First-time sign-ins on Windows 10 and 11 devices often display a series of messages like “Hi,” “We’re setting things up for you,” and “This might take several minutes.” While designed to enhance user experience, these animations can significantly delay productivity—particularly in enterprise environments where time is critical. Microsoft Intune offers IT administrators the tools to streamline device setup and eliminate these unnecessary delays during onboarding.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to use Intune to disable the first sign-in animation, fine-tune the Enrolment Status Page (ESP) during Windows Autopilot deployments, and deliver a faster, more seamless first login experience for your users.

Why Disable the First Sign-in Animation on Corporate Devices?

Beyond a simple aesthetic preference, disabling the first sign-in animation offers significant benefits for modern IT departments and their users:

• Reduces Time-to-Desktop: Shaving even 30-60 seconds off each first login adds up quickly. For an organisation onboarding 100 employees monthly, this means saving 50-100 hours annually, translating directly into earlier productivity.
• Enhances User Experience & Morale: A quick, unhindered login sets a positive tone, reducing frustration and the perception of slow systems. This is crucial for “Day Zero” productivity, where new hires need to get working immediately.
• Streamlines IT Provisioning: A faster login process supports zero-touch deployment strategies like Windows Autopilot, making your device provisioning truly seamless and efficient.
• Minimises Helpdesk Calls: Fewer users will contact IT, thinking their new device is “stuck” or “frozen” on a welcome screen.
• Better Control Over Setup: IT can dictate a cleaner initial experience, bypassing consumer-focused prompts (like Microsoft account opt-ins) that are irrelevant in a corporate context.

The specific policy we’ll leverage is EnableFirstLogonAnimation. This setting controls whether users see the animation and, for Microsoft account users, the initial opt-in prompt for services. When disabled, both are bypassed, ensuring a quicker path to the desktop. This policy applies to the very first user who sets up the device and any subsequent new users who log in.

Step-by-Step: Disable First Sign-In Animation via Intune

1. Create a Configuration Profile in Intune

• Sign in to the Microsoft Intune Admin Centre:
• Navigate to Devices > Configuration profiles. Click + Create profile. In the “Create a profile” blade, select:
  • Platform: Windows 10 and later
  • Profile type: Profile Type > Settings Catalog
• Click Create.

2. Name Your Policy

• On the “Basics” tab, provide a descriptive Name for your policy. Good naming conventions help with organisation and identification.
• Name: CP-Win10-11-DisableFirstLogonAnimation
• Description: Disables the 'Hi, we're setting things up for you' animation for all first-time user logins.
• Click Next.

3. Configure the Settings

• Click on Add settings
• Search for Animation
• Select Window Logon
• Select Enable First Logon Animation
• the default will be Enable > change it to Disable
• Click on Next

4. Assign Scope Tags (Optional)

If your organization uses Scope tags to control administrative permissions or policy visibility, assign the relevant tags here. If not, you can skip this step. Click Next.

5. Assign Profile to Groups

This determines which devices or users receive the policy.

1. Under “Assignments,” choose how to assign the profile:
   • For device-wide impact: Assign to device groups (e.g., “All Corporate Devices” or your Autopilot device group). This ensures any new user on a targeted device experiences the change.
   • For user-specific impact (less common for this setting): Assign to user groups.
2. Click Add groups and select the appropriate Azure AD security groups.
3. You can also specify Exclusions if certain devices or users should not receive this policy (e.g., a small test group).
4. Click Next.

6. Review and Create

1. On the “Review + create” tab, carefully review all your settings.
2. Click Create to save and deploy the policy.

7. Verify Policy Application

After deployment, it’s essential to confirm the policy has applied successfully on client devices.

• Monitor in Intune:
  • Go to Devices > Monitor > Configuration profiles.
  • Click on your CP-Win10-11-DisableFirstLogonAnimation profile to see its deployment status (Success, Error, Pending).

• Verify on Client Device (Registry):
  • Open regedit on a target Windows 10/11 device.
  • Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
  • Confirm the DWORD (32-bit) Value named EnableFirstLogonAnimation is present and set to 0.

• Test with a New User Login:
  • Log in to the device with a user account that has never logged into that specific machine before.
  • Observe the login process. The “Hi,” “We’re setting things up,” and related animations should be bypassed, leading directly to the desktop

Alternative way Using OMA-URI via Intune

On the “Configuration settings” tab, click Add to create a new OMA-URI setting.

Fill in the details for this setting:

• Name: Disable First Logon Animation
• Description: (Optional) Sets EnableFirstLogonAnimation to 0 in the registry.
• OMA-URI: ./Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/WindowsLogon/EnableFirstLogonAnimation
  • Explanation: This is the path to the specific setting within Windows’ Configuration Service Provider (CSP) responsible for logon animations.
• Data type: Integer
• Value: 0
  • Explanation: An integer value of 0 instructs Windows to disable the animation and the Microsoft account opt-in prompt. A value of 1 would enable it.
• Click Add to save this specific OMA-URI setting, then click Next.
• Assign the profile to a device group or user group as appropriate.

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Advanced Optimisation: Streamline the Enrolment Status Page (ESP)

For organisations leveraging Windows Autopilot for device provisioning, the Enrolment Status Page (ESP) is another area ripe for optimisation. The ESP displays the progress of device setup, ensuring critical policies and applications are installed before the user gets full desktop access. While valuable, it can sometimes introduce unnecessary blocking or delays.

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Understanding the Enrolment Status Page (ESP)

The ESP typically includes several phases:

• Device Preparation: Configuring hardware, joining the network, installing certificates.
• Device Setup: Installing device-assigned applications, applying device-centric policies.
• Account Setup: Installing user-assigned applications, applying user-specific policies.

The ESP can also be configured to “block” device use until certain apps or profiles are installed, which, while beneficial for compliance, can lengthen the provisioning time.

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Reasons to Disable ESP Phases

Strategically disabling or configuring ESP phases offers further advantages:

• Accelerated Time-to-Productivity (again, but specific to ESP): Skipping these visual progress bars can make the device feel ready faster, especially if apps install in the background.
• Mitigating Provisioning Delays & Timeouts: Complex ESP configurations, large app deployments, or slow networks can lead to lengthy waits or Autopilot timeouts. Disabling parts of the ESP can bypass these bottlenecks.
• Avoiding Redundancy: If you’re using Autopilot pre-provisioning (formerly White Glove), where IT prepares the device, the ESP for the end-user becomes largely redundant.
• Faster Hybrid Azure AD Join: Hybrid AAD Join Autopilot can struggle with ESP timeouts as it waits for domain join and GPO processing. Disabling ESP can make these deployments more reliable.
• Quicker Login for Multi-User Environments: In shared device scenarios, bypassing user-centric ESP phases means subsequent users log in faster.

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How to Disable Device and User ESP via Intune

Similar to the sign-in animation, ESP phases can be controlled through custom OMA-URI settings or directly within your Autopilot Deployment Profiles. We’ll focus on the custom OMA-URI approach for broader applicability.

Disable Device ESP via Intune

This skips the “Device Preparation” and “Device Setup” phases.

1. Create a New Configuration Profile:
   • Follow steps 1-3 from the “Disable First Sign-in Animation” section (Platform: Windows 10 and later, Profile type: Templates > Custom).
2. Name the Profile: CP-Win10-11-SkipDeviceESP
3. Add a Custom OMA-URI Setting:
   • Name: Skip Device Status Page
   • OMA-URI:
     ./Vendor/MSFT/DMClient/Provider/MS DM Server/FirstSyncStatus/SkipDeviceStatusPage
   • Data type: Boolean
   • Value: True
4. Assign and Deploy: Assign this profile to your relevant device groups (e.g., your Autopilot device group).

Disable User ESP via Intune

This skips the “Account Setup” phase.

1. Create a New Configuration Profile:
   • Follow steps 1-3 from the “Disable First Sign-in Animation” section (Platform: Windows 10 and later, Profile type: Templates > Custom).
2. Name the Profile: CP-Win10-11-SkipUserESP
3. Add a Custom OMA-URI Setting:
   • Name: Skip User Status Page
   • OMA-URI:
     ./Vendor/MSFT/DMClient/Provider/MS DM Server/FirstSyncStatus/SkipUserStatusPage
   • Data type: Boolean
   • Value: True
4. Assign and Deploy: Assign this profile to your relevant user groups (e.g., “All Employees”).

Important Note: For devices enrolling via Windows Autopilot, many of these ESP settings are directly configurable within the Autopilot Deployment Profile itself (under the “Enrolment Status Page” section). This offers a more integrated way to manage ESP behaviour for Autopilot-specific scenarios.

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Testing and Validation Best Practices

Thorough testing is essential to ensure configurations are applied correctly and do not disrupt the end-user experience. Always validate your settings in a controlled lab environment before deploying them organization-wide.

Step 1: Identify the Enrollment GUID

To verify the applied configurations, you’ll need to locate the device’s Enrollment GUID:

• Navigate to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\DMClient to identify the {EnrollmentGUID}.
• Alternatively, open Task Scheduler and browse to Microsoft > Windows > EnterpriseMgmt. The listed GUIDs here will help you match the correct enrollment entry.

Step 2: Confirm Registry Settings

Once you have the {EnrollmentGUID}, open Registry Editor and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Enrollments\{EnrollmentGUID}\FirstSync

This key will show whether the initial sync has occurred, confirming policy application.

Step 3: Reprovision or Perform Autopilot Reset

The most reliable way to validate your Intune configuration is by reprovisioning a device:

• Use Autopilot Reset or provision a brand-new device with the intended configuration profile.
• This ensures you are testing the full deployment process in a clean environment.

Step 4: Enroll Using a Fresh User Profile

To simulate a real first-time experience:

• Use a user account that has never signed in to the device before.
• This allows you to accurately observe onboarding and policy enforcement behavior.

Step 5: Observe User Experience and Device State

• ✅ First Sign-In Animation: Confirm it is disabled as expected.
• ✅ Enrollment Status Page (ESP): Verify if the Device and User phases are bypassed or completed faster than normal.
• ✅ Post-Login Validation:
  • All required apps are installed.
  • Security baselines and configuration profiles are enforced.
  • Compliance status is accurately reported.

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Conclusion

Disabling the first user sign-in animation and strategically optimising the Enrolment Status Page in Windows 10 and 11 significantly enhances the onboarding experience for new employees in enterprise environments. By leveraging Microsoft Intune and precise OMA-URI configurations, IT administrators gain granular control over the initial device setup.

These optimisations are not just technical tweaks; they are foundational elements of a truly seamless, efficient, and user-centric device management strategy. A faster, frustration-free first login contributes directly to increased productivity, higher employee satisfaction, and a streamlined workflow for your IT team. Embrace these modern management techniques to deliver an exceptional digital onboarding experience every time.