edutech4schools Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 Hi, Just setting up some Windows 8.1 laptops for a primary school and realised you cannot access the MS app store with a standard domain login account, is this correct? Are other schools simply using the domain account and not worrying about the app store?
Blue_Cookeh Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 You're correct, to access the MS store you can't use local or domain accounts, you have to use a Microsoft account, it works a bit like iTunes/Apple ID or Google Account/Play Store. We don't allow access to the Windows Store in our primary school. You can disable it via GPO: Disabling the Windows 8 App store | New Signature
edutech4schools Posted March 3, 2014 Author Posted March 3, 2014 The head has said she wants access to the store so do I need to apply for Office365? or some other MS account?
AngryTechnician Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 (edited) I have blocked the Windows Store for pupils but it remains accessible to staff. You need to create a standard Microsoft Account, which is not the same as an Office 365 account. You cannot use an Office 365 account to access the store or sign in to Windows 8. There isn't really any centralised management of these for your domain except for Windows Live Custom Domains, which you can only use if you aren't using Office 365 (even though they don't do the same thing - I know, it makes bugger all sense). Edited March 3, 2014 by AngryTechnician
edutech4schools Posted March 3, 2014 Author Posted March 3, 2014 You need to create a standard Microsoft Account, Does the standard account also then setup email etc, as this would not be a good thing if not controllable via a centralized system.
AngryTechnician Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 If you create a standard Microsoft account using an existing email address (i.e. their school email), it won't create a new email account for them.
chazzy2501 Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 Can I dl an app via the store on my admin machine and sideload a metro app to those machines which I've disabled the store?
edutech4schools Posted March 3, 2014 Author Posted March 3, 2014 If you create a standard Microsoft account using an existing email address (i.e. their school email), it won't create a new email account for them. So can they use their Gmail email address to log into windows? This particular school has been using Gapps for about 3 years and are not really interested at the moment in switching to MS.
AngryTechnician Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 (edited) Sort of. I wouldn't recommend it though. It's a separate account, just using their normal email address as the username. No data is shared between the two. Gmail works OK on the built-in mail account via IMAP, but you have to set it up manually. You can't access Google Calendar at all (except via the browser). And of course the password is completely independent of Google Apps, so they can be out of sync which may cause confusion. Logging in with a Microsoft account will also not get you access to any internal resources in your school such as your local file shares or authenticating proxy (if you have one) as the domain doesn't recognise them. As such you will also be unable to take advantage of user-targeted group policies, so you can't apply different GPOs to pupils vs staff. All in all you are much better off sticking with your AD accounts and linking the new Microsoft account (created using their existing email address) to the domain account, which you do in account settings once you are logged in to the machine. Edited March 3, 2014 by AngryTechnician
edutech4schools Posted March 3, 2014 Author Posted March 3, 2014 So basically Windows 8.1 store is not designed with schools or businesses in mind. Why am I not surprised. Thanks for all the help.
Trapper Posted March 3, 2014 Posted March 3, 2014 It is, it's designed to get you signed in with an account they can track alongside your domain account.
edutech4schools Posted March 3, 2014 Author Posted March 3, 2014 Sorry a bit confused. might be better if I play with a laptop but not back at the school until Thursday. It is, it's designed to get you signed in with an account they can track alongside your domain account. Are you saying it is possible to use the local domain account and also sign into the online account? If so can they use the Gmail account with the domain login account.
AngryTechnician Posted March 4, 2014 Posted March 4, 2014 OK, here's how it works from a user perspective: 1. I log into my Windows 8.1 machine with my domain account. 2. I go to Account Settings and have an option to connect to a Microsoft Account. 3. I type in my Microsoft account details and it links that account to my domain account. I still log in with my domain username and password, but when I access things like SkyDrive or the Windows Store, it uses my Microsoft account details to authenticate me to those online services. In my case, I have registered my Microsoft account to use my Gmail email address as the contact email and username, instead of having a new email address and inbox. This is just the same as when I register for a website using my Gmail address and then use that email as the username to log in. All of these steps have to be performed individually by the user, including setting up the Microsoft account.
edutech4schools Posted March 4, 2014 Author Posted March 4, 2014 @AngryTechnician Thanks for a detailed overview.
Curt_LFC Posted July 1, 2014 Posted July 1, 2014 OK, here's how it works from a user perspective: 1. I log into my Windows 8.1 machine with my domain account. 2. I go to Account Settings and have an option to connect to a Microsoft Account. 3. I type in my Microsoft account details and it links that account to my domain account. I still log in with my domain username and password, but when I access things like SkyDrive or the Windows Store, it uses my Microsoft account details to authenticate me to those online services. In my case, I have registered my Microsoft account to use my Gmail email address as the contact email and username, instead of having a new email address and inbox. This is just the same as when I register for a website using my Gmail address and then use that email as the username to log in. All of these steps have to be performed individually by the user, including setting up the Microsoft account. Will the Microsoft account details be then saved to the user profile so when they login to a different laptop they wont have to repeat this process?
ICS_Tech Posted August 28, 2014 Posted August 28, 2014 (edited) I'm with you @EduTech - It baffles me that it's just OK with Microsoft to take away the ability to Admins/Companies to control their user assets (accounts). There is no way to provision Microsoft Accounts. You can tie an AD to a MS account, but the end user still has to have created an MS account on their own. That means there's no way for me to control their (MS) account - no way to disable it, no way to audit it, no way to assist with it - it's not manageable by internal resources. And as if that wasn't bad enough, the problem is compounded in the EDU world when you apply it to young students. Now we'd have to have parents create/approve accounts for their children - and trust them to do it properly, and not manage it incorrectly. All this for the privilege of using the "Windows Store" - and all the Win8 specific "metro"/cloud linked apps. Hence, Windows 7 it is for the foreseeable future. Edited August 28, 2014 by ICS_Tech
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