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Windows Autopilot deployment for existing devices: Install required modules to obtain Autopilot profiles from Intune

Autopilot user-driven Microsoft Entra join steps:

  • Step 2: Install required modules to obtain Autopilot profiles from Intune

For an overview of the Windows Autopilot deployment for existing devices workflow, see Windows Autopilot deployment for existing devices in Intune and Configuration Manager.

Install required modules to obtain Autopilot profiles from Intune

Note

The PowerShell code snippets in this section were updated in July of 2023 to use the Microsoft Graph PowerShell modules instead of the deprecated AzureAD Graph PowerShell modules. The Microsoft Graph PowerShell modules might require approval of additional permissions in Microsoft Entra ID when they're first used. The code snippets were also updated to force using an updated version of the WindowsAutoPilot module. For more information, see AzureAD and Important: Azure AD Graph Retirement and PowerShell Module Deprecation.

After making sure there's a valid Autopilot profile, the next step is to download the existing Autopilot profiles from Intune as JSON files. The JSON files contain all of the information regarding the Intune tenant and the Autopilot profile. After the JSON files are downloaded from Intune, Configuration Manager packages that contain the JSON files are created. The Configuration Manager packages are then used to install the JSON file on the device during the Windows Autopilot deployment for existing devices task sequence.

The JSON file is installed on the device to the offline Windows installation during the WinPE portion of the Configuration Manager task sequence. The JSON file makes the Autopilot profile available to the Windows out-of-box experience (OOBE) so that it can run the Autopilot deployment when Windows is started for the first time. The JSON file eliminates the need for Windows OOBE to have to first download the Autopilot profile from Intune.

Note

Windows OOBE still checks to see if there are any Autopilot profiles assigned to the device even if a JSON file is present. If the device is an Autopilot device and there's an Autopilot profile assigned to the device, the Autopilot profile is downloaded from Intune and used instead of the JSON file.

Before the Autopilot profiles are downloaded from Intune as JSON files, certain modules need to be installed on the device where the Autopilot profile will be downloaded. These modules are required to obtain the Autopilot profile from Intune. For this tutorial and to simplify the process, installation of these modules is performed on the Configuration Manager site server. However, any device with access to Intune can be used.

To install the necessary modules to download the Autopilot profiles as a JSON file, follow these steps:

  1. Sign into the Configuration Manager site server or other device that can access Intune.

  2. On the device, open a PowerShell window as an administrator by right-clicking on the Start menu and selecting Windows PowerShell (Admin)/Windows Terminal (Admin) and then selecting Yes at the User Account Control (UAC) prompt.

  3. Copy the following commands by selecting Copy at the top right corner of the below PowerShell code block:

    Install-PackageProvider -Name NuGet -MinimumVersion 2.8.5.201 -Force
Install-Module -Name WindowsAutopilotIntune -MinimumVersion 5.4.0 -Force
Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph.Groups -Force
Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph.Authentication -Force
Install-Module Microsoft.Graph.Identity.DirectoryManagement -Force

Import-Module -Name WindowsAutopilotIntune -MinimumVersion 5.4
Import-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph.Groups
Import-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph.Authentication
Import-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph.Identity.DirectoryManagement

  4. Paste the commands into the elevated PowerShell window and then select Enter on the keyboard to run the commands. Enter might need to be selected a second time to run the last command in the code block. Once all the commands run successfully, the required modules are installed.

Verify that Autopilot profiles from Intune can be viewed

Once the required modules are installed, the following steps can be taken to verify that Autopilot profiles from Intune can be viewed:

Note

The following steps don't export the Autopilot profiles as a JSON file. It only verifies that the Autopilot profiles can be viewed.

  1. Copy the following command by selecting Copy at the top right corner of the below PowerShell code block:

    Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "Device.ReadWrite.All", "DeviceManagementManagedDevices.ReadWrite.All", "DeviceManagementServiceConfig.ReadWrite.All", "Domain.ReadWrite.All", "Group.ReadWrite.All", "GroupMember.ReadWrite.All", "User.Read"

  2. Paste the command into the elevated PowerShell window and then select Enter on the keyboard to run the command.

  3. A Sign in to your account window appears. Sign in with a Microsoft Entra account that has access to Intune and the Autopilot profiles.

  4. Copy the following command by selecting Copy at the top right corner of the below PowerShell code block:

    Get-AutopilotProfile | ConvertTo-AutopilotConfigurationJSON

  5. Paste the command into the elevated PowerShell window and then select Enter on the keyboard to run the command.

  6. All Autopilot profiles available in Intune are displayed in the PowerShell window in JSON format. Each individual Autopilot profile is encapsulated within braces ({}).

Next step: Create JSON file for Autopilot profiles

Step 3: Create JSON file for Autopilot profiles

Related content

For more information on installing the required modules to obtain Autopilot profiles from Intune, see the following articles: