Share via

Manual registration for new devices

  • Article

Microsoft Managed Desktop can work with brand-new devices, or you can reuse devices you might already have. If you reuse devices, you must reimage them. You're able to register devices with Microsoft Managed Desktop in the Microsoft Intune admin center.

Note

Working with a partner to obtain devices? If so, you don't need to worry about getting the hardware hashes; they'll take care of that for you. Make sure your partner establishes a relationship with you at the Partner Center. Your partner can learn more at Partner Center help.

Once this relationship established, your partner will simply register devices on your behalf – no further action required from you. If you want to see the details, or your partner has questions, see Partner registration. Once the devices are registered, you can proceed with checking the image and delivering the devices to your users.

Prepare to register brand-new devices

Once you have the new devices in hand, you'll follow these steps:

  1. Obtain the hardware hash for each device.
  2. Merge the hash data.
  3. Register the devices in Microsoft Managed Desktop.
  4. Double-check that the image is correct.
  5. Deliver the device.

Obtain the hardware hash

Microsoft Managed Desktop identifies each device uniquely by referencing its hardware hash. You have three options for getting this information.

To obtain the hardware hash:

PowerShell script method

You can use the Get-WindowsAutoPilotInfo.ps1 PowerShell script on the PowerShell Gallery website. For more information about device identification and hardware hash, see Adding devices to Windows Autopilot.

To use the Powershell script method:

  1. Open a PowerShell prompt with administrative rights.
  2. Run Install-Script -Name Get-WindowsAutoPilotInfo.
  3. Run powershell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted.
  4. Run Get-WindowsAutoPilotInfo -OutputFile <path>\hardwarehash.csv.
  5. Run powershell -ExecutionPolicy restricted to prevent subsequent unrestricted scripts from running.

Flash drive method

To use the flash drive method:

  1. On a device other than the one you're registering, insert a USB drive.
  2. Open a PowerShell prompt with administrative rights.
  3. Run Save-Script -Name Get-WindowsAutoPilotInfo -Path <pathToUsb>
  4. Turn on the device you're registering, but don't start the setup experience. If you accidentally start the setup experience, you'll have to reset or reimage the device.
  5. Insert the USB drive, and then press SHIFT + F10.
  6. Open a PowerShell prompt with administrative rights, and then run cd <pathToUsb>.
  7. Run Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
  8. Run .\Get-WindowsAutoPilotInfo -OutputFile <path>\hardwarehash.csv
  9. Remove the USB drive, and then shut down the device by running shutdown -s -t 0

Important

Do not power on the device you are registering again until you've completed registration for it.

Merge hash data

You'll need to have the data in the CSV files combined into a single file to complete registration. Here's a sample PowerShell script to make it easy:

Import-CSV -Path (Get-ChildItem -Filter *.csv) | ConvertTo-Csv -NoTypeInformation | % {$_.Replace('"', '')} | Out-File .\aggregatedDevices.csv

Note

Extra columns are not supported. Quotes are not supported. Only ANSI-format text files can be used (not Unicode). Headers are case-sensitive. Editing the file in Excel and saving it as a CSV file will not generate a usable file due to these requirements. Be sure to preserve any leading zeroes in the device serial numbers.

Manually register devices in the Microsoft Managed Desktop Devices blade

To manually register devices in the Microsoft Managed Desktop Devices blade:

  1. Collect the hardware hash for new devices.
  2. Go to the Microsoft Intune admin center and select Devices in the left navigation pane.
  3. In the Microsoft Managed Desktop section, select Devices.
  4. In the Microsoft Managed Desktop Devices workspace, select + Register devices. A fly-in menu opens to register new devices.
  5. In the File upload box, provide the path to the CSV file you created previously.
  6. Select a device profile from the dropdown menu. You can only select one device profile at a time (Standard, SensitiveData, PowerUser, or Kiosk).
  7. Optional. Turn on the Shared device toggle if you want to register Shared devices with Microsoft Managed Desktop.
  8. Select Register devices. The system will add the devices to your list of devices. If successful, the device will show as Ready for user meaning it's ready and waiting for a user to start using.
  9. If registering Shared devices, the Shared Device column will be marked with Yes.

Note

If you manually change the Microsoft Entra group membership of a device, it will be automatically reassigned to the group for its device profile and removed from any conflicting groups.

You can monitor the progress of device registration on the main page. Possible states reported include:

State Description
Registration Pending Registration isn't completed yet. Check back later.
Registration failed Registration couldn't be completed. For more information, see Fix device registration errors.
Ready for user Registration succeeded. The device is now ready to be delivered to the user. Microsoft Managed Desktop will guide them through first-time set-up, so there's no need for you to do any further preparations.
Active The device has been delivered to the user and they've registered with your tenant. This state also indicates that they're regularly using the device.
Inactive The device has been delivered to the user and they've registered with your tenant. However, they haven't used the device recently (in the last seven days).

Fix device registration errors

Error message Details
Device not found We couldn't register this device because we couldn't find a match for the provided manufacturer, model, or serial number. Confirm these values with your device supplier.
Hardware hash not valid The hardware hash you provided for this device wasn't formatted correctly. Double-check the hardware hash and then resubmit.
Device already registered This device is already registered to your organization. No further action required.
Device claimed by another organization This device has already been claimed by another organization. Check with your device supplier.
Unexpected error Your request couldn't be automatically processed. Contact Support and provide the Request ID: <requestId>

Check the image

If your device has come from a Microsoft Managed Desktop partner supplier, the image should be correct.

You're also welcome to apply the image on your own if you prefer. To get started, contact the Microsoft representative you're working with. The representative will provide you the location and steps for applying the image.

Autopilot group tag

When you use the admin center to register devices, we automatically assign the Autopilot Group Tag associated with the device profile listed in Register devices by using Partner Center. The service monitors all Microsoft Managed Desktop devices daily and assigns the group tag to any that don't already have it.

Deliver the device

Important

Before you hand off the device to your user, make sure you have obtained and applied the appropriate licenses for that user.

If all the licenses are applied, you can get your users ready to use devices. Then, your user can start up the device and proceed through the Windows setup experience.