Use Intune "Wipe" or Use Windows 10 "Reset this PC"

Question

We are moving to using Autopilot for provisioning our Windows 10 desktops, so our traditional method of OS reimaging to repurpose a device or to address various OS and application corruption type issues will be gone. The modern way of addressing these issues appears to be to use either Intune’s Wipe or the local Windows 10 recovery called Reset this PC.

Intune’s Wipe and the Windows 10 Reset this PC both look to offer similar options to either keep the user accounts and data or reset the operating system to its default state. All our desktops are Intune enrolled. It would be helpful to get some guidance and explanation about how Intune's Wipe and Reset this PC are different, and when one option should be used instead of the other.

What are the differences between Intune’s Wipe and the local Windows 10 Reset this PC? Do they both equally restore the OS to the same state?

When would you want to use Intune’s Wipe instead of using the Windows 10 Reset this PC?

Answer 1

@Brandon Peters Thanks for posting in our Q&A.

They will both restores a device to its factory default settings. However, if we choose "Retain enrollment state and user account", wipe action is different from PC reset. Wipe actions only wipes all MDM policies and keeps user accounts and data.

Generally, we use wipe action for giving the device to a new user, or when the device has been lost or stolen. When the device is lost or stolen, we can't touch the device to do reset action. We can only wipe it in intune portal.

Intune is a management service. It can manage devices. Based on my experience, it is more convenient to do something from intune portal.

Hope it will clarify something.

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Answer 2

The Wipe action restores a device to its factory default settings. The user data is kept if you choose the Retain enrollment state and user account checkbox. Otherwise, all data, apps, and settings will be removed.

Kindly go through the following Microsoft reference article to know in details:

Remove devices by using wipe, retire, or manually unenrolling the device

Answer 3

better is always to make a clean install of Windows.
BACKUP ALL YOUR DATA before

than use Media creation tool to make a bootable USB dongle for reinstall Windows
download here:
https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=691209

than you just boot your PC from that, and reinstall Windows.
it takes few minutes.

• resetting your PC may take hours, sometimes much more, sometimes even with questionable end with corruptions etc...

do that, - if possible.

Answer 4

It depends a bit on the options you select on the local wipe/reset option but they all basically do the same (Push-button-Reset)

As explained here

[https://call4cloud.nl/2022/03/ill-always-know-what-you-did-last-wipe/

Of course when you want to have an overview of all the different wipe/reset options in Intune this post should also give you some more information

[https://call4cloud.nl/2021/04/to-retire-or-not-to-wipe/#summary

In my opinion... wipe it is and it always should be :)