Early Beta
For large rollouts, enterprise IT teams can deploy deskbird Dock centrally instead of asking every employee to download and install it. On managed installs the app activates silently with pre-configured authentication, so users never see a sign-in screen and never enter a password. This article covers what you need in place, which activation mode to choose, and what employees experience afterwards.
1. Before you start
Managed deployment has a few requirements on top of the standard deskbird Dock prerequisites:
- Devices: Entra-joined, Intune-managed Windows devices. Intune-based silent deployment is available for Windows only
- Company mode: requires registering your Entra tenant ID with deskbird first
- User mode: requires employees to already have a deskbird account
- Office networks: configured under Admin > Workplace Intelligence > Presence detection, otherwise a deployed Dock has nothing to recognize
For the full prerequisite list, see deskbird Dock: overview and setup.
2. Choose an activation mode
Choose the activation mode that fits your privacy policy — the mode is set in deskbird Admin, not in Intune:
- Company mode (anonymous): activates for your Microsoft organization only, as an anonymous device with no user identity. Measures office occupancy without identifying individuals, and booking automations do not run. Requires registering your Entra tenant ID with deskbird first.
- User mode: activates as the signed-in employee, who must already have a deskbird account. Presence is linked to that person, unlocking personalized features like auto check-in and booking automations.
- Manual mode: available for quick pilot phases or testing on unmanaged devices.
💡 Note: the activation mode follows your privacy mode. In Company mode no user identity reaches deskbird, so auto check-in and automatic desk booking cannot run at all. See Privacy modes and data handling.
3. Deploy with Intune
deskbird Dock is deployed to Entra-joined, Intune-managed Windows devices as a silent install, with authentication pre-configured so no browser sign-in is needed. For step-by-step setup instructions, see the deskbird Dock Intune Windows rollout guide.
4. What users see after a silent install
Employees do not need to do anything after a managed deployment — no sign-in, no first-run step, and no action to keep Dock running.
⚠️ Important: after a silent install, Dock only starts at the user's next interactive sign-in. Locking and unlocking the screen is not enough — sign out and back in, or restart the device. Until then, there is no tray icon and no detection, which can look like a failed rollout.
Once Dock is running, it stays in the background on its own. Users do not need to launch it, but it remains available in the Start menu and through app search if they want to open the dashboard.