > [!WARNING] > > Connecting Play is optional for linking a tablet and taking orders. It is > required to lock the device to your private app and to publish APKs from > the dashboard. ## What “Google Play account” means here In Fire spark, a **store** is a restaurant location. That is not what this guide means. Here, **Google Play account** means the Google login that owns or can create a **Play Console** / **Android Enterprise** setup for your company. It is the account you use on Google’s screens when Fire spark sends you there. > [accordion] This is not a Fire spark store > > Linking Play does not create a store, change menus, or replace your POS. > It only lets Fire spark talk to Google about *this merchant’s* kiosk > tablets and private app. > [accordion] This is not the public Play Store listing > > Customers will not find your kiosk app by searching Play. Managed Play > installs the APK only on tablets you enroll. > [accordion] One connection per merchant > > Each merchant can use one Play connection. Other merchants in the **same > organization** can reuse a Play account you already connected there. A > different organization cannot see or attach to yours. ## What you need before you start * Dashboard access to the merchant, with permission to manage kiosk devices. If you cannot open **Channels** or you never see **Connect a new Play account**, ask an admin. * A **kiosk** channel already created. Open it from **Channels**. See [Set up kiosks](https://firespark.cloud/docs/guides/channels/kiosk.md). * A **Google account your company controls**. Prefer a work Google account, not a personal Gmail you might lose. That account must be allowed to create or manage Android Enterprise / Play Console for this brand. * About 10–15 minutes, and a browser that can complete Google’s signup screens. The Google step expires if you wait too long; you can start again from the dashboard. > [!TIP] > > Decide who owns the Google login before you click through. The person who > finishes Google’s signup is the one Google associates with Android > Enterprise. Use an account the company can still access next year. ## Open the connect card **1. Sign in to the dashboard** Open the [dashboard](https://firespark.cloud/dashboard) and select the correct organization and merchant. **2. Open Channels** Go to **Channels**. Find the channel whose type is **Kiosk**. **3. Open the kiosk channel** Open that row. You should see the kiosk hub: tabs for **Settings**, **Devices**, **Releases**, and **Health**. **4. Find the Play card** At the top of every hub tab, look for **Connect a Google Play account**. The card explains that you must link this merchant before enrolling tablets or publishing private APKs. The card offers two actions. You will only see the second one if another merchant in **this same organization** already finished a Play connection. ## Choose how to connect ### Connect a new Play account Use this when nobody in this organization has connected Play yet, or when this merchant should use a **different** Google Play login than the one already listed. **1. Click Connect a new Play account** Fire spark shows **Redirecting to Google**, then leaves the dashboard. **2. Sign in with the company Google account** Use the Google account you chose in the prerequisites. If the browser already has a personal account signed in, switch accounts before you approve anything. **3. Complete Google’s Android Enterprise signup** Google walks you through creating or selecting the enterprise that will manage the tablets. Stay on those screens until Google finishes. Do not close the tab in the middle. **4. Return to Fire spark** Google sends you back to the kiosk hub. The card should now show **Google Play account** and a name or email. > [!TIP] > > When the card shows **Google Play account** plus a display name or admin > email, this merchant is connected. ### Use a Play account already connected in this organization Use this when another merchant in the **same** organization already connected Play, and you want this merchant to use that same Google Play login. This is common when several brands or concepts share one operations team and one Play Console. **1. Confirm the reuse section is visible** Under the new-account button you should see **Use a Play account already connected in this organization**. If that block is missing, nobody in this organization has an active Play connection yet. Use **Connect a new Play account** instead. **2. Select the account** Open the list. Each row is a Play connection already active in this organization, shown by display name or admin email. **3. Click Use selected Play account** Fire spark links this merchant to that connection. You should see **Google Play account linked**, then the same confirmation card as a new connection. > [!NOTE] > > Reuse only lists Play accounts inside **your** organization. You will never > see another company’s connection, and they will never see yours. If this merchant is reusing a connection created by someone else, the card adds: *This merchant uses a Play account already connected in this organization.* ## Confirm you can continue After the card shows an active Google Play account: * **Devices** no longer shows the “connect Play” block. You can start linking tablets. * **Releases** no longer shows that block. You can start publishing private APKs. You still need the kiosk APK and at least one store before a tablet can take orders. Connecting Play only unlocks those tabs. ## How organizations stay separate Each Fire spark organization is isolated. * Merchants in **organization A** never see Play connections from **organization B**. * There is no code to type and no way to “join” another organization’s Play setup from the dashboard. * If two organizations happen to use the **same Google login**, each organization still clicks **Connect a new Play account** and completes Google’s flow on its own. Fire spark stores those as separate connections. > [!WARNING] > > Do not share dashboard access across organizations to “borrow” a Play > connection. Connect Play inside the organization that owns the tablets. ## If something goes wrong > [accordion] Devices or Releases still say to connect Play > > The connection is not active yet. Stay on the kiosk hub and finish > **Connect a new Play account** or reuse an existing one. Refresh the page > after Google sends you back. If the card still asks you to connect, start > the Google step again. > [accordion] I cancelled or closed Google’s screens > > Nothing is fully connected. Open the kiosk hub and click **Connect a new > Play account** again. Google’s signup link does not stay valid forever. > [accordion] I signed in with the wrong Google account > > Stop if you can still switch accounts on Google’s screen. If you already > finished signup with a personal or leftover login, the merchant may now > be tied to that account. Contact [support](mailto:soporte@trade.ec?subject=Fire%20spark%20Play%20account) > before enrolling tablets. > [accordion] The dashboard says this merchant already uses a Play account > > Each merchant can have only one connection. If the card already shows > **Google Play account**, you are done. You cannot attach a second Play > login to the same merchant from the dashboard. > [accordion] The dashboard says Android Management API is not configured > > That is a Fire spark platform setting, not something you fix in Play > Console. Contact [support](mailto:soporte@trade.ec?subject=Fire%20spark%20Play%20account). > [accordion] Another company uses the same Google login we do > > They still connect inside their own organization. Your dashboard will not > list their Play account, and yours will not appear in theirs. ## Next Play is connected. Enroll each linked tablet so **Releases** can install the private app. > [card] [Enroll a kiosk in MDM](https://firespark.cloud/docs/guides/channels/kiosk/enroll-mdm.md) > > Attach MDM on a linked tablet, factory-reset, scan the QR, then publish releases > [card] [Set up kiosks](https://firespark.cloud/docs/guides/channels/kiosk.md) > > Back to the kiosk hub order: Settings, Devices, Releases, Health This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.