Field service

Technician phones that are ready before the first job.

For HVAC, plumbing, electrical and other field service companies, NounDesk keeps every technician's Android phone running the job app and maps, connected to the shop Wi-Fi, protected by a PIN and encryption, and recoverable if it is left at a customer's house. The Field Worker policy template is the recommended starting point.

Recommended policy: Field WorkerDevices: Technician phones

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The situation

Eight technicians, eight phones, and every one of them is a small business tool: it holds the schedule, the job notes, the customer's address and the photos that get you paid. When a phone fails, a tech loses a morning. When one is lost at a customer's house, you lose sleep.

What NounDesk does for a field service company

The job app is always there

Mark your field service app, maps and messaging as Required. They install during enrollment and reinstall if anyone removes them. A new tech's phone is working before their first ride-along.

Wi-Fi at the shop, without the password on a sticky note

Push the shop network from the security policy. Phones connect when they pull in, sync their photos, and pull the next day's schedule.

Lost at a customer's house

Turn on lost mode. The phone locks, shows "This phone belongs to Northside HVAC, call (555) 010-0199", and reports where it is. Most come back the same day. The ones that don't get erased with factory-reset protection intact.

Camera on, distractions off

Field Worker keeps the camera on for job photos while blocking apps from outside Google Play and keeping updates to overnight so nothing changes mid-job.

Recommended setup

Setting	Choice
Policy template	Field Worker
Groups	One per crew or region, e.g. “North crew”, “South crew”
Required apps	Your field service app, Google Maps, your messaging app, an authenticator
Wi-Fi	Shop network pushed, tethering allowed for site hotspots
Alerts	Offline over 24 hours, required app missing, lost mode

Why field service companies pick NounDesk

No IT department is required, and there is no agent to keep updated on twelve phones. Setup is guided and takes about ten minutes. Pricing is per device, monthly, so a slow winter does not mean paying for phones that sit in a drawer.

A field service phone earns money all day: it carries the job, the customer's address, the photos and the invoice. When it fails, a technician sits in a driveway waiting for the office to read out an address. NounDesk keeps the job app on every phone, keeps the phone for work only, and lets you act from the office when one goes missing.

How a rollout works for a 12-technician shop

Most HVAC, plumbing and electrical shops run 8 to 20 technician phones plus one or two office tablets for dispatch or the parts room. A typical shop goes from boxes to working phones in one morning.

1. Make one enrollment profile
Pick the Field Worker policy, a group per crew and a naming rule such as Van-01, Van-02. Every phone enrolled with it comes up the same way.
2. Add the apps by name
Search managed Google Play for your field service app, for example ServiceTitan, Jobber or Housecall Pro, plus Google Maps and your messaging app, and mark them Required.
3. Scan, assign, hand over
Factory-reset each phone, scan the QR code and assign it to its technician. Phones bought through an authorized zero-touch reseller skip the QR code and enroll the first time they are switched on.
4. Check the dashboard before the vans leave
Each phone moves from Waiting for device to Ready. Anything that is not ready says why, so you fix it in the yard rather than at the first job.

QR enrollment →Zero-touch enrollment →

Enrollment progress

Waiting for device
Enrolling
Applying policy
Installing apps
Ready

What 14 devices cost

A 12-technician firm with 2 office tablets: 14 devices × $1.50 = $21 a month, with every feature included.

One price, every feature
Lost mode, kiosk mode for the parts-room tablet, Device Trust and reports are all in the $1.50. There is no tier to upgrade into when you hire.
Room for the busy season
No minimum and no annual contract. Three extra summer technicians add $4.50 a month.
Try it on every device first
The 14-day free trial covers up to 50 devices and needs no card.

Pricing →

Common situations

What happens when…

The situations that actually come up, and what you do about each one.

A technician loses their phone at a customer's house

Open the device in NounDesk and tap Lost mode. The screen locks and shows "This phone belongs to [your company], call [your number]", so the customer who finds it on the kitchen counter knows who to ring. The device page shows where it last reported. When it comes back, one tap ends lost mode and the tech carries on. If it does not come back by Monday, erase it: factory-reset protection stays on, so it is worthless to anyone else.

A new technician starts on Monday

Create the phone from your Field Worker enrollment profile before they arrive. Hand them the phone and the QR code on their first morning. They tap the welcome screen six times, scan, and by the time the safety briefing is over the phone has the job app, maps, messaging and the shop Wi-Fi, named "Van-07" and assigned to them.

A tech quits without returning the phone

Deactivate them on the employee page. NounDesk asks what to do with their devices and nothing happens until you choose. Pick Erase if the phone is gone for good, or turn on Lost mode first with a message asking them to return it. Either way you have a record of the decision in the audit log.

The job app stops working on one van

Open that device, check the Apps tab. If the app is missing or outdated, the reason is there: not enough storage, failed install, or a version below your minimum. Clear the app's data or re-push it from the policy without driving to the van.

Features this industry leans on

Enrollment

Android QR code enrollment for small business: scan a code during setup, reuse saved enrollment profiles, and watch live status as each phone gets ready.

Security policies

Android security policies in plain English: pick a template, set screen lock, updates, camera, Wi-Fi and encryption, and preview changes before publishing.

App management

Install and manage apps on company Android phones: mark Google Play apps required, available or blocked per policy, and spot missing or outdated apps.

Lost-device recovery

Lost company phone? Lock it in lost mode, show your number on screen, see where it last reported and erase it if needed. Location only in lost mode.

Other industries

Construction Cleaning & home services Delivery & logistics Security companies Restaurants & retail Clinics & small healthcare Small schools & training Property management Transportation All industries

From the blog

Field service: questions answered

Can I make sure the job app is always installed?

Yes. Mark it Required in the Field Worker policy and it installs automatically on every technician phone. If it is missing or outdated, the dashboard and an alert tell you which phone.

A tech left the phone at a customer's house. Now what?

Open the phone in NounDesk and tap Lost mode. The screen locks and shows your office number so the customer can call. You see where it last reported. When it comes back, one tap ends lost mode.

Do I need to visit each van to set up a new phone?

No. Hand the tech a phone and the QR code. Ten minutes later it is enrolled with the right apps and policy, wherever they are.

Will our field service app work with NounDesk?

If it is on Google Play, yes. Search for it by name in NounDesk, for example ServiceTitan, Jobber or Housecall Pro, mark it Required, and it installs on every technician phone and stays there. If your company built its own app, upload it as a private app that only your phones can see.

Can the parts-room tablet show only the inventory app?

Yes. Put it in kiosk mode locked to your inventory or time-clock app, or to a web page turned into an app. Technicians use it at the start of the day but cannot reach settings or anything else.

Can I see where technicians are, or read their messages?

No. NounDesk never sees calls, messages or browsing, and reports a phone's location only while you have put it in lost mode. Use your field service software for job status; NounDesk keeps that app installed and the phone protected.

Ten phones. Ten minutes. Protected.

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