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Upgrade Windows 10/11 editions or switch out of S mode on devices using Microsoft Intune

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As part of your mobile device management (MDM) solution, you can upgrade your Windows 10/11 devices. For example, you want to upgrade your Windows 10 Professional devices to Windows 10 Enterprise. Or, you want the Windows 10 device to switch out of S mode.

Windows 10 S mode (opens another Microsoft web site) is designed for security and performance. You can use Intune to switch out of S mode. Switching out of S mode is one way. So once you switch out of S mode, you can't go back to Windows 10 S mode. See some commonly asked questions about S mode.

This feature applies to:

  • Windows 11
  • Windows 10
  • Windows 10 1809 and newer for S mode
  • Windows Holographic for Business

These features are available in Intune, and are configurable by the administrator. Intune uses configuration profiles to create and customize these settings for your organization's needs. After you add these features in a profile, you can then push or deploy the profile to Windows client devices in your organization. When you deploy the profile, Intune automatically upgrades the devices or switches out of S mode.

This article lists the supported upgrade paths, and shows you how to create the device configuration profile. You can also see all the available upgrade and S mode settings for Windows 10.

Note

If you remove the policy assignment later, the version of Windows on the device isn't reverted. The device continues to run normally.

Prerequisites

Before you upgrade devices, be sure you have the following prerequisites:

  • To install the updated Windows version on the devices that you target with the policy (for Windows client Desktop editions), you need a valid product key. You can use either Multiple Activation Keys (MAK) or Key Management Server (KMS) keys.
  • For Windows 10 Holographic editions, you can use a Microsoft license file. The license file includes the licensing information to install the updated edition on all devices that you target with the policy.
  • The Windows client devices you assign the policy are enrolled in Microsoft Intune.

Supported upgrade paths

The following table lists the supported upgrade paths for the Windows 10 edition upgrade profile.

Upgrade from Upgrade to
Windows 10/11 Pro Windows 10/11 Education
Windows 10/11 Enterprise
Windows 10/11 Pro Education
Windows 10/11 Pro N edition Windows 10/11 Education N edition
Windows 10/11 Enterprise N edition
Windows 10/11 Pro Education N edition
Windows 10/11 Pro Education Windows 10/11 Education
Windows 10/11 Pro Education N edition Windows 10/11 Education N edition
Windows 10/11 Cloud Windows 10/11 Education
Windows 10/11 Enterprise
Windows 10/11 Pro
Windows 10/11 Pro Education
Windows 10/11 Cloud N edition Windows 10/11 Education N edition
Windows 10/11 Enterprise N edition
Windows 10/11 Pro N edition
Windows 10/11 Pro Education N edition
Windows 10/11 Enterprise Windows 10/11 Education
Windows 10/11 Enterprise N edition Windows 10/11 Education N edition
Windows 10/11 Core Windows 10/11 Education
Windows 10/11 Enterprise
Windows 10/11 Pro Education
Windows 10/11 Core N edition Windows 10/11 Education N edition
Windows 10/11 Enterprise N edition
Windows 10/11 Pro Education N edition
Windows 10 Holographic Windows 10 Holographic for Business

Create the profile

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft Intune admin center.

  2. Select Devices > Configuration > Create > New policy.

  3. Enter the following properties:

    • Platform: Select Windows 10 and later.
    • Profile type: Select Templates > Edition upgrade and mode switch.

  4. Select Create.

  5. In Basics, enter the following properties:

    • Name: Enter a descriptive name for the new profile. For example, enter something like Windows 10/11 edition upgrade profile or Windows 10 switch off S mode.
    • Description: Enter a description for the profile. This setting is optional, but recommended.

  6. Select Next.

  7. In Configuration settings, enter the settings you want to configure. For a list of all settings, and what they do, go to:

  8. Select Next.

  9. In Scope tags (optional), assign a tag to filter the profile to specific IT groups, such as US-NC IT Team or JohnGlenn_ITDepartment. For more information about scope tags, go to Use RBAC and scope tags for distributed IT.

    Select Next.

  10. In Assignments, select the users or user group that will receive your profile. For more information on assigning profiles, go to Assign user and device profiles.

    Select Next.

  11. In Review + create, review your settings. When you select Create, your changes are saved, and the profile is assigned. The policy is also shown in the profiles list.

The next time each device checks in with Intune, the policy applies.