There are several requirements and prerequisites that you need to put in place before you can use Windows Autopilot with your Windows 11 devices. If your organization already has a Microsoft 365 subscription, then you will already meet the licensing requirements:

Licensing requirements

The following licensing requirements must be met:

• Devices must be preinstalled with Windows 11 Pro, Pro Education, Pro for Workstations, Enterprise, or Education.
• Azure Active Directory Premium P1 or P2.
• Microsoft Intune subscription (or an alternative MDM service).

You can use the Microsoft Store for Business to manage Windows Autopilot deployment profiles. You can create a new profile and edit or delete a profile in the Microsoft Store.

Networking configuration

The following network configuration requirements must be met:

• Devices must have access to the Internet.
• Devices must be able to access cloud services used by Windows Autopilot:
  • Using DNS name resolution.
  • Firewall access through port 80 (for HTTP), port 443 (for HTTPS), and port 123 (for UDP and NTP).
• The following URLs must be accessible:
  • https://go.microsoft.com
  • https://login.microsoftonline.com
  • https://login.live.com
  • https://account.live.com
  • https://signup.live.com
  • https://licensing.mp.microsoft.com
  • https://licensing.md.mp.microsoft.com
  • https://ztd.dds.microsoft.com
  • https://cs.dds.microsoft.com
  • ctldl.windowsupdate.com
  • download.windowsupdate.com

Azure AD configuration prerequisites

The following Azure AD configuration prerequisites must be met:

• Azure AD company branding must be configured.
• Azure AD automatic enrollment must be configured.
• A device must be registered with Azure AD.
• Users must have permission to join devices into Azure AD.

Windows Autopilot configuration

The following Windows Autopilot configuration prerequisites must be met:

• Devices must have their device hardware IDs known by Windows Autopilot.
• Devices must have a Windows Autopilot deployment profile assigned.

Implement pilot deployment

Windows Autopilot is not complex to configure and use, though several services need to work together for your users to see a seamless out-of-box experience. After completing the Windows Autopilot prerequisites, you might want to practice using Windows Autopilot to provision Windows 11 in a test lab using a virtual machine. When using a VM for Autopilot testing, assign at least two processors and 4 GB of memory.

Once you have the basic functionality working, you can explore the available additional features; these features can be used to streamline the deployment process or personalize the experience for the user. These enhancements currently include the following:

• Device Groups Creating device groups with Azure AD allows you to separate devices into logical groupings.
• Dynamic Groups You can use Azure AD Dynamic Groups to simplify device group management. Devices are automatically added to the dynamic group if they meet the group membership criteria outlined in the rules. Dynamic groups are an Azure AD premium feature.
• Deployment Profiles You can create a single default deployment profile for your whole organization or add additional deployment profiles and assign them to device groups.
• Personalization Windows Autopilot allows you to assign a username and a friendly name to a specific device. During OOBE, the friendly name is then shown to the user.
• Enrollment Status Page During Microsoft Intune device enrollment, users can be shown a progress status page. This is configurable.

After configuring your Windows Autopilot processes and successfully provisioning devices in your test lab, you are ready to deploy Windows Autopilot in your production environment. You should follow best practices for any new technology deployment and pilot the processes to a small group of new devices and their users.

The pilot phase of the Windows Autopilot rollout should be closely monitored, and feedback should be sought from all stakeholders. Any problems with the pilot deployment should be thoroughly resolved before proceeding to a larger-scale rollout.

Note Windows Autopilot Roadmap

Windows Autopilot is a comparatively new technology that will likely have additional functionality added frequently. To ensure that you are up to date with the most recent Windows Autopilot features, you should review the reference information on the Microsoft website at https://learn.microsoft.com/mem/autopilot/windows-autopilot.