Microsoft Intune

Microsoft Intune is where many organizations manage their Windows PCs, Macs, iPhones, iPads and Android devices. Connecting it to AssetCenter brings every managed device across with its serial number, maker, model, operating system and the person it is assigned to, so your asset register stays in step with what Intune already knows.

Intune is a management service rather than a purchase record. It knows what is enrolled, who uses it and when it last checked in, but not what you paid or when the warranty ends. For Apple hardware, Apple Business adds the order and AppleCare details, and one device can be linked to both.

Only an AssetCenter account administrator can manage the connection. A Microsoft Entra administrator approves it once, in Microsoft. AssetCenter only reads your Intune devices: it changes nothing in Intune, and it does not read your directory's people or groups. You do not need to connect Microsoft Entra ID first; the two are connected separately.

Your Microsoft directory needs an Intune subscription. Without one there are no managed devices to read, and AssetCenter says so when you connect.

Connect Microsoft Intune#

1. Open the user menu from your avatar, then choose Integrations.
2. Select Microsoft Intune.
3. Press Connect Microsoft Intune.
4. Sign in to Microsoft with a work account that belongs to your organization's directory.
5. A Microsoft Entra administrator reviews the request to Read Microsoft Intune devices and accepts it. If you are that administrator, you approve it straight away.

Microsoft then returns you to the Microsoft Intune page, and the first sync starts in the background. Large organizations take a few minutes.

If the connection cannot be completed, AssetCenter shows an error on the page. Make sure you signed in with an account in the right directory and that an administrator approved the request, then press Connect Microsoft Intune again.

What comes across#

For every device enrolled in Intune, AssetCenter records:

• The device name and serial number.
• The maker and model.
• The operating system and its version.
• When it was enrolled and when it last checked in.
• The user it is assigned to.
• Its Wi-Fi and Ethernet network (MAC) addresses.

The assigned user is matched to someone in People by email address. AssetCenter never creates a person from an Intune device.

Some PCs, usually ones built from parts, report a placeholder instead of a real serial number, such as To be filled by O.E.M. or a run of zeros. AssetCenter ignores those placeholders, so unrelated devices are never matched to each other or to an asset because they share one.

Matching devices to assets#

A device whose serial number matches an asset you already have is linked automatically, on the first sync and on every one after it.

When a device is linked, its network addresses are recorded against the asset. Network Sync, which is in early access, uses them to recognise the same computer when a scan finds it on your network, even where the scan cannot read a serial number.

Everything else waits in the Inbox, described below. An asset holds one record per source, so the same Mac can carry both its Intune record and its Apple Business record at once.

The Inbox#

Devices that still need a decision are listed under Inbox, then Intune, on the Integrations page. The number beside it counts how many are waiting.

• Waiting lists the devices that are not linked to an asset yet.
• Linked lists the devices already attached to an asset.
• Excluded lists the devices you have set aside.

Search matches on device name, serial number, model and user email, and every column heading sorts the list.

For each waiting device:

• Import creates a new asset from the device. Choose the category it belongs in, and AssetCenter fills in the manufacturer, model and serial number.
• Link attaches the device to an asset you already have. Search for the asset by tag, model or serial.
• Exclude sets the device aside. It stays out of every import, and the exclusion survives future syncs.

Import all deals with the whole waiting list at once. Choose a category for each kind of hardware (computers, phones, tablets and everything else) and confirm. A kind left as None is not imported, and a device whose serial matches an asset you already have is linked to it instead of being added twice. One run creates up to 250 assets, and your plan's asset limit still applies.

Bulk exclude sets aside every waiting device that last checked in before a month you choose, which is useful for clearing out devices nobody has used in years.

On the Linked tab, Unlink detaches a device from its asset. The asset is kept as it is and simply stops being updated from Intune. On the Excluded tab, press the arrow beside a device to put it back in the waiting list.

Importing new devices automatically#

Import new devices automatically has AssetCenter check Intune every ten minutes and create assets for devices it has never seen before, so newly enrolled PCs and phones appear without anyone importing them.

It is turned on when you connect, and AssetCenter picks a starting category for each kind of hardware by name where your categories make that obvious, such as a category called Laptops or Phones. Check the choices:

• Computers into
• Phones into
• Tablets into
• Everything else into

A kind left as None is never imported on its own; those devices wait in the Inbox for you. If no kind has a category, nothing is imported automatically, and the page says so.

The setting is unavailable until the first sync has finished. Before that, every device counts as new, and your whole Intune inventory would be imported at once. Bring that existing inventory in from the Inbox instead.

Devices that already exist as assets are linked rather than duplicated, and your plan's asset limit applies here too.

Keeping it up to date#

AssetCenter syncs Intune once a day. Press Sync now at the bottom of the page to run one immediately. The badge at the top of the page shows whether the connection is Connected, Syncing or Needs attention, and the bottom of the page says when the last sync finished.

Intune has no purchase or warranty details, so assets linked to Intune devices get their maker, model, serial number and user from it, and their acquisition and warranty from elsewhere.

Approve device access#

If Microsoft stops letting AssetCenter read your devices, for example because an administrator withdrew the approval, the page shows Needs attention and explains why. Press Approve device access and have a Microsoft Entra administrator approve it again. The sync starts again on its own once the approval is in place.

Disconnect#

Press Disconnect and confirm to stop syncing. Assets that were imported or linked are kept, and the people assigned to them are left as they are. Only the connection to Intune is removed, along with its list in the Inbox, exclusions included. Connecting again imports the full list from Intune as though for the first time.

For related tasks, see Microsoft Entra ID, Apple Business and Managing assets.