Enroll a Windows laptop with a local admin account without Google WorkspaceSolved

Hello @rob_mitch ,

Yes. You can enroll a Windows device that is signed in with only a local administrator account. A Google Workspace account is not mandatory for the device to be managed by Hexnode.

If the enrollment page is still prompting for Google Workspace authentication or email credentials, check the active Windows enrollment profile and adjust its authentication settings:

1. Go to Enroll > Platform-Specific > Windows > Windows PCs & Tablets.
2. Open the Enrollment Profiles tab.
3. Identify and open the active enrollment profile used for Windows enrollment.
4. In the User Authentication section, change the Authentication Modes to No Authentication.
5. Save the profile.
6. On the Windows laptop, open the enrollment URL again and continue with the agent installation.

This lets you complete the enrollment without signing in with a Google Workspace account.

After the device is enrolled, you can change the enrollment profile back to your previous authentication setting if you want to enforce authentication for future enrollments.

Regards,
Simon Scott
Hexnode UEM

Would selecting Local User for both Enrollment Request and Self Enrollment also work? I noticed those options in the Windows enrollment settings and wasn’t sure if that was the right way to handle local admin devices.

Selecting Local User for Enrollment Request and Self Enrollment allows local account-based enrollments, so it is relevant for this type of setup.

However, if the immediate problem is that the enrollment page is prompting for Google authentication, setting the active enrollment profile’s Authentication Mode to No Authentication is the quickest way to bypass that prompt completely for the current enrollment.

When enrolling this way, I get a default user step. Does the password there need to match the password of the local admin account on the laptop?

No. The password used at that step does not need to match the local Windows administrator account password. It can be set independently for the default user mapping used during enrollment.

After enrollment, I noticed an email listed under Access work or school in Windows settings, even though the device is using a local admin account. Is that expected?

Yes, that is expected. During enrollment, the management profile may be associated with an email or default user mapping in Windows Access work or school settings. This does not mean the local administrator account has been converted into a Google Workspace account, and it should not interfere with the local account’s functionality. It is simply the Windows management enrollment entry used to connect the device to Hexnode UEM.