---
title: Manage Devices Receiving Live Updates
description: View and manage devices that receive Live Updates from Capawesome Cloud — channel assignment, forcing a channel for QA, and deleting devices.
---

# Manage Devices

A **device** is a unique installation of your app that has connected to Capawesome Cloud to check for Live Updates. Each device is identified by a unique device ID and receives updates from a single channel. Managing devices lets you monitor and control how updates are distributed.

## Channel assignment

A device's channel is chosen by your app. Pass the `channel` directly to `sync()` (or `fetchLatestBundle()`) at the call site — for example, deriving it from the native version code so updates stay [version-compatible](binary-compatible-changes.md):

=== "Capacitor"

    ```typescript
    import { LiveUpdate } from "@capawesome/capacitor-live-update";

    const { versionCode } = await LiveUpdate.getVersionCode();
    await LiveUpdate.sync({ channel: `production-${versionCode}` });
    ```

=== "Cordova"

    ```javascript
    const { versionCode } = await cordova.plugins.LiveUpdate.getVersionCode();
    await cordova.plugins.LiveUpdate.sync({ channel: `production-${versionCode}` });
    ```

For the different ways to select a channel — including the recommended native default channel — see [Subscribe to a channel](channel-subscription.md).

## Manage Devices

You can manage devices associated with your app using the Capawesome CLI or the Capawesome Cloud Console.

### Create a device

Devices are created automatically when a user checks for a live update for the first time by calling the `fetchLatestBundle(...)` or `sync()` method from the [Live Update SDK](setup.md).

### Force a channel

By default, devices receive live updates from the channel set by the Live Update SDK. You can override this by forcing a specific channel on a device. When a channel is forced, the SDK-selected channel is ignored and the device receives updates exclusively from the forced channel instead. This can be useful for debugging, testing, or manually managing the channel for a specific device. Read our [blog post](../../blog/posts/capawesome-cloud-forced-channel-assignments.md) for more details and use cases.

=== "CLI"

    To force a channel on a device using the [Capawesome CLI](../cli/index.md), use the [`apps:devices:forcechannel`](../cli/commands.md#appsdevicesforcechannel) command:

    ```bash
    npx @capawesome/cli apps:devices:forcechannel
    ```

    You will be prompted to select the app and provide the device ID and channel name.

    To remove the forced channel and return to normal SDK behavior, use the [`apps:devices:unforcechannel`](../cli/commands.md#appsdevicesunforcechannel) command:

    ```bash
    npx @capawesome/cli apps:devices:unforcechannel
    ```

=== "Console"

    To force a channel on a device using the [Capawesome Cloud Console](https://console.cloud.capawesome.io/){:target="_blank"}, navigate to the app you want to force the channel for, and click on the [Devices](https://console.cloud.capawesome.io/apps/_/devices){:target="_blank"} menu item under the "Live Updates" section in the sidebar.
    Next, click on "Edit" in the "Actions" menu of the device you want to force a channel for. In the dialog, select the channel you want to force and confirm the changes.

    ![Force Channel](../../assets/images/screenshots/cloud-app-devices-forced-channel.png)

### Delete a device

A device can be deleted at any time.

=== "CLI"

    To delete a device using the [Capawesome CLI](../cli/index.md), use the [`apps:devices:delete`](../cli/commands.md#appsdevicesdelete) command:

    ```bash
    npx @capawesome/cli apps:devices:delete
    ```

    You will be prompted to select the app you want to delete the device for and to provide the ID of the device.
    The CLI will then delete the device from the Capawesome Cloud.

=== "Console"

    To delete a device using the [Capawesome Cloud Console](https://console.cloud.capawesome.io/){:target="_blank"}, navigate to the app you want to delete the device for, and click on the [Devices](https://console.cloud.capawesome.io/apps/_/devices){:target="_blank"} menu item under the "Live Updates" section in the sidebar.
    Next, select the device you want to delete. In the menu, click on the "Delete" button to delete the device.

    ![Delete Device](../../assets/images/screenshots/cloud-app-devices-delete.png)

Please note that deleting a device will **not lower your Monthly Active Users (MAU) count** as this is based on unique devices that have connected within the current billing period.