Zoom desktop client can be installed and configured in bulk on Windows systems using one of below methods:
- Using MSI Installer.
- Active Directory administrative templates via GPO or Intune.
- Updating registry keys on windows machines manually.
For mass deployment of zoom with pre-configured settings we will be using MSI Installer of Zoom which can be downloaded from Zoom Download Center. Once you are on Zoom Download Center site, look for Download for IT Admin drop down on the top right hand side and then Download Zoom Client for Meetings by clicking on Download MSI button.
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Deploy Zoom Desktop Client using Microsoft Intune
You can deploy Zoom Desktop Client using Microsoft Intune using below steps:
- Login on Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center.
- Click on Apps.
- Click on All apps.
- Click on + Add.
- Select app type as Line-of-business app.
Click on Select app package file and browse for the App package file which is an MSI File downloaded from Zoom Download Center. Verify the Name of the appplication, Platform, Size, MAM Enabled and Execution Context Status.
As Its recommended to use 64-bit Zoom Desktop Client MSI file. Execution Context is Dual purpose which means that the app can be installed either in User context or System Context. We will be using System Context for Installation of this application. Click on OK to proceed.
Fill in the App Information form and select App Install Context as Device, make sure Ignore App version is Yes and include Command-line arguments to ZoomAutoUpdate = True. You can add more command-line arguments as per your requirements.
To find out which all switches / parameters are available for you to use during the pre-configuration deployment. You can refer to below link: Mass-deploying with preconfigured settings for Windows.
App Information
- Name: Enter a name of the application.
- Description: Enter the description of the application.
- Publisher: Enter the name of the Publisher of the app.
- App install context: Select App install context as Device.
- Ignore app version: Select Yes. For self-updating Apps like Zoom or Google chrome its recommended to select Yes for Ignore app version. If you select No and user updates the app, Intune will uninstall the updated version and keep it same as the version of Zoom deployed using the uploaded MSI.
- Command -line arguments: Provide command line arguments / switches to be executed with selected msi.
Next steps is to assign this application. You can either install this application to All Users or All Devices or a specific Azure AD security group containing Users or Devices. I have deployed this app to All users which will install Zoom desktop client on all of user’s devices.
Please note a user could have multiple devices and this application will be deployed on all their devices. If you want to deploy this application on specific devices then create an Azure AD security group and add the devices into the group then add the Azure AD Security Group in the Required Section of this app.
Review + create
Review the application information and then click on create to complete the application deployment and assignment steps.
Monitoring
To check the Installation status of the app, You can follow below steps:
- From Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center, Click on Apps on the left hand side.
- Click on All apps.
- Search for Zoom Desktop Client Install Application and click on the app.
- In the Overview section of the application, you can see the Application Installation Status.
- To find more information about devices and users on which the application is installed, you can also click on Device install status or User install status under Monitor.
End User Device Deployment Confirmation
Deployment of the Zoom Desktop Client on target windows device can take time. The software will be downloaded and then installed on the device during the next intune policy refresh sync cycle.
However if you are testing the deployment and want to speed up the sync to download and install the software as soon as possible, you can force initiate a Intune sync from the Device itself. To know how to Force Initiate Intune Sync manually from the device you can refer to the link: How to force Intune Sync manually from a Windows device.
Confirm Zoom Desktop Client application status from Control Panel
To check if Zoom Application has been Installed Successfully. You can open Control Panel -> Programs and Features to check if Zoom is Installed.
Confirm Application Status from Event Viewer
To confirm the application has been installed successfully, you can also check it in Event Viewer. Follow below steps to check the Application Deployment status.
- Go to Start -> Search for Event Viewer and click on it to Launch Event Viewer MMC.
- Expand Application and Services logs -> Microsoft -> Windows.
- Find DeviceManagement-Enterprise-Diagnostics-Provider folder.
- Click on Admin and go through the logs to find the specific policy or an application deployment status.
After initiating sync on the device, I have checked the recent event logs in Admin Events and found that the Zoom Desktop Client assigned to this device has been installed successfully. You can verify the application using the MSI ProductCode:C6095BA2-96D7-478C-922F-01849BD21AFD which belongs to Zoom desktop client app and Event ID: 1922.
| EnterpriseDesktopAppManagement CSP: An application install has succeeded. MSI ProductCode: {C6095BA2-96D7-478C-922F-01849BD21AFD}, User SID: (S-0-0-00-0000000000-0000000000-000000000-000), Result: (The operation completed successfully.). |
Zoom AutoUpdate Setting
As we had deployed Zoom Desktop Client using ZoomAutoUpdate switch which we set it to “true“. This means that Zoom Client will get this setting and also autoupdate to a new version when its released. We will now verify if Zoom has been pre-confgured for AutoUpdate as per the configuration.
Below information has been copied from Zoom Website to provide some useful information about AutoUpdate Setting. As we are deploying newer version of Zoom which is 5.11.71785. We will not be using EnableSilentAutoUpdate or AlwaysCheckLatestVersion switches / parameters.
| Important Info about AutoUpdate |
|---|
| The AutoUpdate option on versions prior to 5.8.6 is not a true auto-update feature. This option only allows the user to manually check for updates and the desktop client will not keep itself on the latest client version automatically. Please refer to the EnableSilentAutoUpdate or AlwaysCheckLatestVersion options, as these options enhance the AutoUpdate option to achieve something closer to a true auto-update functionality. AutoUpdate on versions 5.8.6 and higher does allow for automatic download and installation of updates, based on Slow and Fast release cadences to best suit your needs. The cadence of releases you want to follow with AutoUpdate is configured with the SetUpdatingChannel option below. |
Let’s now verify if AutoUpdate Setting which we had set it to “true” at the time of Installing this application is now configured successfully.
From Registry Editor
Follow below steps to Verify Zoom Desktop Client AutoUpdate setting:
- Go to Start -> Type Regedit and click on Registry Editor.
- Find the Key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ZoomUMX\PerInstall
- You can check an reg entry on the right hand side: enableupdate which is now set to true.
From Zoom Desktop Client
You can also verify if Zoom Desktop Client application is configured for Auto update by logging on to Zoom application. Please follow below steps to verify Zoom Auto Update from the application interface.
- Login on Zoom Meeting application / Zoom Cloud Meetings application / Zoom Desktop Client.
Click on Settings Icon on the top right hand side.
Click on General and the scroll down on the page to find Zoom Updates section. As you can see that Zoom is set to Automatically keep Zoom Desktop Client up to date and the Update Channel is set to Slow. Please also note that this setting can be updated by the user along with Update Channel.
You can either Set the update channel to Slow or Fast.
Slow Update Channel: Fewer updates, better stability
Fast Update Channel: Try the newest features and updates.
Conclusion
You can deploy Zoom desktop client using Intune by following the steps given in this blog post. Along with this you can configure Zoom to automatically update without creating an Intune application package each time a new version is released. Even though you push a new version of Zoom using Intune, it should be an in-place upgrade of the application and you should only have one version of Zoom installed after its updated.
However, Configuration of Zoom AutoUpdate settting makes it easier for IT Admins. In this blog post, we have pre-configured Zoom desktop Client AutoUpdate Setting using msiexec command. But you cannot control of manage Autoupdate or any other Zoom Configuration Afterwards.
For managing Zoom Desktop Client Configuration settings including AutoUpdate setting using Intune, You can ingest Zoom ADMX file into Intune and then Configure the settings using OMA-URI path or If you are using On-Premise Active Directory then you can manage Zoom Desktop Client Configuration using Active Directory Group Policy.
