Pin to Start - Windows 11 with Intune

In Windows 10 it is possible to attach the tiles to the start menu using an XML.
With Windows 11, the Start menu has received a new design and also a new way of managing the “Pin to Start” apps. We can also manage this with Intune.

Export Windows 11 Start Menu

The start menu can be quickly exported with PowerShell and without admin rights. A JSON file is generated for this purpose, which we can also adapt afterwards.

Export-StartLayout -Path "C:\Admin\LayoutModification.json" 

The result looks like this:

{
   "pinnedList":[
      {
         "desktopAppId":"MSEdge"
      },
      {
         "packagedAppId":"scloud.work-67F43B67_wtnhry7ydga6g!App"
      },
      {
         "desktopAppId":"com.squirrel.Teams.Teams"
      },
      {
         "desktopAppId":"{6D809377-6AF0-444B-8957-A3773F02200E}\\Notepad++\\notepad++.exe"
      }
   ]
}

Intune / OMA-Uri Policy

In order to distribute the pin list, we create a policy with a custom OMA-Uri.

• We can do this in Endpoint Manager under Devices> Windows make. Here we select “Create Profile”, “Windows 10 and later”, “Templates” and “Custom”.

• We give the profile a meaningful name. Such as “WIN Startmenu”

• In the next step we add an OMA-Uri with the following parameters:

Name	ConfigureStartPins
Description	Pin to Start
OMA-Uri	./Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Start/ConfigureStartPins
Data type	String
Value	Exportiertes oder angepasstes JSON

• The configuration is then assigned and saved.

Result

Unfortunately, the “Pin to Start” apps for the start menu distributed with Intune only worked for new users. In other words, users who were not yet logged in to the end device or who had their profile deleted (shared mode).
If the configuration includes apps that are not on the device or in the user profile, this does not lead to an error. For example, if the installation only starts in the user profile, the app will also appear afterwards.

The fact that there is no way to pin apps for existing devices is a pity. That’s why I’m not a big fan of the function in most cases (as was the case with the Startmenu.xml in Windows 10). I see the use of this guideline most likely in kiosk and shared devices that are consistent or the user profile the deregistration will be deleted. This is the only way to ensure that the apps are pinned everywhere as desired.