Edit

Share via

Windows Autopilot device preparation user-driven Microsoft Entra join: Create a Windows Autopilot device preparation policy

  • Article
  • Applies to:
    ✅ Windows 11

Windows Autopilot device preparation user-driven Microsoft Entra join steps:

  • Step 6: Create Windows Autopilot device preparation policy

For an overview of the Windows Autopilot device preparation user-driven Microsoft Entra join workflow, see Windows Autopilot device preparation user-driven Microsoft Entra join overview.

Create user-driven Microsoft Entra join Windows Autopilot device preparation policy

The Autopilot policy specifies how the device is configured during Windows Setup and what is shown during the out-of-box experience (OOBE).

To create a user-driven Microsoft Entra join Windows Autopilot device preparation policy, follow these steps:

  1. Sign into the Microsoft Intune admin center.

  2. In the Home screen, select Devices in the left hand pane.

  3. In the Devices | Overview screen, under By platform, select Windows.

  4. In the Windows | Windows devices screen, under Device onboarding, select Enrollment.

  5. In the Windows | Windows enrollment screen, under Windows Autopilot device preparation, select Device preparation policies.

  6. In the Device preparation policies screen, select Create.

  7. The Create profile screen opens. In the Introduction page, select Next.

  8. In the Basics page:

    1. In the Name text box, enter a name for the Windows Autopilot device preparation policy.

    2. In the Description text box, if desired, enter a description for the Windows Autopilot device preparation policy.

    3. Once a name and description is entered, select Next.

  9. In the Device group page, select the Search by group name.. box, and then either select or search for the device group created in Step 3: Create a device group. Make sure to select the device group created in Step 3: Create a device group and not the user group created in Step 4: Create a user group. Once the correct device group is selected, select Next.

  10. In the Configuration settings page, configure the various settings as desired and then select Next. For detailed information on the configurations on this page, see the next section Configuration settings.

  11. In the Scope tags page, select Next.

    Note

    Scope tags are optional. For this tutorial, scope tags are being skipped and left at the default scope tag. However if a custom scope tag needs to be specified, do so at this page. For more information about scope tags, see Use role-based access control and scope tags for distributed IT.

  12. In the Assignments page, select the Search by group name.. box, and then either select or search for the user group created in Step 4: Create a user group. Make sure to select the user group created in Step 4: Create a user group and not the device group created in Step 3: Create a device group. Once the correct user group is selected, select Next.

  13. In the Review + create page, review all settings to make sure they're all correct. Once everything is verified, select Save to finish creating the Windows Autopilot device preparation policy.

Configuration settings

The Configuration settings page has several configuration options. The following section describes each option in the Configuration settings page and what each option should be set to for a Microsoft Entra join Windows Autopilot device preparation deployment.

In the Configuration settings page:

  1. Expand the Out-of-box experience settings section by selecting it.

    1. Minutes allowed before showing installation error - enter the number of minutes allowed before failing a deployment.

      The value entered is for the whole deployment and not for an individual application install or PowerShell script. The acceptable value is an integer between 15 and 720.

    2. Custom error message - enter a custom message to display to the end-user if the deployment fails.

    3. Allow users to skip setup after multiple attempts - select either Yes or No as desired by toggling the switch.

      Normally after a deployment failure, a Retry button is displayed allowing the end-user to retry the deployment. Setting this option as Yes also adds a Continue anyway button that allows the deployment to just fail, signs the end-user in, and lets them continue to the desktop.

    4. Show link to diagnostics - select either Yes or No as desired by toggling the switch.

      If there's a deployment failure, setting this option to Yes displays a link at the deployment failure page allowing the end-user to retrieve diagnostic logs.

  2. Expand the Apps section by selecting it:

    The Apps section allows selection of up to 10 managed applications reference with the deployment. The applications specified here should be the essential applications that should be installed on the device before the end-user can start using the device.

    Important

    The applications selected in this setting should be assigned to the device security group previously specified in the Device group page. If applicable, the applications should also be configured to install in the System context since it's installed during OOBE when no user is signed in.

    1. Under Allowed Applications, select Add. The Select Apps pane opens.

    2. In the Select Apps pane:

      1. Scroll through the list of applications or use the Search box to search for desired applications.

      2. Once a desired application is found, select the Add button next to the application. The application is added to the list under Selected Apps.

      3. Once all of the desired applications are selected, select Save.

    All of the selected applications should display under Allowed Applications.

    Note

    The following types of applications are supported for use with Windows Autopilot device preparation:

    In addition, Windows Autopilot device preparation supports deploying both Win32 and line-of-business (LOB) applications in the same deployment.

  3. Expand the Deployment settings section by selecting it:

    1. Deployment mode - select User-driven in the drop-down menu.

    2. Deployment type - select Single user in the drop-down menu.

    3. Join type - select Microsoft Entra joined in the drop-down menu.

    4. User account type - select either Standard User or Administrator as desired by toggling the switch.

    Important

    By default, when a device is enrolled in Microsoft Entra ID, the user is automatically added to the Administrator group on the device. If this setting is set to Standard User, the Windows Autopilot device preparation deployment ensures that the user is removed from the Administrator group before the deployment completes, the user is signed in, and the user reaches the desktop.

  4. Expand the Scripts section by selecting it:

    The Scripts section allows selection of up to 10 PowerShell scripts to install during the deployment. The PowerShell scripts specified here should be the essential PowerShell scripts that should run on the device before the end-user can start using the device.

    Important

    The PowerShell scripts selected in this setting should be assigned to the device security group previously specified in the Device group page. The PowerShell script should also be configured to run in the System context since the PowerShell scripts run during OOBE when no user is signed in. The PowerShell script can be set to run in the System context by setting the option Run this script using the logged on credentials to No in the properties of the PowerShell script.

    1. Under Allowed Scripts, select Add. The Select Scripts pane opens.

    2. In the Select Scripts pane:

      1. Scroll through the list of PowerShell scripts or use the Search box to search for desired PowerShell scripts.

      2. Once a desired PowerShell script is found, select the Add button next to the PowerShell script. The PowerShell script is added to the list under Selected Scripts.

      3. Once all of the desired PowerShell scripts are selected, select Save.

    All of the selected PowerShell scripts should display under Allowed Scripts.

Important

Make sure that the device that the Windows Autopilot device preparation deployment is run on isn't registered or added as a Windows Autopilot device. If the device is registered or added as a Windows Autopilot device, the Windows Autopilot profile takes precedence over the Windows Autopilot device preparation policy. In this scenario, the Windows Autopilot deployment runs instead of the Windows Autopilot device preparation deployment. If a device needs to be removed as a Windows Autopilot device, see Deregister a device.

Policy priority

If multiple Windows Autopilot device preparation polices are deployed to a user, the policy with the highest priority as displayed in the Home > Enroll devices | Windows enrollment > Device preparation policies screen gets priority. The policy with the highest priority is higher in the list and has the smallest number under the Priority column. To change a policy's priority, move it in the list by dragging the policy within the list.

Next step: Add Windows corporate identifier to device (optional)

Step 7: Add Windows corporate identifier to device (optional)

Note

Adding a corporate identifier to the device is an optional step. If corporate identifiers aren't being used, then the next step is to deploy the device.