Why It’s Crucial to Enable This for Autopilot Deployments

One of the most frustrating steps after enrolling a new device with Windows Autopilot is realizing that OneDrive doesn’t sign in automatically after the user logs in for the first time.

Despite a seamless OOBE experience, OneDrive remains disconnected until the user manually opens the app and signs in. This small friction point disrupts the ideal zero-touch deployment model and slows down access to synced files and Known Folder Move.

This guide shows you how to configure OneDrive for automatic sign-in and folder redirection using Microsoft Intune, ensuring a smooth post-login experience for your users.

Why Enable Auto Sign-in for OneDrive?

Here’s what typically happens in a default Autopilot + Intune setup:

• The device enrolls properly.
• The user logs in with their Azure AD credentials.
• Office apps auto-sign in thanks to SSO.
• But OneDrive? Still waiting for manual sign-in.

This is because OneDrive doesn’t auto-sign in by default, even if the user is signed into Windows.
To fix that, we need to push a specific set of policies to configure OneDrive and activate key features like:

• Automatic sign-in using Windows credentials
• Auto-start of the OneDrive client
• Known Folder Move (Desktop, Documents, Pictures) redirection
• Silently configure the sync client without user interaction

Step-by-Step: Configure OneDrive Auto Sign-in via Intune

Step 1 – Create a Configuration Profile

1. Go to Microsoft Intune Admin Center
2. Navigate to:
   Devices > Configuration Profiles > Create Profile
3. Choose the following:
   • Platform: Windows 10 and later
   • Profile Type: Settings Catalog

In the Settings picker, search and add the following settings from OneDrive :

Silently sign in users to the OneDrive sync app with their Windows credentials

• Setting name: Silently sign in users to the OneDrive sync app with their Windows credentials
• Value: ✅ Enabled

In configuration settings window :

• In the “Configuration settings” tab, click + Add settings to open the Settings Picker.
• In the Settings Picker search bar, enter “Silently sign in users“.
• Click the Search button.
• Under “Browse by category,” click on the OneDrive category to filter the results.
• From the results, select the checkbox for “Silently sign in users to the OneDrive sync app with their Windows credentials“.
• Once added to your policy, set the toggle for the setting to Enabled.
• Click Next to proceed with the profile assignment.

💡 This is the key setting. It tells OneDrive to use the Azure AD credentials from Windows login to sign in automatically.

• In Assignment window, Add All Users or a group of users.
• Click Next

• Click Create to create Configuration profile.

Result After Configuration

Once applied, here’s the flow:

1. User logs into the Autopilot-enrolled device.
2. OneDrive auto-launches in the background.
3. User is automatically signed in with no prompts.
4. Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders are synced to OneDrive.
5. Zero interaction needed. Full productivity in seconds.

Thanks