Forum Discussion
Intune integrate with Android APK which is hosted externally?
We are currently moving our app from existing MDM to Microsoft Intune, currently we are hosting our Android apk on our premise. We understand Google will deprecate Device Administrator and we all have to go for Android Enterprise for Android 10 and above. So there is no choice we have to host our apk to Managed Google Play.
We have recently found this google features, so called "Externally hosted private apps". It allows us to continue hosting our apk on our premise and upload the metadata to Managed Google Play, and so the user will be able to use Managed Google Play to search for our app seamlessly.
I can't really find any Intune doc mentioning how to integrate this with Intune. This doc mentioning how to integrate Intune with Managed Google Play but it only focus at the normal way, which, the apk is directly hosted in Managed Google Play, it doesn't mention how to do so if the apk is hosted externally. Is there anyone can tell whether if this is possible when using Intune?
3 Replies
When it comes to integrating an externally hosted Android APK with Intune, you can use the Intune App Wrapping Tool. This tool enables you to wrap the APK file with the necessary Intune-specific settings and policies.
Here's a general outline of the process:
Prepare the APK file: Ensure that the APK file is signed with the appropriate signing key and meets the necessary requirements for deployment.
Download the Intune App Wrapping Tool: Obtain the Intune App Wrapping Tool from the Microsoft Download Center or any other official source provided by Microsoft.
Wrap the APK file: Use the Intune App Wrapping Tool to wrap the APK file. The tool will add the required Intune-related code and policies to the APK.
Configure Intune: In the Intune console, create an app deployment profile and specify the necessary settings and policies for the wrapped APK. This includes things like app permissions, data protection policies, and deployment targets.
Upload and deploy the wrapped APK: Upload the wrapped APK file to Intune and deploy it to the desired devices or user groups within your organization.
By following these steps, you can integrate an externally hosted Android APK with Intune and manage it using the available Intune management capabilities.
Yes, it is possible to use Managed Google Play with Intune even if your APK is hosted externally. To do so, you would need to follow these steps:
Host your APK externally on your own servers or on a third-party hosting service.
Create a release in the Managed Google Play console for your app and specify the location of the APK file.
In the same release, provide the necessary metadata such as app title, description, and screenshots.
Publish the release to Managed Google Play.
In the Intune console, go to Client Apps > App package file and select Managed Google Play.
Search for your app in Managed Google Play and select it.
Approve the app for deployment to your managed devices.
After these steps, your app will be available to your managed devices through Intune, even though the APK is hosted externally. The metadata for the app will be retrieved from Managed Google Play and displayed in the Intune console.
