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Linking a tablet lets it take orders. Spark MDM is the extra step that turns that tablet into a managed Android device so you can lock it to your private app and push releases from the dashboard. This page is for operators who already have a linked tablet (LINKED) and an active Google Play connection. You do not need to be a developer. If Play is not connected yet, start with Connect a Google Play account. If you do not have a kiosk channel yet, start with Set up kiosks.
The enrollment QR is not scanned by the kiosk app. You factory-reset the tablet, then scan the QR from Android’s setup wizard while looking at the dashboard. The tablet that is taking orders now will be wiped.

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What enrollment unlocks

A linked tablet does not enroll itself when you connect Play. You attach MDM on that device, then provision Android with the QR.
Android will not let a normal app take over the tablet or factory-reset it for you. The QR (or afw#setup plus the setup token) is the only way Android accepts Spark as device owner.

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What you need before you start

  • Dashboard access to the merchant, with permission to manage kiosk devices
  • A kiosk channel, with at least one tablet already claimed on Devices (status LINKED)
  • An active Google Play account on this merchant. See Connect a Google Play account
  • A Package name saved on Settings (the Managed Play application id, such as com.merchant.kiosk). Attach MDM fails without it
  • A second screen (laptop or phone) that can stay on the device page. You will point the wiped tablet at that QR
  • About 20 minutes, and a tablet you can take offline while it resets
Do not unlink the tablet before you enroll. Fire spark reuses that same device row when Android reports enrollment. Unlink deletes the row the QR is tied to.

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1. Confirm Play and the package name

1

Open the kiosk hub

In the dashboard, select the organization and merchant. Go to Channels and open the Kiosk channel.
2

Confirm Google Play is active

The connect card at the top of the hub should show Google Play account plus a name or admin email. If it still asks you to connect Play, finish that guide first.
3

Save the package name

Open Settings. Under MDM, set Package name to the private app id you will publish on Releases. Save. You can leave Kiosk mode on Single app unless you were told to use a custom launcher.
Attach MDM only appears on a device that is LINKED and whose merchant already has an active Play connection.

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2. Attach MDM and keep the QR on screen

1

Open the linked tablet

Go to Devices and open the tablet you want to enroll. The badge should say LINKED.
2

Click Attach MDM

Open the actions menu (⋯) and click Attach MDM. Wait for MDM enrollment created.
3

Leave this page open

An Attach MDM block appears with a QR and a Setup token. Do not refresh or navigate away. The QR is shown from that action. If you leave the page, open the device again and click Attach MDM to create a new QR.
The token lasts 24 hours and works once. The six-character pairing code on older pending devices is not the setup token. Use the value labeled Setup token.

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3. Factory-reset the tablet

1

Take the tablet off the floor

Customers cannot use it during this step. The current kiosk app and its local link data will be erased.
2

Erase all data

On the tablet go to Settings → System → Reset options → Erase all data (factory reset). Confirm. Wait until Android restarts on the welcome screen.
Do not unlink the device in Fire spark while you reset. The dashboard row must stay so Android can attach to it after the scan.

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4. Scan the QR in Android setup

Keep the dashboard QR visible on the second screen. Work on the wiped tablet.
1

Open the QR scanner

On the Android welcome screen, tap the welcome text six times. The camera / QR scanner opens. Connect Wi‑Fi if Android asks.
2

Scan the dashboard QR

Point the tablet at the Attach MDM QR on the dashboard. Do not scan it with the old kiosk app — that app is gone after the reset.
3

Finish Android’s prompts

Android Device Policy installs and becomes device owner. Accept the work-device screens. Stay on the tablet until setup finishes.

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If the six-tap scanner does not open

1

Advance to the Google account screen

Walk through welcome until Android asks for a Google account.
2

Enter afw#setup

Type afw#setup as the account and continue.
3

Paste the setup token

Enter the Setup token shown under the QR on the dashboard. This is not the tablet device code and not the six-character pairing code.

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If the Android setup wizard does not appear

Some kiosk images, especially large panels with no volume buttons, boot straight to the desktop after a factory reset. There is no language picker and no “Hello” screen. The six taps and afw#setup exist only inside the Google setup wizard. If that wizard never starts, the Attach MDM QR has nowhere to go. Play Store can still be installed. That confirms the tablet has Google services. The wizard is a separate system app, and the image can leave setup marked as already finished.
This step is for support, from a computer. A store that receives the tablet already on the desktop cannot enroll it themselves. Fully managed enrollment happens inside the first-time wizard. For those stores, enroll the tablet before you ship it, or leave it LINKED and install the app by hand. A LINKED tablet still takes orders and keeps the printer and scanner apps the vendor installed.
1

Confirm the wizard is installed

On the tablet open Settings → Apps → Show system apps and look for Setup Wizard. If it is missing, this image cannot scan the QR.
2

Check accounts

In Settings → Accounts, a Google account already on the tablet blocks Spark from becoming device owner. The wizard has to open with no accounts on the tablet.
3

Install adb on the computer

You need Android platform-tools. On a Mac: brew install android-platform-tools. Run the commands on the computer, not on the tablet. The computer and the tablet have to be on the same Wi‑Fi network.
4

Turn on developer mode

On the tablet open Settings → About device (sometimes it sits under System and is named About tablet). Tap Build number seven times, until Android says you are a developer. If Settings has a search box, type build. A USB mouse helps when the panel is hard to tap. These units often have no volume buttons, so there is no key combination for recovery.
5

Open Developer options

Go back to Settings → System → Developer options. On some tablets that row is at the bottom of Settings, not under System. If it is missing, developer mode did not turn on.
6

Open Wireless debugging

Find the Wireless debugging row and tap it to open its screen. Turn the switch on. At the top, IP address & port is the connection address, for example 192.168.1.50:41555. If that row does not exist, this Android version has no wireless debugging.
7

Get the pairing code

On that same screen tap Pair device with pairing code and leave the dialog open. It shows a 6-digit code and a second IP address & port, same IP and a different port, for example 192.168.1.50:37123. Closing the dialog changes the port and the code.
8

Leave Wait for debugger off

Wait for debugger is a different row. Turning it on sticks the tablet on “waiting for a debugger to attach” and never shows an IP or a code. Turn it off, and set Select debug app to None.
9

Open the wizard again

On the computer, replace the sample numbers with the ones on the tablet. adb pair uses the port from the pairing dialog and asks for the 6-digit code. adb connect uses the port on the main wireless debugging screen. These commands do not erase the tablet and do not uninstall the printer or scanner. They only mark setup as pending, then reboot.
After boot, the language screen and then “Hello” should appear. Continue with the QR scan in the section above.
If the vendor desktop comes back as soon as the tablet reboots, a script in that image is completing setup on startup. The QR will not stick on that unit. Enroll it before delivery, or leave it LINKED.
To close the wizard without enrolling, on the same adb connection:
The tablet returns to the desktop. The vendor apps stay installed.
Scanning the Attach MDM QR, once the wizard is open, does provision the device. Android comes back empty and Spark becomes device owner. Printer and scanner utilities the vendor preinstalled are removed. A USB scanner that behaves as a keyboard still types into the kiosk app. A USB printer prints when that app talks to it directly. In Single app mode the tablet stays locked to the kiosk package.

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5. Wait for ENROLLED, then use Releases

1

Wait for Play to install the kiosk app

Managed Play installs the package you set on Settings. If Releases still shows Publishing, wait — Play is checking the file (often about 10 minutes). Do not factory-reset again during that check.
2

Confirm the device badge

Back on the device page, the status should change from LINKED to ENROLLED. Remote Reboot appears in the actions menu. Refresh the page if the badge has not updated after setup completes.
3

Publish from Releases

Open Releases in the same hub. Upload the private APK and choose a normal rollout or an emergency hotfix. Only enrolled tablets install through Managed Play. Updating kiosks cannot take orders until the new build heartbeats in.
Enrollment is done when the device shows ENROLLED and the tablet is locked on the private kiosk app.
Rollouts move through Publishing → Ready → Installing → Done. Offline tablets pick up the version when they reconnect.

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If something goes wrong

The tablet must be LINKED, and this merchant must have an active Play connection. Connect Play first. If Play is active and the action is still missing, the device may already have an enrollment token — look for a QR on the page, or click Attach MDM again after a refresh.
Open Settings, fill Package name, save, then click Attach MDM again.
The image booted straight to the desktop and the Google setup wizard is not running. Follow If the Android setup wizard does not appear. This needs adb on a computer. The store cannot do this step.
Stay on the device page and click Attach MDM again. That creates a new one-time QR. The previous token is no longer usable.
Tokens last 24 hours and work once. Click Attach MDM again, then scan the new QR. Do not reuse a screenshot of an old code.
Setup did not finish, or Fire spark has not received Android’s enrollment event yet. Confirm you scanned this device’s QR (not another tablet’s). Wait a minute and refresh the device page. Do not unlink.
That device row is gone. Link the tablet again by code after it boots, then Attach MDM on the new row and scan that QR. Do not scan the old one.

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Next

Set up kiosks

Hub order: Settings, Devices, Releases, Health

Connect a Google Play account

Required before Attach MDM appears on a linked tablet