Overview
In perfect circumstances, Intune will download apps published to a device/user shortly after you have built/enrolled it into Intune. Many companies, with a history of having networks that are not fully open, running some unsupported Intune mode like SSL inspection or policy-based routing, have some issues on a lot of devices.
During Intune migration work, we regularly see devices that have had a few attempts to install apps and after a few attempts they give up and try again. Yet devices sat on the same desk with the same network install the software first time. When we find such a device, we run this amazingly simple utility to get the device to retry the installation of all the apps.
How does it work?
It’s child’s play really. The Intune Management Engine creates a registry structure below this key: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\IntuneManagementExtension\Win32Apps
Below this is a GUID representing the user and below that are more keys that are GUIDs representing the apps getting installed. Each subkey contains values about the status of the install. It’s complex and not very human readable.
This app identifies the GUID representing the user and deletes it. This wipes the record of what got installed/failed/etc. Now the app restarts the Intune service and within a minute we start to see stuck apps downloading.
Do all the apps reinstall?
No, Intune will just re-test the detection method for each app. If it passes (because it is installed), it fills in the results in the newly generated registry key structure and moves onto the next. However, if the app is not installed, the detection method will fail, and Intune SHOULD retry the installation.
Will this fix all app failures?
Absolutely not! If the app always fails to install, then it is likely that the app package is faulty. This app will not fix fundamental problems with any application deployments.
How do I use it?
Just download the executable (it doesn’t need installing). Run it (you may be prompted to credentials if the account you are currently using it not an administrator of the device or you may see a request for elevation.
When asked you just press “Y” to continue.
A few seconds later the process will have finished.
What happens if it runs on a device without Intune or that has no problems?
Nothing. If the device isn’t in Intune, then the registry key won’t exist to be deleted. If the device didn’t ever have any problem them Intune will quickly pass all the detection tests, and nothing will happen.
Can I just complete these repair tasks by hand?
Absolutely. There is no magic happening here, we are just making the process simpler for support personnel who must do this a lot during Intune migrations.