Zoom is a widely used application for video conferencing, online meetings, webinars, and virtual collaborations. Zoom client allows users to connect with others through video and audio calls, chat, screen sharing, and other collaborative features.
There are various ways to deploy Zoom application e.g. Using Zoom MSI Installer to Install it manually on user’s devices, If you are using On-prem active directory then you can create a group policy object and assign the application to the devices.
If you have enrolled the devices into Intune, It’s easier to deploy Zoom desktop client on Windows devices from Intune admin center. We will see how to download Zoom app and then create an app deployment on Intune to deploy Zoom application.
After you deploy Zoom app on user’s devices. You can easily manage its settings using Intune. For managing Zoom settings using Intune, you will need to Import Zoom ADMX files first. There is an Old way and New way to Import Zoom ADMX files. I will recommend to use the newer way as its quick and easy method.
After you Import Zoom ADMX files, you can use Administrative templates settings for Zoom to manage Zoom application. You can also use OMA-URI settings to manage Zoom App settings using Intune.
If for some reason you have to Uninstall Zoom application using Intune then you can follow the step by step guide on Uninstall Zoom Using Powershell And Intune Win32 App.
How to download Zoom application
For mass deployment of Zoom with pre-configured settings, I will be using Zoom MSI Installer which can be downloaded from Zoom Download Center. Once you are on Zoom Download Center, 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.
Steps to deploy Zoom Desktop Client using Intune
After you have downloaded Zoom app, you can follow below steps to create an app deployment on Intune admin center.
- Login on Microsoft Intune 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.
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.
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 Ignore app version to Yes or No based on below criteria:
- Select Ignore app version = Yes If you want to app to be Installed when its not found on the target device. If the app is already there but the version number is different, it will be ignored and app will not be deployed.
- Select Ignore app version = No If you want to app to be Installed when its not found on the target device or the app version you are deploying is different than the one already Installed on the target device.
- Command -line arguments: Provide command line arguments / switches to be executed with selected msi. For enabling Zoom auto update provide an argument ZoomAutoUpdate = True.
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.
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. You can then click on Add group and select the Azure AD group for deployment on specific devices.
Review + create
Review the selections and click on Create to proceed.
Monitoring Installation status
To check the Installation status of the app, You can follow below steps:
- From Microsoft Intune 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.
Intune Policy Refresh Cycle
The Device will Sync / Check in to start the app deployment. It may take some time for the process to start. Therefore, if you are testing it on a test device, you can force initiate Intune refresh cycle on the device which will speed up the download and installation process. You can also use Powershell to force initiate Intune refresh cycle.
Also, you can restart the device first which also starts the device check-in process. Manual sync is not mandatory on user’s devices as the device check-in process happens automatically. But if you are testing this setting on a test device then this can speed up your testing and can save some time.
End User Experience
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 if application has been installed successfully, you can also check it in the 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, You can check recent event logs in Admin Events and find 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.). |
Verify Zoom AutoUpdate setting on devices
As we have deployed Zoom Desktop Client using ZoomAutoUpdate switch which we set it to “true“. Zoom app should get automatically updated when a new version is released. Let’s verify if Autoupdate setting has been configured on end user devices as per Intune deployment.
Verify Zoom AutoUpdate setting using Registry Editor
Follow below steps to verify Zoom Desktop Client AutoUpdate setting using Windows registry editor:
- 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.
Verify Zoom AutoUpdate setting using 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:
- 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.
How to manage Zoom AutoUpdate setting using Intune
You can also manage Zoom AutoUpdate setting using Zoom Administrative (ADMX) templates which you can import into Intune. Once you have imported Zoom ADMX, you can create a Device configuration profile based on Administrative Templates and configure this setting.
- Login on Microsoft Intune admin center
- Go to Devices > Configuration Profiles
- Click on + Create Profile
- Platform – Windows 10 and later
- Profile type – Templates
- Template name – Administrative templates
Under All settings search for the setting “Set to enable the auto-update feature” and select Enable. You can then apply this device configuration profile to end user devices.
Conclusion
In this blog post, we have seen how to deploy Zoom app using Intune. Along with that how to configure Auto update setting for the application in various ways. Best way is to use ADMX templates for managing Zoom app settings and use the setting “Set to enable the auto-update feature” for enabling or disabling Zoom auto update on the devices.