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Basic Mobility and Security

How to Change Office 365 MDM Authority to Intune—and Move SCCM Devices with Co-Management

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Short answer: Microsoft 365 Basic Mobility and Security (often called “Office 365 MDM”) can be moved to Intune. You cannot select modern Configuration Manager (formerly SCCM) as the tenant’s MDM authority. For Configuration Manager-managed Windows devices, use co-management and move workloads gradually.

Understand the terminology

“Office 365 MDM” is now generally documented as Basic Mobility and Security for Microsoft 365. It is a limited device-management service, separate from Microsoft Intune. Configuration Manager is Microsoft’s current name for SCCM.

MDM authority identifies the service responsible for enrollment and mobile-device-management policy. It is different from workload authority: in co-management, Configuration Manager can remain in charge of workloads that have not moved, while Intune controls selected workloads.

Microsoft documents Intune standalone, Intune with Configuration Manager co-management, Basic Mobility and Security, and Basic Mobility and Security/Intune coexistence as supported arrangements. See Microsoft’s MDM-authority documentation.

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Check the tenant’s current authority

  1. Open the Microsoft Intune admin center.
  2. Go to Tenant administration > Tenant status > Tenant details.
  3. Read the MDM authority value.

If the portal does not offer a “Configuration Manager MDM authority” choice, that is expected in current tenants; the old Configuration Manager MDM-authority model was deprecated.

Move Basic Mobility and Security users to Intune

Prepare policies before licensing users

Do not treat the authority action as a harmless toggle. Recreate the settings currently supplied by Basic Mobility and Security in Intune before moving a pilot group:

  • Security and compliance policies
  • Email profiles
  • Wi-Fi, VPN, and certificate profiles
  • Device-configuration profiles
  • Applications and app-protection settings

Target replacement policies to the same users or groups, remove conflicting assignments, and record the original configuration. Microsoft warns that old settings—including managed email profiles—can be removed when a user moves, and users may have to authenticate email again. Confirm Apple APNs and Android Enterprise integrations before enrolling those platforms.

Enable Intune coexistence

  1. Sign in to the Intune admin center as a Microsoft Entra Global Administrator or Intune Service Administrator.
  2. Go to Devices and find the Add MDM Authority banner.
  3. Select Intune MDM Authority > Add and confirm coexistence.
  4. Assign an Intune-entitling license to each user whose devices should move.
  5. Deploy the replacement Intune policies to a small pilot group.
  6. Wait for the devices’ next MDM check-in, or have users initiate a Company Portal check-in or compliance check.

Enabling Intune does not migrate every device immediately. Users generally move when they have an Intune license and their devices check in. A user with only the relevant Microsoft 365 license can remain on Basic Mobility and Security.

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What happens during the transition?

Devices must connect to the new service before receiving Intune settings. Profiles from the previous authority—email, VPN, certificates, Wi-Fi, and configuration profiles—can remain for up to seven days or until the first connection to the new authority. Authority synchronization can take up to eight hours, depending on scheduled check-ins, and Intune compliance reporting can take up to a week to become accurate.

Devices without an associated user, including some Apple automated-device-enrollment or bulk-enrollment devices, may not migrate automatically and can require Microsoft Support assistance.

Validate an Intune migration

  1. Recheck Tenant administration > Tenant status > Tenant details and confirm the intended authority.
  2. Verify the pilot user has the required Intune license.
  3. Confirm the device checks in and appears in Intune.
  4. Test compliance, configuration, email, Wi-Fi, VPN, certificates, and applications.
  5. Use a harmless remote action, such as Remote lock, to verify management.
  6. Enroll a new test device and confirm that it lands in Intune.
  7. Review Microsoft Entra sign-in and compliance results before expanding the rollout.

If an individual device remains attached to the old service, Microsoft documents unenrollment and re-enrollment as a way to reconnect it more quickly.

Can Intune be changed to SCCM as the tenant MDM authority?

No—not through a supported modern tenant setting. Microsoft’s staff guidance says the former Configuration Manager MDM-authority model was deprecated and that switching from Intune to Configuration Manager authority is unsupported: Microsoft Q&A response. Do not rely on hidden portal options, registry edits, PowerShell tricks, or undocumented backend changes.

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If the goal is to keep Windows devices under Configuration Manager, either remain Configuration Manager-only or use co-management without moving workloads. A full Intune-to-Configuration Manager reversal depends on platform, enrollment state, licensing, and whether devices must be unenrolled and re-enrolled; escalate tenant-specific cases to Microsoft Support.

Move Configuration Manager-managed Windows devices with co-management

Co-management lets Configuration Manager and Intune manage the same supported Windows devices. You choose authority per workload instead of changing one tenant-wide MDM switch. Review the co-management overview for supported scenarios.

Prerequisites

  • A supported current-branch Configuration Manager version
  • Microsoft Entra integration and appropriate administrative permissions
  • Intune and applicable Windows licensing
  • Supported Windows devices with a healthy Configuration Manager client
  • Automatic Intune enrollment configured
  • Clean Microsoft Entra device records; remove duplicate or stale objects

Configuration Manager licensing can provide co-management rights for Windows PCs in applicable agreements, but it does not automatically license every Intune enrollment scenario. iOS, Android, and macOS management requires an appropriate Intune subscription through standalone Intune, Enterprise Mobility + Security, or Microsoft 365.

Enable co-management

  1. In the Configuration Manager console, open Administration > Cloud Services > Cloud Attach.
  2. Select Configure Cloud Attach. Configuration Manager 2111 and later use this wizard-based onboarding experience.
  3. Configure the Microsoft Entra tenant connection.
  4. Set automatic Intune enrollment to Pilot, All, or None, and select the device collection for enrollment.
  5. Complete the wizard and confirm that pilot devices become co-managed.
  6. Build and deploy the Intune policies for the workloads you plan to move.

See Microsoft’s co-management enablement procedure for version-specific prerequisites.

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Switch workloads gradually

  1. In Configuration Manager, go to Administration > Cloud Services > Cloud Attach.
  2. Select the co-management object, choose Properties, and open Workloads.
  3. For each workload, choose Configuration Manager, Pilot Intune, or Intune.
  4. Use the Staging tab to define pilot collections.
  5. Validate each pilot before expanding the collection.

Configure the Intune equivalent before switching a workload, and keep one tool authoritative for that workload to avoid conflicting settings. Workload switches are reversible: a workload assigned to Intune can be returned to Configuration Manager. Details are in Microsoft’s workload-switching guide.

Choosing an order

There is no universal sequence. Start with a pilot and lower-risk management areas, then move security, compliance, configuration, Windows Update, applications, and endpoint protection only after their Intune implementations are tested. Treat each workload as a separate change with its own rollback plan.

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Troubleshooting common failures

The Add MDM Authority banner is missing

Verify that you are using the Intune admin center, have Global Administrator or Intune Service Administrator rights, and that the tenant is not already configured for the intended authority.

Policies disappear after licensing

The device likely switched from Basic Mobility and Security before equivalent Intune policies were assigned. Deploy replacements before licensing the next pilot, and check that assignments do not conflict.

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Profiles remain duplicated

Overlapping profiles or differently named replacements can leave old settings in place temporarily. Consolidate assignments and, where appropriate, use matching profile names so the new profile supersedes the old one.

Apple enrollment fails

Upload or renew the Apple MDM push (APNs) certificate under the new Intune authority before enrolling or migrating iPhone and iPad devices.

Devices do not appear in Intune

  • Confirm the user has an Intune license.
  • Check whether the device has checked in.
  • Verify that it has an associated user.
  • Remove duplicate Microsoft Entra device objects.
  • Confirm platform enrollment prerequisites and that it is not still managed by Basic Mobility and Security.

Co-management enrollment fails

Check Windows and Configuration Manager support status, client health, Microsoft Entra permissions, licensing, the auto-enrollment collection, cloud-attach configuration, and connectivity requirements for internet-based devices.

Licensing choices

Pricing and entitlements vary by region, agreement, channel, and commitment. Microsoft’s U.S. list-price signals observed on August 18, 2026 were $8.00 per user/month for Intune Plan 1, $4.00 for Plan 2, $10.00 for the Intune Suite, $39.00 for Microsoft 365 E3 with Teams, and $60.00 for Microsoft 365 E5 with Teams, each paid yearly. Check the current Microsoft Intune pricing page and your licensing agreement before purchasing. Plan 1 is typically sufficient for a standard Basic Mobility and Security replacement; Plan 2 or the Suite is justified only by specialty-device or advanced-module requirements. Bundles can be more economical when productivity, security, and compliance services are also needed.

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Choose the correct end state

Current state Desired result Supported method
Basic Mobility and Security Intune management Add Intune MDM authority, enable coexistence, license users, and migrate by check-in.
Configuration Manager-managed Windows PCs Gradual cloud migration Enable co-management and switch workloads with pilot collections.
Configuration Manager-managed Windows PCs Keep Configuration Manager control Remain Configuration Manager-only, or enable co-management without switching workloads.
Intune tenant “Configuration Manager MDM authority” No supported modern tenant-authority switch exists.
Mixed Windows, iOS, Android, and macOS estate Centralized cloud management License Intune appropriately and prepare platform-specific enrollment integrations.

The practical distinction is simple: Basic Mobility and Security to Intune is a user-licensing and coexistence migration; Configuration Manager to Intune is co-management with workload ownership. Neither requires, nor supports, changing the tenant to a modern “SCCM MDM authority.”

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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