Microsoft has rolled out Autopilot Device Preparation (APDP) as the new standard for zero-touch device enrolment. Faster, simpler and fully Intune-native: a new device is fully configured in under 10 minutes. What changes and how do you prepare your organisation?
Anyone who has been through a classic Autopilot deployment knows the ritual: boot the laptop, wait for the Out-of-Box Experience, click through the wizard, wait minutes for policies and apps to apply, then restart. Microsoft has fundamentally redesigned this process. The result is called Autopilot Device Preparation, internally abbreviated as APDP.
Autopilot Device Preparation is the successor to classic Windows Autopilot. Where the original method relied heavily on Azure AD and a hybrid infrastructure, APDP is built entirely on Microsoft Intune as the central management service. The registration process is simplified: devices no longer need to be pre-registered in the Autopilot portal via a hardware hash. Instead, they are automatically recognised during first boot based on their Entra ID enrolment.
The result is a dramatically shorter enrolment cycle. Where a classic Autopilot deployment could take 30 to 60 minutes, APDP targets under 10 minutes for a fully configured device. This also applies to devices shipped directly from a distributor to the end user.
The time saving is the most immediate improvement, but there is more. APDP simplifies the management process in several ways. First, the dependency on on-premises domain controllers is eliminated: Hybrid Azure AD Join is no longer required for most organisations. Second, troubleshooting becomes easier as the process is more transparent and provides better logging in the Intune admin centre.
Third, APDP scales without additional infrastructure. A company hiring a hundred new employees can have devices shipped directly from the supplier to employees' homes. The employee powers on the device, logs in with their Microsoft credentials and has a fully configured work environment within ten minutes, without any helpdesk involvement.
APDP requires Windows 11 as the operating system. Devices running Windows 10 can continue using the classic Autopilot flow but do not benefit from the simplified APDP process. A Microsoft Intune licence is also required, which is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3 and E5.
Organisations that rely heavily on legacy Group Policy Objects (GPOs) or on-premises applications with domain binding will first need to develop a migration strategy. APDP is designed for a cloud-first environment; hybrid configurations require additional planning.
APDP configuration is handled entirely through the Intune admin centre. Administrators create an Enrollment Profile with the desired settings: device group name, required apps on first boot, language setting and user affinity. This profile is automatically applied to all devices that meet the criteria as soon as they connect to the internet and sign in with a corporate account.
Zarioh Digital Solutions has extensive experience with Intune implementations and migrating classic Autopilot configurations to APDP. Get in touch to discuss how we can help your organisation make the switch quickly and without disruption.
