Activate via device groups

Group activation is recommended for automated and large-scale activation. Offline devices will be pending activation and will try to activate once they turn online. When using group activation, new devices added to selected groups will be activated automatically. You can only select a maximum of 100 groups at a time for activation.

Activate via devices

Individual device activation is recommended for selective activation, allowing you to activate specific devices without affecting the rest of the group. Offline devices will be pending activation and will try to activate once they turn online. You can only select a maximum of 100 devices at a time for activation.

Manage activations

To access and manage your activations, click the Manage Activations button located in the top right corner of the DEX Essentials page header.

The Manage activations page has 2 tabs: Activated and Pending.

Activated: Shows all devices and groups you manage that are currently activated with DEX Essentials.

Actions:

  • Deactivate DEX Essentials on an individually-activated device.
  • Deactivate DEX Essentials on a group.

Note: Devices activated on the group level cannot be individually edited.

Pending: Shows all devices in pending states or for which (de)installation has failed.

Status:

  • Pending activation/deactivation – Offline devices pending (de)activation will attempt to (de)activate once they come online.
  • Failed activation/deactivation – devices where there was an error in the (de)activation.

Actions:

  • Retry for failed activation/deactivation
  • Cancel activation for pending activation/deactivation

Note: Pending activations/deactivations for devices activated on the group level cannot be canceled.

 

Deprecation of activation via TeamViewer policy

TeamViewer Host or Full Version 64-bit (x64) version 15.71 or earlier uses a different activation process, where TeamViewer DEX Essentials is activated for the devices via a TeamViewer policy by adding the Advanced Monitoring (using 1E technology) policy rule. An existing TeamViewer policy can be used (updated with an additional setting), activating TeamViewer DEX Essentials for all online devices currently assigned to the policy.

Activation via policy is being deprecated and replaced with activation via devices/groups.

Please update TeamViewer Host or Full version on devices using this setting. Devices must be updated to at least TeamViewer version 15.72.4 or later to manage activation via devices/groups. For devices with DEX Essentials currently activated via policy, once TeamViewer is updated on the device, the device will automatically migrate to the new way of managing activations and remain activated with DEX Essentials.

Functionality

Insights

Upon product activation, the 1E offline agent is deployed to each device. This begins the delivery of instruction packages that scan for common IT health issues. TeamViewer DEX Essentials presents actionable insights across all monitored devices, and users can drill down to specific topics by clicking on device icons.

If a compliance check fails, the device is displayed as Impacted and, therefore, non-compliant.

One feature of TeamViewer DEX Essentials is the generation of Insights. This is done via prebuilt policies applied to devices under management, via the installation of the 1E agent. The following insight categories are provided:

Performance

Improve productivity and experience by eliminating device slowdowns before they impact work.

Applications

Keep employees productive by resolving app crashes and slowdowns that impact productivity.

Operating System

Reduce frustration and IT noise by keeping devices stable and responsive, without user disruption.

Security

Ensure critical security services and apps are working correctly, keeping your business secure.

Networking

Ensure seamless collaboration and fewer support tickets by resolving connectivity issues before users even notice.

Another Insights feature is the Purpose and context section, which is found in the device drawer. This section provides a description of the Insight itself, explaining its function and how it can help.

The following breakdown explains the insights provided by TeamViewer DEX Essentials.

Insight
Reasoning
Compliance Check
Remediation Process

Critical Services

Essential to core system functions such as networking, printing, updates, and system management. If any of these services are not in their expected state, whether stopped or incorrectly configured, it can lead to failed updates, broken group policies, delayed troubleshooting, or degraded user experience.

  • An endpoint fails compliance if one of the set of monitored services is not in the expected state
  • Compliance check is run if any monitored service changes state (no fixed check interval).
  • For the BITS Service, remediation consists of setting the service startup mode to Manual and stopping the service.
  • For all other services, remediation consists of setting the service startup mode to Automatic and starting the service.

Disk Space Management

The Disk Space Management Insight monitors free disk space on endpoints. When disk space falls below a trigger value, the insight check indicates that the endpoint is not compliant. Disk space can then be freed manually or automatically.

 

  • An endpoint fails compliance if its primary drive (OS drive) free space falls below 10 GB.
  • Compliance check is run every 4 hours.
  • The Windows disk cleanup manager (cleanmgr.exe) is run with the /autoclean parameter.
  • This removes temporary setup files and other files that should not be required on the endpoint, which may have been retained after Windows updates.
  • User files are not affected. This includes the contents of the Recycle Bin.

Office 365 Crash

The Office 365 Crashes Insight examines the activity history of core Office 365 components to determine whether any of them have crashed within a 24-hour window.

  • An endpoint fails compliance if any monitored Office 365 component has crashed more than once in that period.
  • Compliance check if Office 365 has crashed more than once in a 24-hour period.
  • Remediation is attempted only for the first logged-on user who is found.
  • The Office File Cache is deleted.
  • The Office Roaming Cache is deleted.

Operating System Crash

Operating system crashes and BSODs are serious indicators of system instability, often caused by driver issues, hardware faults, or corrupted OS files. Even a single crash can disrupt work, lead to data loss, and signal deeper reliability problems.

  • An endpoint fails compliance if any monitored OS component has crashed at least once in that period.
  • Compliance check once every 4 hours.

The Windows System File Checker tool (SFC) is run with the /scannow parameter to detect and repair corrupt Windows operating system files.

Page File Configuration

The Page File Size Insight determines whether the page file on the operating system disk is sized appropriately for the device's physical memory. It allows this to be automatically adjusted to the appropriate size.

  • An endpoint is compliant if the page file size is considered appropriate for the amount of physical memory reported by the endpoint.
  • Compliance check once every 48 hours.
  • If the endpoint reports that it has SSD-based storage, Windows will automatically manage the pagefile size.
  • If the endpoint reports HDD-based storage, the pagefile size is set to 1.5 * the physical memory reported by the endpoint UNLESS this would result in less than 3 GB free disk space. In that event, no change is made to the page file size.

System Restore

The System Restore Insight verifies that system restore functionality has been activated on an endpoint.

  • An endpoint fails compliance if System Restore functionality is found to be disabled.
  • Compliance check once every 48 hours.

Remediation consists of running the PowerShell Enable-ComputerRestore cmdlet on drive C

Teams Crash

Frequent Teams crashes can disrupt meetings, reduce user productivity, delay decision-making, and cause department frustration.

  • An endpoint fails compliance if any monitored Teams component crashes more than once during that period.
  • Compliance check if Microsoft Teams has crashed more than once in a 24-hour period.
  • Teams cache is deleted, and required updates are being run.
  • Remediation is attempted for all logged-on users.

Time Sync

The Time Sync Insight verifies that the endpoint local clock is correctly synchronized with the time reported by the platform switch component.

  • An endpoint fails compliance if the endpoint's local time differs by more than 30 seconds in either direction from the reported Platform Switch time.
  • Compliance check once every 4 hours.

Remediation consists of running the Windows w32tm executable with the /resync parameter

Windows Fast Startup

The Windows Fast Startup Insight checks whether an endpoint is configured for Windows Fast Startup. If it is, the remediation instruction allows the feature to be turned off on the target endpoints.

  • An endpoint fails compliance if the Fast Startup option is enabled.
  • Compliance check once every 48 hours
  • Customers may choose to configure the insight to be remediated manually (the default) or automatically. In either case, the actual remediation process is identical.
  • The Fast Startup registry key is updated to disable Fast Startup.

WMI Repository

The WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) repository is a core Windows component used by system tools, scripts, and management platforms to retrieve hardware and software information. If the repository becomes inconsistent or corrupted, it can cause failed inventory scans, broken automation, and inaccurate device reporting, impacting everything from software deployments to compliance audits.

  • An endpoint is compliant if the WMI integrity check returns success.
  • The WMI integrity check is performed using the Microsoft WinMGMT tool.
  • Compliance check once every 48 hours

Remediation consists of running the wmimgmt tool with the /salvagerepository option. This will attempt to repair any repository corruption.

Windows Defender Signature Age

The Windows Defender Signature Age insight determines the age of the most recent Windows Defender Signature file. It allows the file update to be manually or automatically initiated to ensure that the most recent signature file has been uploaded.

  • An endpoint fails compliance if the signature file is more than one day (24 hours) old.
  • Compliance check once every 24 hours.

The PowerShell cmdlet Update-MpSignature is run as shown below:

Update-MpSignature -UpdateSource MMPC.

OneDrive Sync

If OneDrive is not syncing correctly, the user may find that files they update locally in their OneDrive folder are not synchronized with the cloud copy or that changes they make to the local OneDrive folder, such as adding or deleting files, are not mirrored in the cloud. This can cause data loss or other productivity issues.

  • An endpoint fails compliance if the latest entry in the OneDrive log folder for the user is more than one day old.
  • Compliance check once every 24 hours.

The OneDrive.exe control program is run as shown below:

OneDrive /reset

Windows Firewall

If the Windows Firewall is not enabled, or not configured to block inbound ports, this can allow malicious software to make connections inbound to the endpoint and potentially exfiltrate information from the endpoint.

  • An endpoint fails compliance if the firewall status is enabled for all profiles and inbound ports are blocked.
  • Compliance check once every 24 hours.

Remediation consists of running the PowerShell cmdlet get-netfirewallprofile. This is run twice, first to ensure all profiles are enabled and secondly to ensure that inbound ports are blocked and outbound ports are allowed.

ThreatDown

If an endpoint running ThreatDown is not correctly configured, essential antivirus protection might be lost, allowing an attack against the endpoint.

  • An endpoint fails compliance if any of the monitored services are not running or their startup mode is not Automatic.
  • Compliance check every 5 minutes
  • If any monitored service is not running or not configured with a startup mode of Automatic, it is started, and the startup mode is configured to Automatic.
  • Note that some MalwareBytes services are marked as Protected. This should mean that they cannot be changed in their state or startup mode.

Windows Update Failure

Windows Update is critically important to ensure that endpoints are fully protected from malware and to ensure that all defects in software corrected by updates are deployed in a timely manner.

  • An endpoint fails compliance if the latest update has not run in the last 24 hours or there are pending updates 
  • Compliance check once every 24 hours.

Remediation consists of running the usoclient utility. It is run twice, as follows:

usoclient startinteractivescan

usoclient startscan

TeamViewer service check

The TeamViewer agent allows the system administrator to access and control endpoints remotely. If the service is not running, the agent will not be able to allow this functionality.

  • An endpoint fails compliance if the TeamViewer service is not running or not registered.
  • Compliance check once every 24 hours.

The TeamViewer service is started, and its startup mode is set to ‘Automatic’.

Microsoft System File Checker

Microsoft’s System File Checker is intended to scan for and optionally repair scenarios in which one or more system files, such as DLLs, appear to be corrupt.

For more information on the SFC tool, see the link below

SFC scannow - Microsoft Community

  • An endpoint fails compliance if sfc /VerifyOnly reports any errors.
  • Compliance check once every 24 hours.

Remediation consists of running sfc /ScanNow. This will attempt to repair any detected corrupt files.

Remediation

TeamViewer DEX Essentials not only reports issues but also provides remediation opportunities.  The remediation dashboard provides feedback on what actions were performed and whether further attention is needed.

Users can select individual online non-compliant devices to remediate or select device groups to include all devices within the group. The remediation runs across selected devices, and progress can be monitored via the View Remediation interface.

The potential statuses of remediation are Ongoing, Completed, and Failed. The steps taken during remediation are displayed in the device drawer.

Automation

TeamViewer DEX Essentials also allows you to automate remediation techniques, which means you only have to perform the remediation manually once. Automating recurring or high-volume remediations helps reduce manual effort and response time.

Users can automate a given issue by selecting Automate from the insights panel. Once confirmed, remediation will automatically execute whenever the same issue is detected in the future.

Automation can also be stopped and resumed at any time. All automated remediations are marked with a green checkmark, which provides an instant view into what is being handled automatically.

Validation

TeamViewer DEX Essentials provides the Value and benefit dashboard for validation purposes. This provides insight into:

  • The number of remediations and automations over time.
  • The number of remediations and automations per insight.
  • The number of tickets avoided.
  • Time saved by IT teams.
  • Estimated cost savings through automation and early issue detection.

Note: the parameters attached to costs related to the financial impact calculations are currently pre-set based on global market assumptions.

Parameterization

Users can also personalize key metrics to better reflect their organization’s needs:

  • Set custom values for average hourly costs and disruption times for both end users and support teams.

  • Calculate the percentage of tickets saved through DEX  remediations & automations.

  • Choose a preferred currency for all cost-related conversions.