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Deploy the Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) agent and its bootloader as two separate Intune Win32 apps, make the bootloader depend on the agent, and use Remote Help’s security-code workflow for the active AVD session. This supports attended help in AVD desktop and RemoteApp sessions. Do not promise unattended AVD control: Microsoft’s planning documentation explicitly excludes virtual devices, including AVD, even though a deployment guide places AVD agents in an unattended section.
What this deployment supports
The deployment installs two Microsoft Installer (MSI) packages on each target AVD session host:
- AVD agent: the primary agent package.
- AVD agent bootloader: a companion package that must install after the agent.
Intune packages each MSI as its own .intunewin Win32 app. The bootloader app has the agent app as a dependency, with automatic dependency installation enabled. Intune therefore installs the agent first and then the bootloader.
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Microsoft’s Remote Help planning documentation states that “Virtual devices, including Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop, as well as unenrolled and personally owned (BYOD) devices, aren’t supported for unattended control.” The same documentation lists the AVD agent and bootloader in an unattended-support prerequisite section, while the deployment guide describes installing them there. Treat those statements as inconsistent and use attended support for AVD unless Microsoft publishes a clarified support boundary.
Check prerequisites before packaging
Confirm the AVD device scope
The reviewed Intune guidance covers Azure Virtual Desktop single-session virtual machines. Confirm that each VM is enrolled in and managed by the intended Intune tenant before assigning applications. Microsoft’s single-session AVD and Intune guidance describes Windows Enterprise requirements, supported Microsoft Entra join and enrollment methods, and the requirement that the Azure subscription be associated with the same Entra tenant as Intune.
Do not assume that a multi-session host, a sovereign-cloud deployment, or another AVD edition has identical support. Verify the current Intune and Remote Help documentation for that combination. The Remote Help planning page says AVD is unsupported in GCC and GCC High, and Remote Help is not supported in DoD environments.
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Verify licensing and permissions
- Remote Help requires an additional subscription for Intune Plan 1 or Plan 2. License both the helper and the person receiving help according to Microsoft’s current terms.
- Review AVD licensing separately; the deployment instructions do not establish AVD prices or entitlements.
- Configure Remote Help tenant settings and role-based access control. Helpers need the appropriate Remote Help permissions. If your organization uses unattended-related roles elsewhere, check the exact current role and scope requirements rather than reusing them for AVD attended sessions.
Allow service traffic
Remote Help uses TCP port 443 with TLS 1.2. An AVD session host needs the Remote Help endpoint set in addition to the endpoints required by AVD itself. Maintain both lists in firewall, proxy, and inspection policies. Use Microsoft’s required AVD FQDN and endpoint reference together with the current Remote Help planning page when building allow rules.
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Prepare a controlled rollout
- Create a small test device group containing representative AVD VMs.
- Confirm the VMs report as enrolled and compliant enough to receive Win32 apps.
- Plan to test an attended desktop session and an attended RemoteApp session separately.
- Record the expected agent, bootloader, and profile status before assigning to a larger population.
Package the AVD agent and bootloader in Intune
1. Download both MSI installers
Open Microsoft’s Deploy Remote Help with Microsoft Intune guide and download the AVD agent MSI and the AVD agent bootloader MSI from the links provided there. Keep the files separate; they are intentionally deployed as two applications.
During MSI installation, Microsoft’s dialog shows a registration-token field prefilled with INVALID_TOKEN. Leave that value unchanged when completing the installation. Do not replace it with a guessed token or a token intended for another product.
2. Convert each MSI to a Win32 package
Run Microsoft’s Win32 Content Prep Tool once for the agent and again for the bootloader, producing one .intunewin file per MSI. Use separate source folders so the setup file, generated package, and any logs remain easy to identify. The package boundary should contain only the installer and the files required by that installer.
3. Create the agent app first
- In the Microsoft Intune admin center, go to Apps > Windows > Add.
- Choose Windows app (Win32) and upload the agent’s
.intunewinfile. - Use the x64 agent installer example from Microsoft’s guide when your AVD hosts are x64. Set Microsoft as the publisher.
- Accept the install and uninstall commands that Intune populates from the MSI metadata unless your controlled packaging standard requires a documented change.
- Configure the MSI product-code detection rule that Intune can automatically populate. Avoid a file-only rule that could report success when the MSI is missing or incomplete.
- Set the minimum operating-system version to one compatible with the Windows image used by your AVD hosts.
- Save the app, then assign it to the test device group as Required.
Wait for the agent assignment to show a successful installation on at least one test VM before creating the dependency. A failed or superseded agent assignment will prevent a correctly configured bootloader dependency from completing.
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4. Create the bootloader app
- Add another Windows app (Win32) and upload the bootloader’s separate
.intunewinpackage. - Use the MSI-derived install and uninstall commands, Microsoft as publisher, an MSI detection rule, and an operating-system minimum compatible with the host image.
- In the bootloader app’s Dependencies section, add the AVD agent app.
- Enable automatic installation for that dependency so Intune installs the agent when the bootloader is required.
- Assign the bootloader to the same device groups as the agent. Keep both assignments aligned so a host is not offered only one side of the pair.
Intune evaluates the dependency before installing the bootloader. If the agent is absent, Intune installs it first; after the agent reports success, Intune proceeds with the bootloader.
Configure Remote Desktop only where the Windows procedure requires it
Microsoft’s documented unattended-Windows procedure includes enabling Remote Desktop with an Intune Windows settings catalog configuration profile and ensuring firewall rules permit RDP traffic. You can follow those steps when your Windows support design requires them, but enabling Remote Desktop does not make AVD eligible for unattended Remote Help. AVD remains a virtual-device scenario under the planning page’s explicit unattended exclusion.
For an attended AVD deployment, keep the profile narrowly scoped to the devices and settings your security policy permits. Document why RDP is enabled, which firewall rules are required, and how the setting is removed if the support design changes.
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AVD desktop session
An AVD desktop gives the helper the scope of the user’s full remote desktop. Have the user sign in to the AVD desktop, open Remote Help in that active session, and provide the security code generated for the support session. This targets the session the user is actually running instead of relying on a host-level selection.
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AVD RemoteApp session
In a RemoteApp session, Remote Help is limited to the published application. The helper cannot use the session as though it were a complete desktop. The user should open Remote Help from the active RemoteApp session and use the security code to connect.
Why the security-code route matters
Microsoft says an Intune admin-center request for an AVD desktop is broadcast to all active users on the host. RemoteApp sessions cannot be directly targeted from the admin center. The security-code workflow reaches the correct active session in both cases. Microsoft also says it does not recommend remotely starting a session for users on Azure virtual desktops, so do not design a process that depends on silently launching Remote Help for an absent user.
| Session or control mode | Helper scope | Recommended connection method | Support status in the cited guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attended AVD desktop | Entire remote desktop | User opens Remote Help in the active desktop and shares the security code | Supported |
| Attended AVD RemoteApp | Published application only | User opens Remote Help in the active RemoteApp and shares the security code | Supported |
| Unattended AVD control | Would require control without the user present | Do not deploy as an AVD option without updated Microsoft clarification | Excluded for virtual devices by the planning page |
Validate deployment and session readiness
- In Intune, open the agent app and review Device install status for the test group.
- Open the bootloader app and confirm its dependency is satisfied and its installation status is successful.
- Check the configuration profile status if you assigned the Remote Desktop settings catalog profile.
- On the target Windows VM, verify that Remote Desktop and the required firewall behavior match the approved configuration.
- Run an attended AVD desktop test with a user present and a separate attended RemoteApp test.
- Confirm that the helper sees the expected scope: full desktop for desktop sessions and only the published app for RemoteApp sessions.
- Repeat the test after a VM restart and after a fresh user sign-in to catch timing or profile-assignment issues.
Troubleshoot common failures
The bootloader remains pending
Open the bootloader app’s dependency view. If the agent is not installed successfully, fix the agent assignment, detection rule, or operating-system applicability first. Both apps must target the same device group, and automatic dependency installation must be enabled.
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Review the MSI detection rule and product code generated from the package. A detection rule that does not match the installed MSI causes repeated install attempts even when files exist. Also check that the package architecture and minimum operating-system setting match the AVD image.
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The user cannot start an attended session
Confirm that both participants have the required Remote Help subscription, the helper has the appropriate Intune role, and the user opened Remote Help inside the active AVD session. Check outbound TCP 443, TLS 1.2, proxy inspection, and the complete Remote Help and AVD endpoint lists.
The helper sees the wrong AVD user or no RemoteApp target
Do not rely on an admin-center request for RemoteApp. Use the security code generated from the active RemoteApp session. For an AVD desktop, remember that an admin-center request can notify every active user on that host; the user-driven security-code flow avoids selecting the wrong session.
Unattended documentation appears to contradict the support boundary
Follow the explicit planning-page exclusion for virtual devices. The presence of AVD agent steps in an unattended deployment section is not sufficient evidence that unattended AVD control is supported. Escalate to Microsoft or check the live documentation before changing a production design.
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Operational safeguards
- Keep agent and bootloader versions aligned with the current Microsoft deployment guide and revalidate packages after image updates.
- Use a pilot group before broad assignment, and retain Intune status evidence for both applications.
- Separate desktop and RemoteApp test cases because their control scope and targeting behavior differ.
- Review endpoint requirements whenever network inspection, proxy infrastructure, or AVD service regions change.
- Recheck support for multi-session hosts and sovereign clouds before extending the same assignments beyond the documented single-session scope.
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