Three significant improvements have landed for Windows Autopilot Device Preparation in the first half of 2026: the app limit per policy has been raised to 25, a long-standing managed installer blocking issue has been fixed, and apps from the Intune Enterprise App Catalog can now be included in Device Preparation policies. Taken together, these changes make Device Preparation a more capable and reliable choice for organisations building their provisioning baseline.
Quick Context: What Windows Autopilot Device Preparation Is
Windows Autopilot Device Preparation is the newer, re-engineered version of Windows Autopilot (sometimes called Autopilot v2). It replaces the older XML-profile-based approach with a policy-based model in Intune, delivers apps and scripts during OOBE before the user reaches the desktop, and requires no hardware hash registration for user-driven deployments. It currently supports Microsoft Entra join only, and policies are assigned to user groups rather than device groups.
Change 1: App Limit Raised to 25
The maximum number of apps that can be included in a single Device Preparation policy has been raised from the original limit to 25. This applies to both user-driven mode (physical devices) and automatic mode (Windows 365 Cloud PCs).
For Windows 365 in automatic mode, you can also include up to 10 PowerShell scripts alongside those 25 apps.
Why the original limit was low
Microsoft's telemetry showed that almost 90% of all Windows Autopilot deployments use 10 or fewer apps during provisioning. The original lower limit was intentional — fewer apps means faster provisioning, fewer timeout failures, and a quicker path to desktop for the user. The 25-app limit is for organisations that genuinely need a larger baseline; Microsoft still recommends keeping the list to only essential apps and using post-provisioning delivery for everything else.
If you increase your app count significantly, review your timeout setting in the policy. More apps means more download and installation time, and a timeout that was working before may no longer be sufficient.
Change 2: Managed Installer Policy Fixed (April 2026)
This was a significant blocker for many organisations. When the Managed Installer policy was active in a tenant, Win32 apps, Microsoft Store apps, and Enterprise App Catalog apps were not delivered during Autopilot Device Preparation OOBE. They installed after the user reached the desktop instead — defeating the purpose of Device Preparation entirely for affected tenants.
Microsoft resolved this issue in April 2026. The managed installer policy is now applied during OOBE before Win32, Store, and Enterprise App Catalog apps install. Apps that use managed installer tagging now install correctly during the Device Preparation phase.
If you previously worked around this issue
If your organisation disabled the Managed Installer policy or restructured your app delivery to avoid this conflict, it is now worth retesting Device Preparation with your standard configuration. The workaround should no longer be necessary as of April 2026.
Change 3: Enterprise App Catalog Apps Now Supported (Intune 2506)
From Intune release 2506, apps from the Enterprise App Catalog can be selected directly in a Device Preparation policy. This means apps managed through Intune's Enterprise App Management — which provides curated, pre-packaged applications that Microsoft keeps updated — can now be delivered during OOBE as part of your provisioning baseline.
Previously, only Win32 apps and Microsoft Store apps were available for selection in Device Preparation policies. Enterprise App Catalog apps had to be delivered post-provisioning. With this change, IT admins can include managed catalogue apps like common productivity tools and security agents directly in the provisioning flow.
Summary: what apps you can now include in Device Preparation
- Win32 apps — packaged and uploaded to Intune via .intunewin
- Microsoft Store apps — apps from the new Microsoft Store in Intune
- Enterprise App Catalog apps — Microsoft-maintained apps from the Intune catalogue (from Intune 2506)
Official Microsoft References
- Microsoft Learn — What's New in Windows Autopilot Device Preparation
- Microsoft Learn — Windows Autopilot Device Preparation Known Issues
- Microsoft Learn — Create a Windows Autopilot Device Preparation Policy
- Microsoft Learn — Windows Autopilot Device Preparation FAQ
- Microsoft Learn — Overview of Windows Autopilot Device Preparation