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StuartK73's avatar
StuartK73
Steel Contributor
Feb 09, 2026

Entra Shared Mode - Force App Stop

Hi All

I hope you are well.

 

Anyway, I was asked this yesterday and think I already might know the answer, but here goes.

 

We had an instance of Microsoft Excel stuck in "getting things ready" on an Android Entra Shared Mode Device.

 

Technical Support wondered if there was a way to Force Stop Excel or clear the app data.

 

We had a look in Exit Kiosk Mode, Android Settings, and the Force Stop of Excel said "Action not allowed" and the clear the app data said "Unable to delete data for app"

 

So, my question(s) would be, is going into Exit Kiosk Mode and even trying to force stop  / clear data on apps even a valid option, or is this by design? 

 

Would adding Excel to this setting help?

 

 

Any help or confirmation would be greatly appreciated.

 

Stuart

intune
Mobile Application Management (MAM)
mobile device management (mdm)

4 Replies

  • johnikt's avatar
    johnikt
    Copper Contributor
    Oct 21, 2026

    Force Stop and Clear data are blocked by design in Shared Device Mode, so a restart is still the most reliable way to clear a stuck Excel. In Intune you can trigger it remotely (Devices > select the device > Restart), or for many devices at once via Bulk device actions. Make sure Excel, Authenticator and Company Portal are all up to date before testing again.

     

    To check whether a shared device has actually been restarted recently, look at Settings > About phone > Status (uptime), or run `adb shell uptime` if you have ADB access.

     

    If you want that visible on the device itself: I built a free app, RebootMonitor, that logs every restart, shows uptime and last reboot, and can remind after 7 days. RebootMonitor in the PlayStore

     

  • mertefekanlikilic's avatar
    mertefekanlikilic
    MCT
    Feb 17, 2026

    Hi StuartK73​ 

    This is by design for Android Entra Shared / Dedicated devices. Force Stop and Clear App Data are intentionally blocked by Intune, even after exiting Kiosk Mode, and this behavior can’t be changed.

    The “Clear local data in apps not optimized for Shared Device Mode” setting won’t help here, as Excel is already optimized for Shared Device Mode.

    There’s no guaranteed fix for apps getting stuck like this. The most reliable workaround is to restart the device (remote restart from Intune or physical reboot). Also worth checking that Excel is fully up to date, as this issue is more common on older app versions.

    Hope this helps.

    • StuartK73's avatar
      StuartK73
      Steel Contributor
      Feb 17, 2026

      Hi Buddy

      Many thanks for the reply.

       

      Do you have a link showing the list of apps that are optimized for Entra Shared Mode?

       

      As the one I have, does not say that Excel is optimized:

       

      https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/msal/android/shared-devices#microsoft-applications-that-support-shared-device-mode

       

      Stuart

      • ruskinmunro's avatar
        ruskinmunro
        Copper Contributor
        Aug 11, 2026

        Hi StuartK73​ did you get an update on if Word or Excel are supported with Entra Shared Mode? 

        The documentation shared lists "Microsoft 365" but not Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel.

        Excel continues to get stuck on "getting things ready" on the latest version of Android 16 with Entra Shared Mode and Managed Home Screen, with all PlayStore apps fully up to date.