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I wanted to share my study notes in a simple and practical way — especially for beginners who get confused when a policy doesn’t apply as expected.
This is purely based on my own learning and lab practice ๐Ÿ˜Š As my previous post was general, I decided to share this one in a more technical way (including each and every step). Feel free to have a look!
Don’t just memorise each and every step. Read it, understand the concepts, and try to explain it to yourself in your own words !! ๐Ÿ’ฏ

๐Ÿšจ The Common Problem

You create a Conditional Access policy:
✔ Require MFA
✔ Apply to all users
✔ Enable the policy
But when the user signs in…
๐Ÿ‘‰ No MFA prompt
๐Ÿ‘‰ Policy says “Not Applied”
๐Ÿ‘‰ Everything looks correct
So what went wrong?

๐Ÿง  My Simple Troubleshooting Formula
When a Conditional Access policy doesn’t apply, I check these 7 things:

1️⃣ Check Sign-in Logs FIRST (Always!)
This is the most important step.
Go to:
Entra Admin Center → Sign-in logs → Conditional Access tab

It will tell you:
Which policies applied
Which did NOT apply
The exact reason
๐Ÿ’ก 90% of issues can be found here.

2️⃣ Is the Policy Enabled?
Sometimes it’s still in:
๐ŸŸก Report-only mode
In that case, it will evaluate but NOT enforce.
Make sure it’s set to:
๐ŸŸข On

3️⃣ Was the User Excluded?
Very common mistake.
Check:
Assignments → Users → Exclusions
The user might:
Be inside an excluded group
Be a break-glass emergency account
If excluded → Policy won’t apply.

4️⃣ Is the Correct App Selected?
Example mistake:
Policy targets:
✔ Office 365
But user signs into:
✔ Azure Portal
Different app → Policy won’t trigger.

5️⃣ Do the Conditions Actually Match?
If policy says:
✔ Windows devices only
But user logs in from:
๐Ÿ“ฑ iPhone
The condition is NOT met → Policy not applied.

6️⃣ Device Compliance Issues
If policy requires:
✔ Device marked as compliant
Then:
Device must be enrolled in Intune
Compliance policy must be assigned
Device must show compliant status
Otherwise → Access may not be blocked.

7️⃣ Another Policy Might Override It
Remember:
๐Ÿ”ด If ANY policy says “Block” → Access is blocked
๐ŸŸข If multiple policies apply → ALL grant controls must be satisfied
So always review all applied policies.

๐ŸŽฏ My Biggest Learning
Conditional Access is not “broken” most of the time.
It simply follows logic very strictly:
User + App + Condition = Control
If one doesn’t match → Policy won’t apply.

๐Ÿ“š Why I’m Sharing This
I’m currently revising SC-300 topics and strengthening my Azure identity skills as part of my interview preparation after a career gap.
Writing these notes helps me:
Reinforce concepts
Think like a real engineer
Prepare for scenario-based interview questions
And I hope it helps someone else too ๐Ÿ˜Š

๐Ÿ”Ž Key Takeaway
If Conditional Access isn’t applying:
๐Ÿ‘‰ Don’t guess.
๐Ÿ‘‰ Don’t recreate the policy immediately.
๐Ÿ‘‰ Start with Sign-in Logs.

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I’m sharing these notes mainly for my own self-study and interview preparation, but I hope they also help anyone learning Microsoft Intune and Windows Autopilot. Have a nice day !! ๐Ÿ˜‰  ๐Ÿ’ก Why I’m posting this: ๐Ÿ’ To reinforce my own understanding ๐Ÿ’ To prepare for Intune / M365 interviews ๐Ÿ’ To build confidence explaining real troubleshooting scenarios, not just  theory ๐Ÿ’ I’ll continue sharing more self-study notes as I progress. Covered Topics : Common Intune Troubleshooting Notes & Windows Autopilot Troubleshooting Notes. ๐Ÿ”ง Common Intune Troubleshooting Notes 1️⃣ Device Not Enrolling into Intune ๐Ÿ‘‰ Intune Portal Path:  Intune admin center → Devices → Enroll devices → Automatic enrollment ๐Ÿ‘‰Checkpoints:  ๐Ÿ’  User has Intune license assigned  ๐Ÿ’ MDM authority is Microsoft Intune  ๐Ÿ’ MDM user scope is configured  ๐Ÿ’ Device is Azure AD joined / Hybrid joined  ๐Ÿ’ Review Company Portal enrollment errors 2️⃣ Application Deployment Failed / Pending ๐Ÿ‘‰Intun...