Windows Autopilot self-deploying mode (Public Preview)

Applies to:

  • Windows 11
  • Windows 10
  • Windows Holographic, version 2004 or later

Note

For more information about using Windows Autopilot to deploy HoloLens 2 devices, see Windows Autopilot for HoloLens 2.

Windows Autopilot self-deploying mode lets you deploy a device with little to no user interaction. For devices with an Ethernet connection, no user interaction is required. For devices connected via Wi-Fi, the user must only:

  • Choose the language, locale, and keyboard.
  • Make a network connection.

Self-deploying mode provides all the following:

  • Joins the device to Azure Active Directory.
  • Enrolls the device in Intune (or another MDM service) using Azure AD for automatic MDM enrollment.
  • Makes sure that all policies, applications, certificates, and networking profiles are provisioned on the device.
  • Uses the Enrollment Status Page to prevent access until the device is fully provisioned.

Note

Autopilot self-deploying mode is only supported for Azure AD join devices. Autopilot self-deploying mode isn't supported for hybrid Azure AD join devices.

Self-deploying mode lets you deploy a Windows device as a kiosk, digital signage device, or a shared device. Autopilot now has a kiosk mode that supports Kiosk Browser, any UWP app and specific versions of Edge.

You can use the Kiosk Browser when setting up a kiosk device. This app is built on Microsoft Edge and can be used to create a tailored, MDM-managed browsing experience.

You can completely automate device configuration by combining self-deploying mode with MDM policies. Use the MDM policies to create a local account configured to automatically log on. For more information, see:

Optionally, you can use a device-only subscription service that helps manage devices that are not affiliated with specific users. The Intune device SKU is licensed per device per month.

Note

Self-deploying mode does not presently associate a user with the device (since no user ID or password is specified as part of the process). As a result, some Azure AD and Intune capabilities (such as BitLocker recovery, installation of apps from the Company Portal, or Conditional Access) may not be available to a user that signs into the device. For more information, see Windows Autopilot scenarios and capabilities and Setting the BitLocker encryption algorithm for Autopilot devices.

The user experience with Windows Autopilot self-deploying mode

Requirements

Important

You cannot automatically re-enroll a device through Autopilot after an initial deployment in self-deploying mode. Instead, delete the device record in the Microsoft Intune admin center. From the admin center, choose Devices > All devices > choose the devices you want to delete > Delete. For more information, see Updates to the Windows Autopilot sign-in and deployment experience.

Self-deploying mode uses a device's TPM 2.0 hardware to authenticate the device into an organization's Azure AD tenant. Therefore, devices without TPM 2.0 can't be used with this mode. Devices must also support TPM device attestation. All new Windows devices should meet these requirements. The TPM attestation process also requires access to a set of HTTPS URLs that are unique for each TPM provider. For more information, see the entry for Autopilot self-Deploying mode and Autopilot pre-provisioning in Networking requirements. For Windows Autopilot software requirements, see Windows Autopilot software requirements.

Important

If you attempt a self-deploying mode deployment on a device that does not have support TPM 2.0 or on a virtual machine, the process will fail when verifying the device with an 0x800705B4 timeout error (Hyper-V virtual TPMs are not supported). Also note that Windows 10, version 1903 or later is required to use self-deploying mode due to issues with TPM device attestation in Windows 10, version 1809.

See Windows Autopilot known issues and Troubleshoot Autopilot device import and enrollment to review other known errors and solutions.

You can display an organization-specific logo and organization name during the Autopilot process. To do so, Azure AD Company Branding must be configured with the images and text you want displayed. See Quickstart: Add company branding to your sign-in page in Azure AD for more details.

Step by step

To deploy in self-deploying mode Windows Autopilot, the following preparation steps need to be completed:

  1. Create an Autopilot profile for self-deploying mode with the settings you want. In Microsoft Intune, this mode is explicitly chosen when creating the profile. It isn't possible to create a profile in the Microsoft Store for Business or Partner Center for self-deploying mode.
  2. If using Intune, create a device group in Azure Active Directory and assign the Autopilot profile to that group. Ensure that the profile has been assigned to the device before attempting to deploy that device.
  3. Boot the device, connecting it to Wi-Fi if necessary, then wait for the provisioning process to complete.

Validation

When using Windows Autopilot to deploy in self-deploying mode, the following end-user experience should be observed:

  • Once connected to a network, the Autopilot profile will be downloaded.
  • If connected to Ethernet, and the Autopilot profile is configured to skip them, the following pages won't be displayed: language, locale, and keyboard layout. Otherwise, manual steps are required:
    • If multiple languages are preinstalled in Windows, the user must pick a language.
    • The user must pick a locale and a keyboard layout, and optionally a second keyboard layout.
  • If connected via Ethernet, no network prompt is expected. If no Ethernet connection is available and Wi-Fi is built in, the user needs to connect to a wireless network.
  • Windows will check for critical OOBE updates, and if any are available they'll be automatically installed (rebooting if necessary).
  • The device will join Azure Active Directory.
  • After joining Azure Active Directory, the device will enroll in Intune (or other configured MDM services).
  • The enrollment status page will be displayed.
  • Depending on the device settings deployed, the device will either:
    • Remain at the logon screen, where any member of the organization can log on by specifying their Azure AD credentials.
    • Automatically sign in as a local account, for devices configured as a kiosk or digital signage.

Note

Deploying Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) policies using self-deploying mode for kiosk deployments will cause auto-logon functionality to fail.

In case the observed results don't match these expectations, consult the Windows Autopilot Troubleshooting documentation.