DEVELOPERS BLOG

BES12 v12.3: Activating Windows 10

ENTERPRISE / 12.08.15 / Ed Bourne

win10
One of the more interesting and perhaps unexpected features of BES12.3 is support for activating and managing Windows 10. With Microsoft no longer differentiating between Windows Phone and Windows PC, this means that Windows ActiveSync support can now manage a phone, tablet or standard PC using Windows 10 with BES12.3.

The process for activating a Windows 10 device is similar to what we did previously with Windows Phone (or other mobile devices). Here is a great little video with the process:

Activate a Windows 10 tablet or computer

Also, The BES12.3 Admin guide describes the process in detail here.

When activated, you can expect the following, on your phone, tablet or PC:

  • Control your devices with various IT policies and actions
  • Configure Wi-Fi profiles
  • Proxy Server and PAC support
  • Windows Notification Service for device management
  • Geo-Location (find phone) support for your devices
  • Configure 3rd party VPNs
  • SCEP enrollment
  • And of course, email/PIM ActiveSync support

If you’re wondering what it looks like on an actual PC, here is a Windows 10 virtual machine activated on a BES12.3 server, with an account already setup to go for email/PIM.

bes_pcWindows 10 virtual machine, managed by BES12.3

bes_pc2
BES 12.3 administration console, managing a Windows 10 virtual machine

So, Windows 10 PC support with a BES.  The march of progress!

Ed Bourne

About Ed Bourne

Ed Bourne brings over 10 years of experience in mobility as a Sr. Enterprise Solutions Manager at BlackBerry. Ed manages the technical partnerships with some of our largest Strategic Partners and Customers, helping to foster BlackBerry expertise and bring a compelling mobile experience to our joint customers.