Neat Devices and Microsoft Teams AOSP Device Enrolment Migration
Last updated January 7th, 2025
Table on Contents
1. Introduction
The content in this article applies to all Neat devices running Microsoft Teams software. These include the Neat Bar, Neat Bar Gen 2, Neat Bar Pro, Neat Board, Neat Board 50, Neat Board Pro, Neat Pad (as Room controller or Teams Panel), and Neat Frame (running Teams Displays in Persona, Hot Desking and Virtual Front Desk modes).
1.1 What is AOSP Device Enrolment?
AOSP Device Enrolment project is Microsoft’s replacement for the Company Portal application currently used for authenticating Android based devices in Microsoft Intune. The Company Portal app uses Android Device Administrator (ADA) registrations, which Google is discontinuing, requiring a new method for device registration and authentication.
Android Open-Source Project (AOSP), is what Neat uses to build the platform for Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android. Neat is closely working with Microsoft on the AOSP Device Enrolment development for our devices.
Your administrator can find a reference to this upcoming change in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center here (Message ID: MC665936). You can also find a blog post here from Microsoft on device migrations.
For Microsoft Teams devices based on Android, your Microsoft Intune administrator will need to make some adjustments before the software rolls out to Neat devices. There are two main processes involved in this initiative:
- New Device Setups or after a Factory Reset:
- For new installations or post-factory reset, the latest firmware will run Microsoft Intune and Authenticator apps, requiring the registration of the device with the latest AOSP policies in Intune.
- Migrating Existing Devices:
- For existing deployments, it will require transitioning the devices from using Company Portal ADA registration to AOSP device enrolment and migrating the room credentials. This method eliminates the need for on-site visits, as the migration is handled remotely via a Neat firmware update.
Important Note: If you need to manage devices remotely, Neat Pulse provides full remote control capabilities for your deployment. If you haven’t signed up for Neat Pulse yet, visit Neat Pulse to create a free account that includes the Remote Control feature. For more information or to demo this cloud service please have a look here.
2. Getting ready for AOSP Device Enrolment
To prepare for AOSP Device Enrolment, Microsoft has provided documentation which can be viewed on their website: Migrating Teams Android Devices to AOSP Device Management from Device Administrator
2.1 Steps to Prepare:
- Create an Enrolment Policy:
- Follow Microsoft’s guidelines to create the necessary enrolment profile.
- Create/Modify Compliance Policies:
- Update existing policies configured with Android Device Administrator to new AOSP policies.
- Note: If you have these already set up, they will be configured with Android Device Administrator already, hence the requirement to create or modify your conditional access and compliance policies.
Below is an example of the enrolment policy that will need to be created:
If you have created a token previously, it might have expired. You can simply replace that token and extend it. Token expiration date can be set to 65 years. Also, you can only have one profile that is enabled for Microsoft Teams devices. If you try to create a second one, you’ll receive an error.
Note that Wi-Fi is not supported in the AOSP profile, even though it is shown in the profile creation. That is planned for future use by Microsoft.
3. General Availability timeline
When Microsoft and Neat are ready, we will enter the Microsoft TAP (Technology Adoption Program) process for testing during Q1 2025. This update will be a special build for just TAP customer, available exclusively via Teams Admin Center. Automatic updates (firmware) will be disabled in Teams Admin Center in 2025 for a while by Microsoft, so customers can manually test the migration.
After successful testing when the TAP process has finished, this AOSP device enrolment firmware will be made part of the standard Neat firmware updates later in 2025 for everyone via the Preview and Stable channels that will ensure device migration happens. This will happen at some point in the first half of 2025.
This migration will be free of charge, like all other Neat software updates. There will be notifications in Teams Admin Center and in Neat Pulse warning you when before you push the build containing the AOSP device enrolment migration, that you must ensure you have your policies setup beforehand.
Currently, no changes or configurations are required on your Neat devices.
If you have any further questions, please contact us at support@neat.no.
4. FAQs
Q. Is Microsoft switching off Device Administrator on 31st December 2024?
A. No, Device Administrator is not being removed from Intune, but it is being moved to an Unsupported state for GMS devices. As Microsoft Teams Certified Devices do not contain GMS services, they will carry on working as normal and be supported. More details here.
Q. Will devices running Device Administrator be supported by Neat and Microsoft after 31st December 2024?
A. Yes, any certified Microsoft Teams device will continue working and be supported whilst still operating with Device Administrator.
Q. What happens if I do nothing?
A. Your devices will not sign out, but will carry on working being configured with ADA. However, if you update the Neat firmware that only has AOSP device registration apps of Intune and Authenticator, then your device will sign out upon reboot, if the Intune profile hasn’t been created.
Q. What happens if I create an AOSP profile now?
A. Nothing, Neat devices will ignore it for now. We actually would advise creating the enrolment token now, so you are ready. However, you will also need to create/modify any other Intune policies that might want to use.
Q. When will Neat devices be forced to use AOSP?
A. At some point in 2025, Neat firmware will only contain the new apps and you must create a profile in Intune for the devices to authenticate.
Q. Could I just remove the Intune license from the resource account licenses.
A. Absolutely, you can do this if you do not want to use Intune controls or policies.
Q. Can I roll back from AOSP to ADA enrolment?
A. No you cannot, once you have migrated your device in 2025 when Neat has AOSP device enrolment only firmware, you will not be able to register with Device Administrator.
Q. What happens when my Intune enrolment profile expires? Do devices get signed out?
A. No, devices already registered and signed in, do not get signed out. Only new device registrations will fail. However, you can create an enrolment profile token that lasts for 65 years (previously it was 90 days).
Q. Why isn’t Microsoft using Google Enterprise features in Intune?
A. Google Enterprise features in Intune require components like the Google Play services and other components, the whole idea around this piece of work is that it doesn’t require any extra Google services running on the device, keeping the appliance software slimmed down.
Q. Is AOSP device enrolment the same thing as MDEP (Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform).
A. No, this AOSP device enrolment migration has nothing to do with MDEP which is the operating system Microsoft is development on the Android Open Source Project, just like Neat does).