Android: How to install Outlook App

25. november 2019
Outlook on android

by Tue Hansen, Technical Support Engineer

This article describes how to install the Outlook App and use AppConfig to setup Outlook for the linked user. It will setup email, calendar and contacts. It will also sync the contacts to the local phone book app.

What is AppConfig?

AppConfig is a standard approach for app configuration and management introduced by the AppConfig Community. A group of leading Enterprise Mobile Management providers and app developers, who have come together to make it easier for developers and customers to drive mobility in business.

Prerequisites

An Android device and an active AD user with Exchange / Office 365 email linked to the device. In this example it has been done on a Samsung J3 2017 Android 9 Pie device. This have been tested with CapaInstaller 5.7.101, CapaInstaller Android Agent 2.1.11 on the following devices:

  • Samsung A6 (Android 9 Pie, KNOX – Device Admin)
  • Huawei Nexus (Android 8.1 Oero, Profile Owner)
  • Samsung J3 2017 (Android 9 Pie, Device Owner).

On the Android device a Google Play Store account is required to install apps. If you have Outlook as an Enterprise app it is not necessary.

Scope

This will work on Android Profile Owner, Android Device Owner and Android KNOX (both Device Owner and Device Admin).

Important

AppConfig payload only sends the keys to the app. How the app responds to the AppConfig values are entirely app dependent and sometimes it is up to the device as well. It’s highly recommended to test on the company’s own test devices before implementing in production environment.

The AppConfig keys to be used

The AppConfig keys used to configure MS Outlook are shown in the table below. It is the minimum set of keys that can be used to configure the Outlook app. The “$Email$” and “$LoginName$” means that the linked user’s email and login name will be used (like $user in Windows).

KeyTypeValue
com.microsoft.outlook.EmailProfile.EmailAccountNameStringName $LoginName$
com.microsoft.outlook.EmailProfile.EmailAddressString$Email$
com.microsoft.outlook.EmailProfile.ServerHostNameStringExchange server / office365
com.microsoft.outlook.EmailProfile.EmailUPNString$Email$
   
Optional – sync. Outlook contacts to local contacts apps  
com.microsoft.outlook.Contacts.LocalSyncEnabledBooleanTrue / (False)

Further AppConfig keys for the MS Outlook App can be found on Microsoft Website .

Procedure for installation and setup of MS Outlook

  1. Create the device application in the console and add AppConfig keys and values
  2. Link the device app for the device
  3. Install and setup on the device

1: Creating the device application and payloads in CapaInstaller Console

To configure the app, you must first install the app and then send the AppConfig keys and values. To do this create one device app with both the Outlook app and AppConfig payloads. The device application contains two payloads

  1. The MS Outlook app
  2. The AppConfig with keys and values

The MS Outlook App

In “Configuration Management”-module go to “Application and Packages”. Right click on “Device Applications” and select “Create Application”. Search in Play Store for MS Outlook app. Type a name and select “OK” Outlook on android

The AppConfig keys an values

Click “Create Key/Value”. Paste the AppConfig keys, select type “String” and type the value. Do this for all 4 keys. Outlook on android

2: Link the profile to the device

Link the profile to the device and wait for Outlook to be installed on the device. On the device you can see that the device contains two parts in the CapaInstaller Android Agent. After the app has been installed, the keys and values are applied.

Outlook on android

3: Installation and setup on device

A prompt on the device will appear and ask you to install the Outlook app. After the app has been installed it will start the setup wizard: In the Outlook Setup Wizard, click “Get started”. On “Add account” check that the email is correct. Then click “CONTINUE  >”.

Outlook on android

Enter the password and click on the check mark (below notification bar). On the “Account Added”, click “SKIP”. On “Focused Inbox”, click “SKIP”.

Outlook on android

Outlook app is now synchronized with inbox, contacts and calendar. Ready for use 😊.

Outlook on android

Outlook app is now synchronized with inbox, contacts and calendar:

Outlook on android

Outlook app is now synchronized with inbox, contacts and calendar:

Outlook on android

Phone Contacts App:

Outlook on android

Summary

There are some minor differences on the devices

Samsung J3: Inbox, contacts and calendar are all shown in Outlook, and the contacts from Outlook are synced to local contacts app.

Samsung A6: Inbox and calendar are shown in Outlook app. But contacts are not shown in search tab. Contacts are not automatically synced to local contacts app. You must add the account manually.

Huawei Nexus: Inbox, contacts and calendar are shown in Outlook app. Contacts are not automatically synced to local contacts app. You must add the account manually.

Learn more about effective Device Management

Learn more about Mobile Device Management