Helpful Summary
- Overview: This guide compares Intune's Fresh Start, Wipe, Retire, and Delete features. We detail their specific purposes to help you choose the right tool for managing and securing your organization's devices.
- Why You Can Trust Us: At BlueTally, we specialize in IT asset management, trusted by industry leaders like Pfizer and Vodafone. Our integration with Intune and Azure AD further enhances efficiency, providing reliable and effective solutions for your asset management needs.
- Why it Matters: Intune offers distinct features—Fresh Start, Wipe, Retire, and Delete—to manage devices based on different scenarios. Choosing the right feature ensures efficient device management, security, and compliance.
- Action Points: Use Fresh Start to refresh devices while retaining settings, Wipe to reset devices for new users, Retire to remove corporate data but keep personal data intact, and Delete to clean up device records from the Intune portal.
- Further Research: Visit the BlueTally blog for more insights on leveraging Intune for effective device management and integrating it with BlueTally to streamline IT asset management.
Our Detailed Comparison of Intune Fresh Start, Wipe, Retire, and Delete
Microsoft Intune provides a suite of tools designed to help administrators maintain, secure, and manage devices throughout their lifecycle. Among these tools are Fresh Start, Wipe, Retire, and Delete.
Each feature serves a unique purpose and choosing the right one can make a significant difference in how smoothly your organization operates.
In this BlueTally article, we explore Intune Fresh Start vs Wipe vs Retire vs Delete, offering a detailed comparison to help you understand when and why to use each feature.
Whether you need to refresh a device, remove sensitive data, or decommission a device, this guide will help you make informed decisions tailored to your specific needs.
Let's get started!
Why Listen to Us?
At BlueTally, we specialize in IT asset management, offering trusted, scalable solutions proven to streamline operations.
We support industry leaders like Pfizer and Vodafone, and our seamless integrations with Intune and Azure AD enhance efficiency.
Trust our expertise to provide reliable, effective asset management insights.
Intune Fresh Start vs. Wipe vs. Retire vs. Delete: Overview
Microsoft Intune provides several features for managing devices: Fresh Start, Wipe, Retire and Delete. Each serves distinct purposes tailored to different scenarios.
Intune Fresh Start reinstalls Windows while retaining the device's Azure AD and MDM enrollment. It removes bloatware and preinstalled applications, providing a clean, updated system without losing organizational settings.
Intune Wipe restores a device to its factory settings, erasing all data, settings, and applications, and unenrolling it from Intune. This is ideal for repurposing devices or ensuring all corporate data is removed.
Intune Retire removes the device from Intune management while leaving personal data and applications intact. This is useful when an employee leaves but keeps their device. In such a case, it removes corporate data without disrupting personal use.
Intune Delete removes the device record from the Intune portal without affecting the actual device. It's an administrative task for cleaning up records of devices no longer in use.
Each option serves specific use cases and choosing the right one depends on the situation and desired outcome. Going forward in this guide, we'll explore each feature in detail.
What is Intune Fresh Start?
Intune Fresh Start is a feature that reinstalls Windows on a device while keeping its Azure Active Directory (AD) and Mobile Device Management (MDM) enrollment intact.
This process removes unnecessary preinstalled applications (bloatware) from the manufacturer, providing a clean, updated system without losing the organizational configurations and policies.
How It Works
When you initiate a Fresh Start, Windows is reinstalled from scratch, but the device remains enrolled in Azure AD and Intune, preserving necessary organizational settings.
This is particularly useful in scenarios where devices, over time, accumulate unwanted software and performance issues arise.
For example, an organization can use Intune Fresh Start to refresh a batch of employee laptops, removing unwanted software and enhancing performance while maintaining compliance with company policies.
Pros
- Boosts device performance by removing bloatware
- Keeps devices enrolled in Azure AD and Intune
- Preserves user data and some settings
- Enhances security by removing preinstalled software
Cons
- The process can be time-consuming
- Some applications and settings need reinstallation
What is Intune Wipe?
Intune Wipe is a feature designed to restore a device to its factory settings. This process removes all personal and company data, settings, and applications, and unenrolls the device from Intune.
It essentially returns the device to its out-of-the-box state, making it ready for a new user or for repurposing within the organization.
How It Works
When you initiate a Wipe on a device, it erases all data and settings, including personal files, applications, and organizational configurations. The device is then unenrolled from Intune.
For example, if an employee leaves the company and returns their device, the IT department can use Intune Wipe to ensure all corporate data is removed. This makes the device safe to issue to another user or return to stock.
Pros
- Completely removes all personal and company data
- Restores the device to factory settings
- Prepares the device for new users or repurposing
- Unenrolls the device from Intune management
Cons
- All data is lost, requiring reinstallation of needed applications
- Data cannot be recovered once wiped
What is Intune Retire?
Intune Retire is a feature that removes a device from Intune management while keeping the user's personal data and applications intact.
This action is useful when an employee leaves the organization but retains ownership of their device, as it removes all corporate data and settings without disrupting personal use.
How It Works
When you initiate a Retire action on a device, Intune removes all company data, applications, and profiles from the device. However, personal data, such as photos, music, and personal applications, remain untouched.
For instance, if an employee resigns and keeps their company-issued phone, using Intune Retire will ensure that all corporate information is removed, but the employee can continue using their personal data and apps without interruption.
Pros
- Removes corporate data while preserving personal data
- Keeps personal applications and settings intact
- Simplifies the process of decommissioning devices for departing employees
- The device remains functional for personal use
Cons
- Does not restore the device to factory settings
- Some residual corporate settings might remain
What is Intune Delete?
Intune Delete is a feature used to remove a device record from the Intune portal without performing any actions on the actual device.
This is primarily an administrative task to clean up records of devices that are no longer in use or have been decommissioned.
How It Works
When you initiate a Delete action on a device in the Intune portal, it simply removes the device's record from Intune's management system.
This does not affect the device itself. All data, settings, and applications on the device remain untouched.
For example, if a device has been wiped or retired and is no longer in the organization's inventory, an IT administrator can use Intune Delete to remove the record from Intune.
Pros
- Cleans up device records from the Intune portal
- Keeps the device list current and organized
- Does not impact the device's data or functionality
- Helps in maintaining accurate device management records
Cons
- Does not remove any data from the device
- May lead to confusion if not used properly (thinking the device was wiped when it wasn't)
Key Differences Between Intune Fresh Start, Wipe, Retire, and Delete
Data Deletion
- Intune Fresh Start: Removes preinstalled applications (bloatware) while retaining user data and organizational settings.
- Intune Wipe: Erases all personal and company data, settings, and applications, returning the device to factory settings.
- Intune Retire: Removes corporate data and configurations but keeps personal data and applications intact.
- Intune Delete: Does not delete any data on the device, but only removes the device record from the Intune portal.
Device State After Action
- Intune Fresh Start: Device has a clean, updated OS with retained Azure AD and MDM enrollment.
- Intune Wipe: Device is reset to its original factory state, unenrolled from Intune, and ready for a new user.
- Intune Retire: Device is no longer managed by Intune but remains fully functional with personal data.
- Intune Delete: No change to the device state since the action is purely administrative.
Enrollment and Management
- Intune Fresh Start: Retains Azure AD and MDM enrollment, keeping the device under management.
- Intune Wipe: Unenrolls the device from Intune, removing it from management.
- Intune Retire: Removes the device from Intune management but does not affect its enrollment in other services.
- Intune Delete: Simply removes the device record from the Intune portal without affecting its enrollment or management status.
How to Choose the Right Intune Feature for Your Needs
Selecting the appropriate Intune feature—Fresh Start, Wipe, Retire, or Delete—depends on the specific needs and scenarios of your organization.
Here’s a guide to help you decide:
Enhancing Device Performance
If your devices are bogged down by unnecessary software and bloatware, Intune Fresh Start is the best option.
This feature reinstalls Windows, removes preinstalled applications, and keeps essential organizational settings and user data. It’s ideal for refreshing employee laptops to boost performance while maintaining compliance with company policies.
Repurposing Devices for New Users
When devices need to be reassigned or returned to stock, Intune Wipe is the appropriate choice.
This action restores the device to factory settings, erasing all personal and company data, and unenrolling it from Intune. It ensures a clean slate, making the device ready for new users without any residual data from previous users.
Decommissioning Devices for Departing Employees
If an employee is leaving but keeping their device, Intune Retire is suitable.
This feature removes all corporate data and configurations while preserving personal data and applications. It allows the employee to continue using the device for personal use without any company data remaining.
Cleaning Up Administrative Records
For devices that are no longer in use or have been decommissioned, Intune Delete is the best fit.
This administrative task removes the device record from the Intune portal without affecting the actual device. It helps keep your device inventory accurate and organized, reflecting only active devices.
Minimizing Administrative Overhead
To reduce the time and effort involved in device management, Intune Retire and Intune Delete are effective options.
Retire requires minimal effort as it only removes corporate data, leaving personal data intact. Delete is a simple administrative task to clean up device records, ensuring your Intune portal is up-to-date with minimal effort.
Choose the Right Intune Feature for the Job
Managing your organization's devices effectively means understanding Intune's Fresh Start, Wipe, Retire, and Delete features.
Fresh Start boosts performance by removing bloatware while keeping configurations intact. Wipe resets devices completely, making them ready for new users. Retire removes corporate data but leaves personal data untouched. Delete cleans up device records without affecting the actual device.
Each of these features serves a unique purpose, and selecting the appropriate one based on your needs will enhance your device management strategy.
For a seamless experience, BlueTally integrates with Intune and Azure AD, simplifying IT asset management.
Ready to streamline your processes? Try BlueTally for free today and see the difference it makes in your IT operations.
