Best Way to Deploy Manage Preview Builds Policy with Intune

Here, this post will help you in the deployment of the Manage Preview Builds Policy. We’ll make use of Intune’s Settings Catalog to install this policy. We are making use of Configuration Profiles of Intune in deploying this policy.

Manage Preview Builds Policy refers to a configuration setting allowing administrators to control preview build handling and deployment within an operating system. This policy typically offers options for enabling or disabling the availability of preview or beta versions of the Operating System.

When this policy is enabled, administrators can manage how preview builds are distributed, ensuring that users either have access to or are restricted from using pre-release versions of software. This control is valuable in enterprise settings where stability and compatibility are critical, and organizations may prefer to limit the use of preview builds to prevent potential issues.

Conversely, if the Manage Preview Builds Policy is disabled or not configured, users may have the flexibility to access and install preview builds, potentially gaining early access to new features and improvements. The specific configuration options and details may vary depending on the software or operating system in question.

Note! To enrol in Preview Builds, it is necessary to set the telemetry level to 2 or higher and have your domain registered on insider.windows.com. For more details regarding Preview Builds, please visit https://aka.ms/wipforbiz.

Manage Preview Builds Policy

To create a Manage Preview Builds Policy, follow the steps stated below:

• Sign in to the Intune Admin Center portal https://intune.microsoft.com/.
• Select Devices > Windows > Configuration profiles > Create a profile.

In Create Profile, I select Windows 10 and later in Platform and select Profile Type as Settings catalog. Click on the Create button.

On the Basics tab pane, I provide a name for the policy as “Manage Preview Builds Policy.”

• Optionally, if you want, you can enter a policy description and proceed by selecting “Next“.

• Create Microsoft Feedback Notifications Policy with Intune
• Install Intune Require PIN for Pairing Policy

Now in Configuration Settings, Click Add Settings to browse or search the catalog for the settings I want to configure.

In the Settings Picker windows. I searched for the keyword Preview Builds. I found the category Windows Update For Business and selected this.

• When I select that option as stated above, I see the sub-category Manage Preview Builds. After selecting that, click the cross mark at the right-hand corner, as shown below.

Here in Windows Update For Business, I have set Manage Preview Builds to Disable Preview Builds.

Using Scope tags, you can assign a tag to filter the profile to specific IT groups. One can add scope tags (if required). More details on Intune Scope Tags Implementation Guide.

• Click Next to continue.

Now in Assignments, in Included Groups, you need to click on Add Groups and choose Select Groups to include one or more groups. Click Next to continue.

In the Review + Create tab, I review settings. After clicking on Create, changes are saved, and the profile is assigned.

After successfully creating the “Manage Preview Builds Policy,” a notification will appear in the top right-hand corner confirming the action. You can also verify the policy’s existence by navigating to the Configuration Profiles list, where it will be prominently displayed.

Your groups will receive your profile settings when the devices check in with the Intune service. The Policy applies to the device.

Intune Report for Manage Preview Builds Policy

From the Intune Portal, you can view the Intune settings catalog profile report, which provides an overview of device configuration policies and deployment status.

To track the assignment of the policy, you need to select the relevant policy from the Configuration Profiles list, which is the Manage Preview Builds Policy. Then, you can review the device and user check-in status to determine whether the policy has been successfully applied.

• If you require more detailed information, you can click on “View Report” to access additional insights.

Intune MDM Event Log – Manage Preview Builds Policy

To verify the successful implementation of String or integer policies for the Manage Preview Builds Policy on Windows 10 or 11 devices through Intune, you can leverage event IDs 813 and 814.

These event IDs provide valuable insights into the Manage Preview Builds Policy’s application status and the specific value assigned to the policy on those devices. In the case of this particular policy, the value is an Integer and is linked to the event ID 813.

By analyzing these event IDs, you can gain a clear understanding of the policy’s application status and the corresponding value associated with it on the devices in question.

To confirm this, you can check the Event log path – Applications and Services Logs – Microsoft – Windows – Devicemanagement-Enterprise-Diagnostics-Provider – Admin.

MDM PolicyManager: Set policy string, Policy: (ManagePreviewBuilds), Area: (Update), EnrollmentID requesting merge: (5B88AEF1-09E8-43BB-B144-7254ACBBDF3E), Current User: (Device), Int: (0x0), Enrollment Type: (0x6), Scope: (0x0).

When I opened the above Event log, I found that the Manage Preview Builds Policy I applied to the device was successfully implemented.

• By reviewing the log entry shown in the above image, the Event Viewer, I came across essential information, including the Area and Enrollment ID.

These details play a significant role in identifying the corresponding registry path. To locate the specific information, please consult the table provided below:

Area	Policy	Integer	Scoped	Event ID
Update	ManagePreviewBuilds	0	Device	813

The details presented in the table above for the Deploy Using Intune Manage Preview Builds Policy can be employed to access the registry settings that hold the group policy configurations on a specific computer. To accomplish this, you can execute “REGEDIT.exe” on the target computer and navigate to the precise registry path where these settings are stored.

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PolicyManager\providers\5B88AEF1-09E8-43BB-B144-7254ACBBDF3E\default\Device\Update

When you navigate the above path in the Registry Editor, you will find the registry key named ManagePreviewBuilds. Also, when I navigated to the above path, I saw that the Registry Key was created successfully.

Registry Name	Value
ManagePreviewBuilds	0

Windows CSP Details ManagePreviewBuilds

We will see Windows CSP Details for this Policy setting ManagePreviewBuilds. In the event of disabling or not configuring this policy, Windows Update will abstain from presenting any pre-release updates. Instead, you will receive such content once it is officially released to the public. Disabling this policy will result in devices currently operating on a pre-release build opting out and remaining on the latest Feature Update once it becomes available.

CSP URI – ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Update/ManagePreviewBuilds

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Author

Abhinav Rana is working as an SCCM and Intune Admin with several years of experience. He loves to help the community by sharing his knowledge. He is a B.Tech graduate in Information Technology.