Unfreezing a frozen device using the unfreeze code

In cases where the device's Secure Endpoint Agent is unable to connect to the Absolute Monitoring Center, you can unfreeze a frozen device by entering the device's unfreeze code directly on the device.

If a device was frozen by an Offline Freeze rule because it entered a sanctioned country, you can't unfreeze it until it leaves that country and establishes an Internet connection. Learn more

To unfreeze a frozen device using the unfreeze code:

  1. Log in to the Secure Endpoint Console as a user with Perform permissions for Remove Freeze.

  2. Open the frozen device's Details > Summary page and scroll to the page's Device Freeze Status section.

    If the device is unenrolled (Disabled), scroll to the Archived Freeze Status section.

    Alternatively, to view unfreeze codes for all frozen devices, do the following:

    1. On the navigation bar, click Reports.
    2. Click Security under Categories, and click Device Freeze Status.
    3. Search for the device. To narrow your search, you can add a filter to the report.
  3. In the Unfreeze code column, click to show the masked unfreeze code and record it. An Unfreeze code unmasked event is logged to Event History.

  4. Do one of the following depending on the operating system of the device:

    Provide the unfreeze code to the device user along with the following instructions:

    1. Power on the frozen device. The full screen Device Freeze message shows.

    2. In the field that shows below the message, type the unfreeze code that was provided to you by your Administrator. You can use the keyboard's numeric keypad, if it exists. If you make a mistake, press Esc to clear your input and start again.

      If you're unfreezing a Windows tablet device without a physical keyboard, tap the keyboard icon in the bottom right of the screen to open the on-screen keyboard.

    3. Press enter or return on your keyboard. If an Invalid passcode error message shows, you entered an invalid unfreeze code. Press Esc on your keyboard and enter the code again.

      The device is unfrozen and the Login page shows.

      Note the following:

      • If you are unfreezing a Windows device that was frozen by a standard Firmware Freeze request, the Login page is not immediately shown. Instead, the device automatically reboots and the Freeze message shows again. Wait for up to 30 seconds while the OS freeze is removed. When this process is complete, the Freeze message closes and the Login page shows.

      • If you are unfreezing a Windows device that was frozen at both the firmware level by a Firmware Freeze over cellular and the OS level by a separate Freeze request, you will need to enter two unfreeze codes.

        1. First, enter the firmware level unfreeze code provided to you by your Administrator. After the device reboots, the OS level Freeze message shows.
        2. Wait for the Administrator to provide you with the OS level unfreeze code. Note that it may take a few minutes for the OS level unfreeze code to replace the firmware level code in the console.
        3. Enter the OS level unfreeze code. The Freeze message closes and the Login page shows.
    , Chromebook, and Linux

    Provide the unfreeze code to the device user along with the following instructions:

    1. Power on the frozen device. The full screen Device Freeze message shows.

    2. In the field that shows below the message, type the unfreeze code that was provided to you by your Administrator. You can use the keyboard's numeric keypad, if it exists. If you make a mistake, press Esc to clear your input and start again.

    3. Press enter or return on your keyboard. If an Invalid passcode error message shows, you entered an invalid unfreeze code. Press Esc on your keyboard and enter the code again.

      The device is unfrozen and the Login page shows.

      Linux devices require a reboot to unfreeze the device, so they will automatically reboot after you press enter or return.

After the device is unfrozen, a Device freeze removed by passcode event is logged to Event History in the console. If the device was frozen by a Firmware Freeze, a Firmware freeze removed by passcode is also logged.

In the unlikely event that the device does not unfreeze after you enter the correct passcode, contact Absolute Technical Support.

If a randomly generated unfreeze code is used to unfreeze a device that was frozen by an Offline Freeze rule, that particular code becomes invalid. To ensure that the device can be unfrozen again in the future, a new code is automatically generated and assigned to the device. You can view the new code on the device's Device Details page.