Edit

Share via

Use Configuration Manager to install Microsoft 365 Insider on Windows devices

  • Article

If you use Microsoft Configuration Manager (current branch) to deploy software in your organization, you can use it to install Microsoft 365 Insider on Windows devices.

Install Microsoft 365 Insider when you do a new Microsoft 365 Apps installation

Follow these steps to use Configuration Manager (current branch) to install Microsoft 365 Insider on a Windows device that doesn't already have Microsoft 365 Apps installed. These steps also configure Microsoft 365 Apps to get updates automatically from Microsoft directly from the internet, which is our recommendation.

  1. In the Configuration Manager console, create a device collection and add the appropriate devices to that collection. For more information about creating and managing collections, see Introduction to collections in Configuration Manager.
  2. To create the Microsoft 365 Apps installation package, navigate to Software Library > Overview > Office 365 Client Management in the Configuration Manager console.
  3. Select Office 365 Installer in the upper-right pane to start the Office 365 Client Installation Wizard.
  4. On the Application Settings page, provide a name and description for the app, enter the download location for the files, and then select Next. The location must be specified as \\server\share.
  5. On the Office Settings page, select Go to the Office Customization Tool. This step opens the Office Customization Tool.
  6. In the Office Customization Tool, choose the following settings:
    • For the architecture, we recommend choosing 64-bit. But, if you’re not sure, see Choose between the 64-bit or 32-bit version of Office before selecting.
    • For the Office suite, choose Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise or Microsoft 365 Apps for business, depending on which product you’re licensed for.
    • For the update channel, select Current Channel (Preview). (If you want Beta Channel, follow these steps).
  7. Configure other settings, such as languages, as appropriate for your organization.
  8. After the Applications preferences section, select Finish, and then select Submit.
  9. On the Deployment page, choose Yes to deploy the application, and then select Next. If you choose not to deploy the package in the wizard, you can deploy or edit it later. To find the application, go to Software Library > Application Management > Applications.
  10. On the General page, choose the collection you created in Step 1, and then select Next.
  11. Configure the remainder of the wizard as you would for a typical application deployment in your organization. For more information, see Create and deploy an application with Configuration Manager.
  12. After the wizard finishes, go to the \\server\share that you specified in Step 4. Open the configuration.xml file in a text editor, such as Notepad. Change the OfficeMgmtCOM part of the file to OfficeMgmtCOM="False" and then save the file.
  13. After Microsoft 365 Apps download and install on the user’s device, open an app, such as Word, and go to File › Account. Under the About section, you should see Current Channel (Preview).

Frequently asked questions

How do I install Beta Channel?

You can't choose Beta Channel for the update channel on the Deployment Settings page in Step 6. To install Beta Channel, after the wizard finishes, go to the \\server\share that you specified in Step 5. Then open the configuration.xml file in a text editor, such as Notepad. Change the Channel part of the file to Channel="BetaChannel" and make sure OfficeMgmtCOM="False". Then save the file.

Note

Keep in mind that Beta Channel isn't supported.

Why do I need to change the OfficeMgmtCOM setting in Step 12?

Using OfficeMgmtCOM="False" configures Microsoft 365 Apps to get updates automatically from Microsoft directly from the internet, instead of Configuration Manager downloading and distributing the updates. Getting updates for Microsoft 365 Insider directly from the internet simplifies update management for you. Updates are delivered automatically to Microsoft 365 Insider when they're released.

If you use Group Policy in your organization, you can turn off OfficeMgmtCOM by setting the “Management of Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise” policy to Disabled. You can find that policy under Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 2016 (Machine)\Updates in the Group Policy Management Console.

I already have Microsoft 365 Apps installed. Do I need to go through all these steps to get Microsoft 365 Insider?

If you already have Microsoft 365 Apps installed, you don’t have to uninstall and reinstall Microsoft 365 Apps to move those devices to Microsoft 365 Insider. You can use Group Policy and the following policies:

  • Update Channel
  • Management of Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise
  • Update Path

These policies can be found under Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 2016 (Machine)\Updates in the Group Policy Management Console.

Note

When you configure these policies, Configuration Manager will no longer manage updates to Microsoft 365 Apps.

For information about the Update Channel policy, see Use Group Policy to install Microsoft 365 Insider on Windows devices.

For the Management of Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise policy, set it to Disabled.

For the Update Path policy, set the policy to Enabled, but leave the update location blank. That way Microsoft 365 Apps get updates from Microsoft directly from the internet, which is our recommendation.

After you configure the policies, it might take at least 90 minutes before they're applied to the device. Then, the Microsoft 365 Insider channel should be installed the next time Microsoft 365 Apps checks for updates. You can force Microsoft 365 Apps to check for updates by going to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now in an app, such as Word.