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What's new in Windows 365 Enterprise

  • Article
  • 15 minutes to read

Learn what new features are available in Windows 365 Enterprise.

Note

Each monthly update may take up to a week to rollout to all customers.

Week of September 26, 2022 (Service release 2209)

Monitor and troubleshoot

System alerts and email notifications (preview)

You can now set up system alerts and automated emails to be notified when certain events, warnings, or errors occur in the Windows 365 service. A subset of critical Cloud PC issues will be sent automatically to admins. In addition, you can define alert rules, such as target audience (devices, user groups, tenants), thresholds, frequency, and notification channels. For more information, see Alerts.

Miscellaneous

Allow list URL change for Windows 365

We've added a new endpoint which the Windows 365 service requires to be accessible: *.infra.windows365.microsoft.com". This is part of ongoing endpoint consolidation work to reduce the number of FQDNs required to be accessible for the service.

Week of September 19, 2022

Device management

Downsize Cloud PCs (Preview)

You can now downsize a Cloud PC's RAM and specifications (except disk size). For more information, see Resize a Cloud PC.

Device provisioning

Windows 365 Cloud PC support for Windows 11 Enterprise version 22H2

New gallery images are now available that include support for Windows 11 version 22H2. The following gallery images can be used for newly provisioned Cloud PCs:

  • Win11 22H2 + M365 Apps
  • Win11 22H2 + Optimizations

Week of August 29, 2022 (Service release 2208)

Monitor and troubleshoot

New health check: Localization language package readiness

The Azure network connection tab has a new health check: Localization language package readiness. This health check verifies that the operating system and Microsoft 365 language packages can install. It also makes sure that the localization package download link is reachable. For more information, see Azure network connection health checks.

Review Cloud PC connectivity health checks and errors in Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center

You can now review connectivity health checks and errors in the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center to help you understand if your users are experiencing connectivity issues. You’ll also get a troubleshooting tool to help resolve connectivity issues. To see the checks, select Devices > Windows 365 > Azure network connections > select a connection in the list > Overview. This feature is rolling out to all customers over the next few weeks.

Provisioning

New supported Azure regions: East Asia, Korea Central, Norway East, Switzerland North

New Azure regions are now supported for Windows 365 Cloud PC provisioning: East Asia, Korea Central, Norway East, and Switzerland North.

For more information about supported Azure regions, see Supported Azure regions for Cloud PC provisioning.

Week of August 22, 2022

Documentation

New documentation article: Restrict Office 365 services to Cloud PCs

We’ve published a new help documentation article. For more information, see Restrict Office 365 services to Cloud PCs.

Week of August 15, 2022

App management

Language and region configuration now also applies to Microsoft 365 Apps

Provisioning policies configured for language now also apply to Microsoft 365 Apps. When a user first signs in, their Microsoft 365 Apps will use the configured language. For more information, see Provide a localized Windows experience.

Monitor and troubleshoot

Remoting connection report in Endpoint Analytics now generally available

The remoting connection report in Endpoint Analytics has moved out of preview and into general availability. For more information, see Remoting connection report.

Resource performance report in Endpoint Analytics now generally available

The resource performance report in Endpoint Analytics has moved out of preview and into general availability. For more information, see Resource performance report.

Week of August 8, 2022

Documentation

New documentation article: Windows 365 security

We’ve published a new help documentation article. For more information, see Windows 365 security.

Week of July 25, 2022

Resize action support for more Cloud PCs

The resize action now supports Cloud PCs that are Azure Active Directory joined.

Week of July 18, 2022

Apps

Cloud PC Outlook mail sync setting

For newly provisioned and reprovisioned Cloud PCs, you can now set the Outlook mail sync setting to 6 or 12 months.

Device management

Windows 11 optimized image now available for Windows 365 Cloud PCs

You can now choose the Windows 11 Enterprise + OS Optimizations image when creating a new provisioning policy. This feature is rolling out to all customers over the next few weeks.

Device provisioning

Provision Cloud PCs with Secure Boot

Support for creating Cloud PCs that use Secure boot functionality is now available in Europe, APAC, and North American regions. Existing Cloud PCs won't have secure boot automatically enabled.

Week of July 4, 2022 (Service release 2206)

Apps

Support for virtualization-based workloads now generally available

Support for virtualization-based workloads has moved out of preview and into general availability. For more information, see Set up virtualization-based workloads on your Cloud PC.

End user experience

Transfer files from your Cloud PC by using windows365.microsoft.com web client

You can use the windows365.microsoft.com web client to transfer files to and from your Cloud PC. For more information, see Transfer files to and from a Cloud PC.

Monitor and troubleshoot

New health check: verify that Intune enrollment restrictions allow Windows enrollment

The Azure network connection tab has a new health check: Intune enrollment restrictions allow Windows enrollment. This health check verifies that Intune enrollment restrictions are configured to allow Windows enrollment. Windows 365 Enterprise requires Intune enrollment during provisioning.

Week of June 6, 2022 (Service release 2205)

Monitor and troubleshoot

Forensic auditing of Cloud PCs

You can now place a Cloud PC under review. This action starts a process to create a secure snapshot of a Cloud PC. You can then analyze the snapshot using electronic discovery solutions. For more information, see Digital forensics and Windows 365 Enterprise Cloud PCs and Place a Cloud PC under review.

Week of May 16, 2022

Device management

Support for RDP Shortpath for public networks

Windows 365 Enterprise Cloud PCs now support RDP Shortpath for public networks. For more information about RDP Shortpath, see Use RDP Shortpath for public networks (preview) with Windows 365.

Windows 365 ending support for Windows 10 version 1909 (19H2)

Windows 365 no longer supports Windows 10 version 1909 (19H2).

User experience

Windows 365 Cloud PC support for Teams background effects

Windows 365 Cloud PCs now support background effects in Teams. For more information, see the blog Microsoft Teams background effects generally available on Windows 365.

Windows 365 Cloud PC support for Teams multi-window and Call me

Windows 365 Cloud PCs now support multi-window and Call Me in Teams. For more information, see the blog Teams Multi-window support and Call Me generally available on Windows 365.

Week of May 9, 2022 (Service release 2204)

Device management

Support for Azure AD joined Cloud PCs now general available

Support for Azure AD joined Cloud PCs has moved out of preview and into general availability.

Provisioning

Provision Cloud PCs with Secure Boot

Cloud PC support for Secure boot functionality is now rolling out in Asia Pacific (APAC) regions and Europe. This feature will roll out to all customers over the next few months.

Week of May 2, 2022

Documentation

New documentation article: Manage Windows 365 Cloud PCs with Configuration Manager

We’ve published a new help documentation article. For more information, see Manage Windows 365 Cloud PCs with Configuration Manager.

Week of April 18, 2022

On-premises network connection has been renamed to Azure network connection

The term on-premises network connection has been renamed to Azure network connection in all user interfaces, documentation, and communications.

Change Cloud PC time zone

Non-admin users can now change their Cloud PC’s time zone.

Week of April 11, 2022

Scripts

Windows365-PSScripts GitHub repository is now open for contributions

The Windows365-PSSCripts GitHub repository is now open. It contains Windows 365-related scripts to help admins manage Cloud PCs. You can also contribute your own scripts to help others use Windows 365.

For more information, see the Windows365-PSScripts GitHub repository readme.

Week of April 4, 2022 (Service release 2203)

Apps

Live captions for Microsoft Teams on Windows 365 Cloud PCs

For Windows 365 Enterprise and Business Cloud PCs, Microsoft Teams can now detect what is said in a meeting and display real-time captions. The captions can be toggled on and off.

To use live captions in a meeting, go to your meeting controls and select More options and Turn on live captions.

For more information, see Microsoft Teams Live Captions generally available on Windows 365 and Use live captions in a Teams meeting.

Nested virtualization (preview)

For most currently supported regions, Windows 365 8vCPU/32GB licenses now support nested virtualizations for different developer scenarios to use systems like WSL/Hyper-V. Southeast Asia and West US 2 aren't currently supported for this feature. For more information, see Set up nested virtualization on your Cloud PC.

Improve video playback by using multimedia redirection

You can improve video playback performance on your Cloud PCs by using multimedia redirection (MMR). For more information, see Video playback improvement.

Device management

windows365.microsoft.com now generally available

The windows365.microsoft.com web client has moved out of preview and into general availability.

Device provisioning

Upload a custom image without an Azure network connection

Customers using Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Join without bringing an Azure virtual network can now upload custom images directly on the image tab in Microsoft Endpoint Manager. Previously, to upload an image, customers needed to create an ANC for the destination Azure subscription that provides the image.

Cloud PC name appended to the network interface name

A Cloud PC’s name is now appended to the network interface name within the Azure portal. This naming makes it easier to find the IP address for the Cloud PC when an Azure network connection is selected.

End-user experience

End user feedback

End users can now provide feedback to Microsoft from within the Windows 365 web client and directly on windows365.microsoft.com.

End user error log collection

End users can now collect error logs.

Week of March 24, 2022

Device management

New remote action: remote help

The Remote Help remote action (in the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center) lets admins start a remote session into an end user’s Cloud PC.

Week of February 28, 2022 (Service release 2202)

Device management

Point-in-time restore (preview)

Administrators and users can now restore a Cloud PC to a state from a previous point in time. Multiple near-term and long-term restore points are available. For more information, see Point-in-time restore for Windows 365 Enterprise.

Higher Cloud PC screen resolution option (preview)

Cloud PC users can now choose a higher screen resolution when they connect to their Cloud PC from https://windows365.microsoft.com.

Documentation

New documentation article: Windows 365 approved partners

We’ve published a new help documentation article. For more information, see Windows 365 approved partners.

Week of February 14, 2022

Documentation

New documentation article: Windows 365 identity and authentication

We’ve published a new help documentation article. For more information, see Windows 365 identity and authentication.

Device management

Support for Azure AD joined Cloud PCs

Windows 365 Enterprise now supports Cloud PCs that are Azure AD joined. These devices can run in either:

  • A Microsoft-hosted network:
    • You don’t need to bring any Azure infrastructure
    • You don't need to create an Azure network connection
  • Your own network (using an Azure network connection)

Configure installed language and region for provisioning Cloud PCs

When creating a provisioning policy, admins can now configure the installed language and region for new Cloud PCs. Previously, Cloud PCs were only created with English (United States). For more information, see Provide users a localized Windows experience

Monitor and troubleshoot

Use Collect diagnostics to collect more details from Windows 365 devices through Intune remote actions

Intune’s remote action to Collect diagnostics now collects more details from Windows 365 Cloud PCs.

The new details for Windows 365 Cloud PCs include the following registry data:

  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\AddIns\WebRTC Redirector
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Teams\

To learn more about the Collect diagnostics remote action, see Collect diagnostics from a Windows device.

Provisioning

New supported Azure regions: US Central and German West Central

Two new Azure regions are now for Windows 365 Cloud PC provisioning: US Central and German West Central.

For more information about supported Azure regions, see Supported Azure regions for Cloud PC provisioning.

Week of January 17, 2022

New documentation article: Optimize Cisco Webex on a Windows 365 Cloud PC

We’ve published a new help documentation article. For more information, see Optimize Cisco Webex on a Windows 365 Cloud PC.

Week of January 10, 2022

New documentation: Data encryption in Windows 365

We've added information to the help documentation about encryption for Windows 365 Cloud PCs. For more information, see Data encryption in Windows 365.

Week of January 3, 2022

We've added information to the help documentation about the update cycle for Windows 365 Cloud PC gallery images. For more information, see Gallery image update cycle.

Week of December 13, 2021

Device management

Cloud PCs in grace period count towards active Cloud PC license usage

Cloud PCs that are in grace period now count towards your active Cloud PC license usage. This policy makes sure that your organization’s active Cloud PC allocation matches the total available licenses in your tenant.

For more information about grace period, see Device management overview and End grace period.

Week of November 29, 2021 (Service release 2111)

Device management

Operating system end of support status for Cloud PCs

The Provisioning policies page has a new column: Image status. It tells you if the device image for each provisioning policy uses an operating system (OS) that is supported by Microsoft Windows security and other updates. For more information, see Lifecycle policies and end of support for Cloud PC OS.

New documentation article: Optimize Zoom on a Windows 365 Cloud PC

We’ve published a new help documentation article. For more information, see Optimize Zoom on a Windows 365 Cloud PC.

Device security

Two new security baseline settings for Windows 11 Cloud PCs

Windows 365 Enterprise now supports the following Windows 11 security baseline settings:

  • Tamper Protection: Helps protect Cloud PCs from bad actors bypassing security features like anti-virus protection.

  • Script Scanning: Helps identify possible threats by intercepting scripts and scanning them before they’re run.

For more information about the security baseline updates for Windows 11, see Windows 11 Security baseline. For more information about setting security baselines for Cloud PCs, see Deploy security baselines.

Week of November 1, 2021 (Service release 2110)

Device management

Improved user interface for online access to Cloud PCs

The user interface on windows365.microsoft.com has been improved with:

  • Faster load times.
  • Higher performance reliability.
  • Local resource settings (printer, microphone, clipboard).
  • Alternative keyboard settings.
  • Edit settings in-session.
  • Accessibility support.

Provisioning

Provisioning maximum timeout changed to five hours

To improve reliability, the maximum provisioning timeout has been changed to five hours.

Role-based access control

Custom Windows 365 RBAC roles in public preview

Custom Windows 365 role-based access control (RBAC) roles are now available in the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center. You can mix-and-match Windows 365 permissions to create custom roles for your organization's needs. You can also create both Windows 365 and Intune custom roles and give granular admin permissions to admins for both services. For more information, see Custom roles.

Week of October 11, 2021 (Service release 2109)

Device management

Resize support for preview and trial licenses

If you have a combination of paid and free trial licenses, the Resize remote action will use your paid licenses first. When those licenses run out, it will use your trial licenses. For more information, see Resize a Cloud PC.

Device provisioning

Health check improvement

The DNS can resolve Active Directory domain health check has been improved. A new step has been added to look for the following Azure Active Directory DNS record. If it can’t be found, the check fails.

_ldap._tcp.yourDomain.com -type SRV

Role-based access control

Windows 365 Administrator role

The Windows 365 Administrator role is now available for admins by using role assignment in the Microsoft Endpoint Manager Admin Center and Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) for Windows. With this role, admins can broadly manage Windows 365 Enterprise Cloud PCs, users, devices, and groups. This new role is in addition to the other existing roles that Windows 365 currently supports: Azure AD Global Admin, Intune Admin, and Cloud PC granular roles in Microsoft Endpoint Manager. For more information, see Role-based access control.

Week of October 4, 2021

Device management

Support for Windows 11

Windows 365 Enterprise now supports Windows 11 as a Cloud PC operating system.

Windows 11 Cloud PCs require Generation 2 (Gen2) virtual machines. For information about converting existing Generation 1 custom device images to Gen2, see Convert an existing custom device image to a generation 2 virtual machine.

Week of September 13, 2021

Device management

New PowerShell script for installing languages on custom device images

The Windows365LanguagesInstaller PowerShell script can install 38 additional languages on your custom device images. For more information, see Provide a localized Windows experience.

Week of September 6, 2021 (Service release 2108)

Device management

End grace period option

Certain conditions put a Cloud PC into a seven-day grace period. At the end of this time, the Cloud PC will be deprovisioned and user will lose access.

You can now immediately end the grace period for individual Cloud PCs. By ending the grace period manually, you won’t have to wait the full seven days to remove user access from the Cloud PC.

For more information on grace periods, see End grace period.

Week of August 30, 2021

Monitor and troubleshoot

Resource performance report in Endpoint Analytics

Endpoint analytics has a new report named Resource performance. The Resource performance report includes metrics for CPU and RAM performance on Cloud PCs. For more information, see Resource performance report.

Remoting connection report in Endpoint Analytics

Endpoint analytics has a new report named Remoting connection report. This report includes the following metrics:

  • Cloud PC Sign in time (sec) provides the total time users take to connect to the cloud PC.
  • Round Trip Time (ms) provides insights on the speed and reliability of network connections from the user location.

For more information, see Remoting connection report.

Week of August 2, 2021

Windows 365 now generally available

Windows 365 is a new service from Microsoft that automatically creates Cloud PCs for your end users. Cloud PCs are a new hybrid personal computing category that uses both the power of the cloud and the accessing device to provide a full and personalized Windows virtual machine. Admins can use Microsoft Endpoint Manager to define the configurations and applications that are provisioned for each user’s Cloud PC. End users can access their Cloud PC from any device and any location. Windows 365 stores the end user’s Cloud PC and data in the cloud, not on the device, providing a secure experience.

For more information about Windows 365, see Windows 365.

Next steps

For details about Windows 365 licensing, see Windows 365 pricing.