Block Android device enrollment for specific device manufacturer

This week is all about restricting the enrollment of Android devices. More specifically, about a very recently introduced feature which is the ability to block Android device enrollment based on the manufacturer of the device. That enables the organization to prevent Android devices of specific manufacturers from enrolling in Microsoft Intune. That can be useful when the organization has a specific policy for allowed device manufacturers. In this post I’ll walk through the configuration steps, followed with the end-user experience. Starting with this post, I’ll provide both the configuration steps via the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center portal and the configuration location in the Graph API (including the related JSON-snippet) as part of the configuration steps. Configuration steps Now let’s start by having a look at the …

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Exclude specific groups of users or devices from an app assignment

This week another post about apps. This week it’s all about the ability to exclude a specific group of users or devices from an app assignment. That ability is not completely new, but it’s new enough to be still a little bit unfamiliar for many. It can be useful for assigning an app to a big group and still being able to exclude a small group. That can be users that should be treated a little different than the standard, like for example a test group, a demo group, or an executive group. In this post I want to have a look at those configuration options. Often I’ll also have a look at the end-user or administrative experience, but in this case there is nothing …

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Working with (custom) detection rules for Win32 apps

After my post of last week about Working with (custom) requirements for Win32 apps only one configuration subject of Win32 apps is left that I’ve discussed in detail, the detection rules for Win32. The format of this week is similar to that post and to previous posts about the different configuration subjects of Win32 apps. Detection rules must be used to determine the presence of a Win32 app. A Win32 app can have multiple detection rules. In that case every detection rule must be met to detect the app. That will help with making sure that the app installation will only be started when the app is not yet installed. In this post I’ll start with going through the different detection rule formats and I’ll …

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Working with (custom) requirements for Win32 apps

A few months ago I did a post about Working with the restart behavior of Win32 apps and a few months before that I did a post about Working with Win32 app dependencies. This week is similar to those post. This week is also about Win32 apps, but this week it’s about working with requirements for Win32 apps. Requirements can be used to make sure that the Win32 app will only install on a device that meets specific requirements. That means that requirements for Win32 apps, bring a lot of options and capabilities, which enable a lot of scenarios. Think about deploying a Win32 app to a user group and only installing on a specific device brand, type, or model. That can be achieved by …

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Microsoft Connected Cache in ConfigMgr with Win32 apps of Intune

This week is all about an awesome new feature that was introduced with the latest version of Configuration Manager, version 1910. That feature is that Microsoft Connected Cache now supports Win32 apps that are deployed via Microsoft Intune. Microsoft Connected Cache can be enabled on a Configuration Manager distribution point and serve content to Configuration Manager managed devices. That includes co-managed devices and now also Win32 apps, which enables a Configuration Manager distribution points to serve as a content location for Win32 apps deployed via Microsoft Intune. In this post I’ll start with a short introduction about Microsoft Connected Cache, followed with the required configuration of a Configuration Manager distribution point and the required configuration of the Configuration Manager clients. I’ll end this post by …

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Expired Cloud Management Gateway server authentication certificate

Let’s start this new year with a short blog post about the Cloud Management Gateway (CMG). More specifically, about replacing an (expired) server authentication certificate on the CMG. The server authentication certificate is a required certificate for the CMG. That certificate is used to build the secure channel that is used with the created HTTPS service. The HTTPS service is were the internet-based clients connect. This certificate should come from a public provider, or from a public key infrastructure (PKI). In this post I’ll have a quick look at how to prevent the expiration of the server authentication certificate and how to replace the server authentication certificate. Certificate expiration The most important thing to note is – like with everything else – that prevention is …

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Enabling the ConfigMgr administration service through the cloud management gateway

This week is all about the administration service in Configuration Manager. More specifically, about enabling the Configuration Manager administration service via the cloud management gateway (CMG) to make it available over the Internet. The administration service provides API interoperability access to WMI over HTTPS via the SMS Provider. This REST API can be used in place of a custom web service to access information of the Configuration Manager site. Some really good information and starting points about this subject can be found at this blog post by Adam Gross. In this post I’ll skip the basics and specifically look at making the administration service available over the Internet. I want to provide in my own style what the configuration requirements are and why they are …

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Report-only mode for conditional access

This week is, like last week, about a awareness for new feature that is introduced with conditional access. Last week was all about the recently introduced Conditional Access Insights workbook. In that post I already mentioned the Report-only mode for conditional access policies. In this post I want to focus on that Report-only mode. Report-only mode is a new state of a conditional access policy state that allows IT administrators to evaluate the impact of conditional access policies before enabling them in their environment. That enables the IT administrators to anticipate on the number and names of users impacted by common deployment initiatives such as blocking legacy authentication, requiring multi-factor authentication, or implementing sign-in risk policies. A great step forward. In this post I’ll walk through …

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Working with the restart behavior of Win32 apps

A long time ago, I did a post about Working with the restart behavior of Applications in ConfigMgr 2012. That post is still being read pretty well. Based on the interest of that post, and the introduction of nice new features to the Win32 apps, I thought it would be a good idea to redo that post for Microsoft Intune. Before an IT administrator had to be creative to work with, or work around, the restart behavior of Win32 apps. Either by wrapping installations and capturing the exit code, or by tuning the translation of an return code. With the latest adjustments to the Win32 apps, within Microsoft Intune, the IT administrator has more options to actually work with the return code of an Win32 …

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