Ideally, the OEM, reseller, or distributor from which the device was purchased performs the registration of a device with Windows Autopilot. However it's also possible to register devices manually. A device might need to be registered manually if:
The device was obtained from a non-participant device manufacturer or reseller.
The device is a virtual machine (VM).
The device doesn't otherwise qualify for automatic registration, such as an existing legacy device.
The following diagram shows how manual registration and OEM registration might be used to deploy both new and existing devices with Windows Autopilot.
To manually register a device, a device's hardware hash first has to be captured. Once this process is completed, the resulting hardware hash can be uploaded to the Windows Autopilot service. Because this process requires booting the device into Windows to obtain the hardware hash, manual registration is intended primarily for testing and evaluation scenarios.
Note
Customers can only register devices with a hardware hash. Other methods (PKID, tuple) are available through OEMs or CSP partners as described in the previous sections.
Platforms for device registration
After the hardware hashes are captured from existing devices, they can be uploaded in any of the following ways:
Microsoft Intune - Intune is the preferred mechanism for all customers.
Partner Center - Partner Center is used by CSP partners to register devices on behalf of customers.
Microsoft 365 Business & Office 365 Admin - Microsoft 365 Business & Office 365 Admin is typically used by small and medium businesses (SMBs) who manage their devices using Microsoft 365 Business.
Microsoft Store for Business - Since Microsoft Store for Business is deprecated, use another method instead.
Use Autopilot to deploy new hardware or refreshing an existing hardware with the organization’s desired configuration, without using the traditional imaging process.
Plan and execute an endpoint deployment strategy, using essential elements of modern management, co-management approaches, and Microsoft Intune integration.