SkieWhat is Factory Reset Protection in Skie and how is it tied to the admin account?
Factory Reset Protection is an Android feature that asks for the previously registered Google sign-in after a device is wiped. Skie ties it to the Skie organisation's Google account, which only Skie holds, so a reset device is of no use to whoever took it. It is on by default for managed devices.
Android introduced Factory Reset Protection so that a stolen phone cannot simply be wiped and sold. After a reset, setup asks for the Google account that was on the device before. Without it, the device stays locked at the setup screen.
On a Skie-managed device, the account that Android expects is tied to the Skie organisation rather than to a student or a member of staff. That matters for two reasons. A student has no Google password to enter, and a staff member who leaves the school does not take the key with them. Skie holds the credential centrally, and it is used only when a device is deliberately set up again under the same organisation.
So even if someone managed a wipe from the recovery menu, the device would stop at the sign-in screen. We do not call this impossible to get past. We call it a strong reason for nobody to try, because a reset tablet is of no use to the person who took it.
The admin sees Factory Reset Protection as one of the default hardening switches, and it shows up in the compliance read-back like every other protection. Identity recognition by IMEI or serial also means that a legitimately reset device does not consume a second licence seat when you set it up again.
Practical tip: for tablets that leave the building, such as take-home programmes, this is the protection that makes theft pointless. Pair it with lost mode so you also have a location trail and evidence for a police report.