Getting 'No active admin' SecurityException in Android 10 - how to resolve?

Question

I am encountering an error in the pre-launch report on the Google Play Console during testing. The error message is as follows:

java.lang.SecurityException: No active admin ComponentInfo{com.google.android.apps.mtaas.deviceadmin/com.google.android.apps.mtaas.deviceadmin.DeviceAdminReceiver}

This error occurs specifically in Android 10 (SDK 29). The full error summary is as follows:

Exception Process: com.google.android.apps.mtaas.deviceadmin, PID: 4380
java.lang.SecurityException: No active admin ComponentInfo{com.google.android.apps.mtaas.deviceadmin/com.google.android.apps.mtaas.deviceadmin.DeviceAdminReceiver}
  at android.os.Parcel.createException (Parcel.java:2088)
  at android.os.Parcel.readException (Parcel.java:2056)
  at android.os.Parcel.readException (Parcel.java:2004)
  at android.app.admin.IDevicePolicyManager$Stub$Proxy.setNetworkLoggingEnabled (IDevicePolicyManager.java:15305)
  at android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager.setNetworkLoggingEnabled (DevicePolicyManager.java:11627)
  at com.google.android.apps.mtaas.deviceadmin.EnableNetworkLogging.onStart (EnableNetworkLogging.kt:27)
  at android.app.Instrumentation$InstrumentationThread.run (Instrumentation.java:2209)
Caused by android.os.RemoteException: Remote stack trace:
  at com.android.server.devicepolicy.DevicePolicyManagerService.getActiveAdminWithPolicyForUidLocked (DevicePolicyManagerService.java:3259)
  at com.android.server.devicepolicy.DevicePolicyManagerService.getActiveAdminOrCheckPermissionForCallerLocked (DevicePolicyManagerService.java:3155)
  at com.android.server.devicepolicy.DevicePolicyManagerService.getActiveAdminForCallerLocked (DevicePolicyManagerService.java:3136)
  at com.android.server.devicepolicy.DevicePolicyManagerService.enforceCanManageScopeOrCheckPermission (DevicePolicyManagerService.java:7218)
  at com.android.server.devicepolicy.DevicePolicyManagerService.enforceCanManageScope (DevicePolicyManagerService.java:7204)

I need assistance in resolving this specific error. Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Just got the same report a while ago. Looks like there is a problem related to the devices/emulator that Google uses for generating the report.

At least in my case, it is not related to the tested app, since it doesn't have a single dependency on Google libraries

EDIT: You can find a similar report in the Google Issue Tracker: https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/160907013#comment144

Answer 2

I just got the same error while trying to publish my Flutter app to the Play Store. I removed some packages. Curious enough, this error is with a Samsung device. I'll leave you the stack trace in case it may be useful.

It still appears as "in review" so I'm not sure if I will be able to ignore the error and promote it to production.

Stack trace

java.lang.SecurityException: No active admin ComponentInfo{com.google.android.apps.mtaas.deviceadmin/com.google.android.apps.mtaas.deviceadmin.DeviceAdminReceiver}


Exception Process: com.google.android.apps.mtaas.deviceadmin, PID: 6114
java.lang.SecurityException: No active admin ComponentInfo{com.google.android.apps.mtaas.deviceadmin/com.google.android.apps.mtaas.deviceadmin.DeviceAdminReceiver}
  at android.os.Parcel.createException (Parcel.java:2088)
  at android.os.Parcel.readException (Parcel.java:2056)
  at android.os.Parcel.readException (Parcel.java:2004)
  at android.app.admin.IDevicePolicyManager$Stub$Proxy.setNetworkLoggingEnabled (IDevicePolicyManager.java:15305)
  at android.app.admin.DevicePolicyManager.setNetworkLoggingEnabled (DevicePolicyManager.java:11627)
  at com.google.android.apps.mtaas.deviceadmin.EnableNetworkLogging.onStart (EnableNetworkLogging.kt:27)
  at android.app.Instrumentation$InstrumentationThread.run (Instrumentation.java:2209)

Device that prompts the error

Answer 3

I just contacted Google Play support about that issue, and this is what they responded:

Support: "Please note that pre-launch reports do not block releases to any tracks."

Support: "It only helps to identify issues proactively before your app reaches testers."

Support: "This means that it only informs you of any possible issues in your testing tracks' new releases, but it does not prevent you from continuing to publish those releases."

Support: "Furthermore, pre-launch reports only test releases you've uploaded to the open, closed, and internal testing tracks; it does not test for releases uploaded to the Production track."

Support: "If you are confident that your release does not have any errors, then you can proceed to ignore the error in the pre-launch report and publish your release."

Support: "For more information about the pre-launch reports, please refer to our Help Center. https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/9842757 "

Me: "So the report does not have an affect on final review before publishing to production, correct?"

Support: "Yes, that is correct."

Answer 4

Could you ignore the error and upload the app? I cant ignore the error, it force me to fix the error before uploading.