For individual computers, there are several ways to enroll devices, depending on the device’s operating system and state. These are described in this section.
Enroll Windows devices
There are several different ways to enroll devices in Intune. These are:
- Add a work or school account Use this method to register the device with Azure AD or join the device to Azure AD. If you have an Azure AD Premium subscription and you have enabled Windows Automatic Enrollment, this method also enrolls the device in Intune. This method is user-initiated.
- Enroll only in device management Select this option if you want to enroll your device(s) in Intune only, without registering or joining to Azure AD. This might be appropriate if your organization does not have an Azure AD premium subscription. This method is user-initiated.
- Azure AD join during OOBE This method is very similar in terms of the end result to what happens when you perform an Add a work or school account procedure. However, the process is launched and managed during the device’s initial setup; this initial setup is referred to as out-of-box experience (OOBE). This is a user-initiated method.
- Azure AD join using Windows Autopilot This enrollment method works similarly to the preceding method; however, using Windows Autopilot enables you to partially or completely automate the OOBE process for your users. Again, the process is launched and managed through OOBE; your Windows Autopilot settings will determine the precise level of user interaction. You can choose between user-driven mode and self-deploying; these options are configured as part of the Windows Autopilot deployment profile. This is the preferred method of enrolling using OOBE because it is a more managed approach. However, it assumes that your organization has an Azure AD premium subscription and that you have enabled Windows Automatic Enrollment.
- Enroll in MDM only using a device enrollment manager This method is similar to adding a work or school account method, as described above. However, rather than use a standard user account to enroll in your organization’s MDM, you use a Device Enrollment Manager Account, which can enroll up to 1,000 devices.
- Azure AD Join using bulk enrollment This method enables you to use provisioning packages to enroll a large number of devices. You create a provisioning package using Windows Configuration Designer and apply it either during OOBE or by distributing and running the package after a device has completed its initial setup process.
The following sections discuss some of these methods in more detail.
