Brickify Guide
Android setup — Device Owner mode
Brickify on Android is set up as the Device Owner mode in order to work. It is a factory reset and short guided set up. This page walks you through it.
Brickify on Android is set up as the Device Owner mode in order to work. It is a factory reset and short guided set up. This page walks you through it.
Device Owner mode cannot work with an existing organisation management profile. If your device has a work profile, use a personal unmanaged device for Brickify instead.
If you tapped "Buy Brickify" from inside the app already, you're set — note which Google account you used, you'll need to sign into that same one later. If you haven't bought it yet, open Brickify on the phone first and follow the prompt there before continuing.
You're about to erase this phone, so you won't have its screen available once the reset starts. Open this page on a second device so you can follow the instructions. Consider reading through to the end on here now.
Settings → System → Reset options → Erase all data (factory reset) — exact wording varies by phone manufacturer. This erases everything currently on it.
After the reset finishes, the phone boots to a blank "Welcome" (sometimes "Hello") screen — don't tap Continue. Instead tap on the screen at the same spot 6 times in a row. A QR code scanner opens.
Hold the phone steady and tilt it slightly if there's glare on the screen — the scanner needs a clean read of the whole code. Once it scans, connect to Wifi if prompted — the phone needs internet access to download Brickify.
Brickify installs and sets itself up as Device Owner automatically from here — you'll just need to tap through a handful of setup screens along the way. Some of these mention "your organization" or "setting up a work device" — that's normal. It's generic Android language used for this entire category of setup, identically whether it's a corporate IT department or, in this case, you. There's no employer, school, or third party involved — it's just Brickify's own admin setup. Once installed, its details in Settings are labelled "Brickify," not "your organization," and explain exactly what it can and can't see.
Most devices will open Brickify automatically as soon as it finishes installing as the device owner. If yours doesn't open on its own, navigate to the app drawer and open Brickify from there.
Once the device-level steps above are done, Brickify walks you through its own setup — in this order, using the same names you'll see on screen:
A lock screen PIN for the phone itself — the one your child will know, to unlock and use the phone day to day.
The phone's nearly empty after the wipe — install whatever you actually want your child to have from the Play Store before choosing what's allowed or blocked.
Add your Google account at the system level — the same one you bought Brickify with, so Restore Purchases can find it. Choose "I will be using this device" if asked, not a child profile. If Android offers to find an account automatically using your SIM, skip that and type the email in manually instead — the auto-suggested account may not be the one you bought Brickify with.
Brickify's own passcode — separate from the device PIN above, and this one's for you, not your child.
Parent PIN, authenticator app, or email code — a second layer of security needed before unbricking manually or changing your Brickify settings.
Three one-time backup codes. Write them down — they won't be shown again.
Set up your profiles for the phone — name the first one and choose which apps it blocks. One default profile is required; this is what the phone falls back to. As many other profiles as you like can be scheduled on top of that, for the phone to switch between automatically. Don't worry — you can set all this up later too.
Where Brickify emails you if something needs attention — the device goes silent, its protection gets removed, or (despite blocking) a new app appears. Use your own email address here, not your child's.
Enable the Accessibility Service — this is what actually blocks apps. Device Admin is already active automatically. It only checks which app is in the foreground, on-device — nothing is recorded, stored, or sent anywhere. Because this device was set up by scanning a QR code rather than installing from the Play Store, Android may show the toggle as a "Restricted setting" the first time — the in-app instructions on this screen walk you through the one-time "Allow restricted settings" step to unlock it.
Pay, or tap Restore previous purchase if you already bought it — open the Play Store app once first if it doesn't find the purchase right away, to let it register the account. Your payment is tied to your Google account through Play Billing, not to the specific copy of the app installed on this exact phone, so restoring finds that same purchase and unlocks Brickify again — no second charge.