Manage your team with Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM)

Updated Jan 29, 2024
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This article discusses a feature that is only available to Dropbox teams on an Enterprise plan.

Enterprise mobility management (EMM) helps organizations to manage mobile device usage on organization apps, networks, and devices. With Dropbox EMM, Dropbox teams on an Enterprise plan can work with third-party EMM providers to gain more control over how members use the Dropbox mobile apps.
 

With EMM, Enterprise admins can:

  • Restrict mobile app usage for Enterprise accounts to managed devices only (whether organization-provided or personal)
  • Gain visibility into app usage, including available storage and access locations
  • Remote wipe a lost or stolen device

How to enable Enterprise Mobility Management

To enable EMM, you’ll need a third-party EMM provider to manage mobile device access at your organization. Once you have done this:

  1. Log in to dropbox.com with your admin credentials.
  2. Click Admin console.
  3. Click Settings.
  4. Under Devices, click Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM).
  5. In the dropdown that appears:
    • Copy the authentication (auth) token you receive.
    • When first setting up EMM, use the Test mode option to ensure it's configured properly.
  6. Open your EMM provider's admin console:
    • Add Dropbox EMM (for iOS) and Dropbox Android as applications in your organization app store.
    • Add an app configuration with the auth token for both iOS and Android devices (if you're asked to enter a configuration key name, use team_emm_token).
  7. Go back to the Dropbox Admin console, and add exceptions to the EMM rule, if any.
    • Users added to the Exceptions list will be able to log in with either the regular or the EMM Dropbox apps.
  8. Once you've verified that EMM is working as desired in Optional mode, and once you've configured Dropbox with your EMM provider, use the Required option to require EMM for all team members.
    • This option will log users out of the regular Dropbox app, and only allow log in via the EMM managed app.
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Note: Before requiring EMM, be sure to notify all team members who will be affected by this change.

Which team members are using Dropbox on mobile devices?

During EMM deployment, it can be helpful for admins to know which team members have active sessions with either the Dropbox EMM or regular mobile apps. This information can give admins insight into how a transition is going, and help them determine when to make EMM required (as opposed to just optional). Overall, a usage report helps admins better understand mobile app usage across the organization.
 

To create a usage report:

  1. Log in to dropbox.com with your admin credentials.
  2. Click Admin console.
  3. Click Settings.
  4. Under Devices, click Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM).
  5. Open the collapsible window beneath Enterprise mobility management (EMM).
  6. Click Create mobile app usage report.
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Note: Once the report is generated, the admin will receive an emailed notification that it is complete.

Will there be any changes to the Dropbox mobile apps if I enable EMM?

iOS: On iOS devices, Dropbox EMM will be a brand new app called Dropbox EMM in the Apple app store.

Android: On Android devices, we've made changes to the existing Dropbox app (as opposed to creating a new EMM app).

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Note: Any implementation of Dropbox EMM on Android requires the Google Android framework (previously "Android for Work").

For both iOS and Android, if you require EMM then your team members will need to download this new Dropbox app from your organization app store to continue accessing their Enterprise accounts.

Does Dropbox have preferred EMM providers?

While Dropbox does not have a preferred EMM provider, we have worked with the following vendors and verified that our app works with them:

  • AirWatch
  • Centrify
  • IBM Maas360
  • Inventit MobiConnect
  • Matrix42
  • MobileIron
  • Okta
  • SoftBank Business Concierge


If you are interested in using any of these providers for EMM, contact them directly to learn more and get started.

What will my team members see once EMM is enabled?

Once EMM is enabled and authorized, Dropbox will look for the auth token each time a team member logs in (provided the user accesses the Dropbox app from an EMM-managed device).
 

If a team member is currently logged in to one of the Dropbox mobile apps, EMM will automatically log them out, and only allow login via the EMM-managed app. The same is true if a team member already has the Dropbox app and tries to log in.
 

If a team member attempts to log in to the regular Dropbox app, the log in will be blocked and the user will be directed to the managed app.
 

Learn more about the team member experience with Dropbox EMM.

I'm having trouble with my auth token—what should I do?

If you encounter issues with the auth token, it's likely that it wasn't set up correctly with the third-party EMM provider. Please verify that the auth token from the Dropbox admin console matches the one that's set with your EMM provider.
 

If you encounter further problems, please contact your EMM provider to troubleshoot.

I enabled EMM, and now a team member isn't able to access Dropbox—what should I do?

If you enable EMM, and then find that one or more of your team members have trouble accessing Dropbox, it's likely that the user's device doesn't have the latest set of configurations from the EMM provider. To fix, check the EMM provider settings on the user's device. Issues may include:

  • The user is not using the correct Dropbox mobile app
  • The device management is not set correctly
  • The device does not have the latest set of configurations

Learn more about the team member experience with Dropbox EMM.

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