SkieWhen should I lock Wi-Fi settings in Skie?
Lock Wi-Fi settings when your devices should only ever join networks you provide. It is an optional protection that uses Android's configure Wi-Fi restriction, and it is off by default. With it on, a student cannot add, forget or edit networks, including a phone hotspot.
Wi-Fi is the way most tablets reach the web. If a student can add any network, they can join a home router with no filter, a friend's hotspot or an open cafe network. Skie's filtering DNS is locked on the device and follows it onto any network, but some schools want a tighter rule still: join ours, and nothing else.
When the switch is on, Skie sets DISALLOW_CONFIG_WIFI as the device owner. The Wi-Fi screen still shows and connects to the networks already saved, but it cannot be used to add, edit or remove them. Skie stores Wi-Fi profiles encrypted and delivers them through provisioning, so the school network is present before the lock begins.
It is optional because many devices need to move. Take-home tablets must join a family Wi-Fi at home. A field team, or a coaching programme where students study from different places, needs flexibility. Locking Wi-Fi on those would leave devices stranded.
The admin sees one switch in the hardening section. The state is read back from Android after each apply and counted in the compliance score.
Practical tip: lock Wi-Fi for in-campus devices such as lab tablets, exam tablets and hostel devices that stay in one building. Leave it open for devices that go home. Always add the correct Wi-Fi profile to the policy before you switch the lock on.