Self-deploying mode: Create and assign self-deploying Autopilot profile

• Applies to:

  ✅ Windows 11, ✅ Windows 10

Autopilot self-deploying mode steps:

• Step 1: Set up Windows automatic Intune enrollment
• Step 2: Register devices as Autopilot devices
• Step 3: Create a device group
• Step 4: Configure and assign Autopilot Enrollment Status Page (ESP)

• Step 5: Create and assign Autopilot profile

• Step 6: Deploy the device

For an overview of the Windows Autopilot self-deploying mode workflow, see Windows Autopilot self-deploying overview

Create and assign self-deploying Autopilot profile

The Autopilot profile specifies how the device is configured during Windows Setup and what is shown during the out of box experience (OOBE).

Tip

For Configuration Manager admins, the Autopilot profile is similar to some of the configuration that takes place during a task sequence via an unattend.xml file. The unattend.xml file is configured during the Apply Windows Settings and Apply Network Settings steps. Note however that Autopilot does not use unattend.xml files.

To create a self-deploying mode Autopilot profile, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft Intune admin center.

2. In the Home screen, select Devices in the left hand pane.

3. In the Devices | Overview screen, under By platform, select Windows.

4. In the Windows | Windows devices screen, select Windows enrollment.

5. Under Windows Autopilot Deployment Program, select Deployment Profiles.

6. In the Windows Autopilot deployment profiles screen, select Create Profile > Windows PC.

7. The Create profile screen opens. In the Basics page:

   1. Next to Name, enter a name for the Autopilot profile.

   2. Next to Description, enter a description.

   3. Select Next.

      Note

      Set the option Convert all targeted devices to Autopilot to Yes. While this tutorial concentrates on new devices where the device is manually imported as an Autopilot device using the hardware hash, this option can be helpful when assigning Autopilot profiles to device groups that contain existing devices. For example, this option is helpful when using the Windows Autopilot for existing devices scenario where existing devices may need to be registered as an Autopilot device after the Autopilot deployment has completed. For more information, see Register device for Windows Autopilot.

8. In the Out-of-box experience (OOBE) page:

   • For Deployment mode, select Self-Deploying.

   • Join to Microsoft Entra ID as defaults to Microsoft Entra joined, is greyed out, and can't be changed. Only Microsoft Entra joined is available because self-deploying mode only supports Microsoft Entra join. Self-deploying modes doesn't support Microsoft Entra hybrid join.

   • Microsoft Software License Terms defaults to Hide, is greyed out, and can't be changed.

   • Privacy settings defaults to Hide, is greyed out, and can't be changed.

   • Hide change account options defaults to Hide, is greyed out, and can't be changed.

   • User account type defaults to Standard, is greyed out, and can't be changed.

   • For Language (Region), select Operating system default to use the default language for the operating system being configured. If another language is desired, select the desired language from the drop-down list.

   • For Automatically configure keyboard, select Yes to skip the keyboard selection page.

     Note

     If you want users to be able to select their keyboard layout, then select No instead. However, the purpose of Autopilot self-deploying mode is to deploy a device with minimal to no user interaction. Setting Automatically configure keyboard to No requires additional user interaction.

   • For Apply device name template, select No. Alternatively, Yes can be chosen to apply a device name template. Be aware of the following if the name template is selected to Yes:

     • Names must be 15 characters or less, and can have letters, numbers, and hyphens.
     • Names can't be all numbers.
     • Use the %SERIAL% macro to add a hardware-specific serial number.
     • Use the %RAND:x% macro to add a random string of numbers, where x equals the number of digits to add.

   Note

   If the language/region and keyboard screens are set to hidden, they may still be displayed if there's no network connectivity at the start of the Autopilot deployment. These screens are displayed because there's no network connectivity at the start of the deployment to download the Autopilot profile where the settings to hide these screens are specified. Once network connectivity is established, the Autopilot profile is downloaded and any additional screen settings should work as expected.

9. Once the options in the Out-of-box experience (OOBE) page are configured as desired, select Next.

10. In the Assignments page:

    1. Under Included groups, choose Add groups.

    Note

    Make sure to add the correct device groups under Included groups and not under Excluded groups. Accidentally adding the desired device groups under Excluded groups prevents devices in those device groups from receiving the Autopilot profile.

    1. In the Select groups to include window that opens, select the groups that the Autopilot profile should be assigned to. This device group(s) is normally the device group(s) created in the previous Create device group step. Once done, select Select.

    2. Under Included groups > Groups, ensure the correct group(s) are selected, and then select Next.

11. In the Review + Create page, review and verify that all of the settings are set as desired, and then choose Create to create the Autopilot profile.

Verify device has an Autopilot profile assigned to it

Before deploying a device, ensure that an Autopilot profile is assigned to a device group that the device is a member of. Autopilot profile assignment to a device can take some time after the Autopilot profile is assigned to the device group or after the device is added to the device group. To verify that the profile is assigned to a device, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft Intune admin center.

2. In the Home screen, select Devices in the left pane.

3. In the Devices | Overview screen, under By platform, select Windows.

4. In the Windows | Windows devices screen, select Windows enrollment.

5. Under Windows Autopilot Deployment Program, select Devices.

6. In the Windows Autopilot devices screen that opens:

   1. Find the desired device that Autopilot deployment profile assignment status needs to be checked.

   2. Once the device is located, its current status is listed under the Profile status column. The status has one of the following values:

      • Not assigned: An Autopilot deployment profile isn't assigned to the device.

      • Assigning: An Autopilot deployment profile is being assigned to the device.

      • Assigned: An Autopilot deployment profile is assigned to the device.

      • Fix pending: When a hardware change occurs on a device, this status displays while Intune tries to register the new hardware. When the link for the Fix pending status is selected, the following message appears:

        We've detected a hardware change on this device. We're trying to automatically register the new hardware. You don't need to do anything now; the status will be updated at the next check in with the result.

        If Intune is able to successfully register the new hardware, Intune updates the profile status when the device next checks into Intune. For more information on the Fix pending status, see the following articles:

        • Autopilot profile not applied after reimaging to an older OS version.
        • Return of key functionality for Windows Autopilot sign-in and deployment experience.
        • Windows Autopilot motherboard replacement scenario guidance

      • Attention required: If Intune is unable to register the new hardware after a hardware change occurs on a device, the device can't receive the Autopilot profile until the device is reset and the device re-registers. For more information on this status and how to deregister/re-register a device, see the following articles:

        • Autopilot profile not applied after reimaging to an older OS version.
        • Return of key functionality for Windows Autopilot sign-in and deployment experience.
        • Windows Autopilot motherboard replacement scenario guidance
        • Deregister a device

      Before starting the Autopilot deployment process on a device, make sure that in the Windows Autopilot devices page:

      • The device's Profile status status is Assigned.
      • In the properties of the device, Date assigned has a value.
      • In the properties of the device, Assigned profile displays the expected Autopilot profile.

Note

Intune periodically checks for new devices in the assigned device groups, and then begins the process of assigning profiles to those devices. Due to several different factors involved in the process of Autopilot profile assignment, an estimated time for the assignment can vary from scenario to scenario. These factors can include Microsoft Entra groups, membership rules, hash of a device, Intune and Autopilot service, and internet connection. The assignment time varies depending on all the factors and variables involved in a specific scenario.

Next step: Deploy the device

Step 6: Deploy the device

More information

For more information on configuring Autopilot profiles, see the following article(s):

• Configure Autopilot profiles