The future of autopilot and motherboards

[Freppy]

Hi,

Would like to start a discussion regarding the autopilot cycle.

Scenario 1:

Imagine your device which is autopiloted and has the hardware hash uploaded to your tenant (tenant 1), suddenly breaks and you need to replace the motherboard. Your computer has warranty left, so the manufacturer replaces the motherboard. It now works.

You don't delete the computer from your (tenant 1).

You upload the new hardware hash from the new motherboard, and install the computer. Happy days, everything works again.

Since there is a shortage of components, almost all manufacturers repairs the motherboards right now and perform some test before they say the motherboard is OK to be used again. They then use these repaired motherboards and replaces other computers which these one.

Scenario 2:

A customer (tenant 2) has recently got the computer repaired by replacing it motherboard.

When the IT tech tries to upload the hardware hash to their tenant (tenant 2) it doesn't work because it is already used somewhere in the world it says. (this hardware hash is still in tenant 1, if you remember from scenario 1, they didn't delete it)

Meanwhile the IT tech is trying to upload the hardware hash, the user has already began autopilotin/whiteglove it, and it says it is connected to a user in the tenant 1 and ready to be installed to their environment). How will they proceed now? Is reporting the issue to the manufacturers to replace the motherboard with a BRAND NEW ONE the only option?

Since Intune is growing so fast at the moment, and I have already come across this issue on 2 different companies, in both cases it was solved by replacing both motherboards with brand new ones. How will this work in the future when everyone are starting to use it?

I hope I was clear enough, hence just reply and I will try to explain it better 🙂

Thanks

[#2]

Just wondering... but didnt you get tpm errors /device id etc or ad account password errors when the motherboard was replaced? So wouldn't be better to remove the old device object (and intune/autopilot objects) at that time and reinstall the device? So the hash is also deleted when you remove all the object?

But again that's is how we normally do it 🙂

[#3]

@Rudy_Ooms_MVP Hi, of course I did. The thing is, the replaced motherboard hash is in someone else tenant which I don't have any control of.  Since this replaced motherboard hardware hash is already in someone else tenant somewhere in the country I can't even upload it and re-install it. In these two cases I have had to inform the manufacturer about it and they made sure I received 2 brand new motherboards ^^

So basically this issue might get a lot bigger in the future since more and more people are starting to use Intune, and they don't remove it from their own tenant.

[#4]

Hi,

I know... normally every customer needs to have policies set to make sure devices are removed properly.. but I know... a lot of companies don't bother with it and just leave it in the tenant..
When a device is removed or something is replaced... you need to trash the old device id from your tenant..

Maybe in the near future a new option will appear to make sure when there is no azure id device attached to the hash for let's say 1 month it will be removed (or something like that)

[#5]

ANd not to forget, I guess thats why Microsoft put this doc online

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/mem/autopilot/autopilot-mbr