Can't rename Macbooks in Intune / Entra

Moises Vasquez 0 Reputation points
2026-04-14T13:41:46.1633333+00:00

We have macbooks for select staff, and the macbooks are enrolled into Intune using a User Affinity with SSO, and it works well. You sign in, register the user against Entra so the password syncs across from the Entra account, apps install fine including Company portal and Office all on its own based on group memberships.

My problem is the name of the machine is "staff's name macbook" in Intune and Entra. When in Entra or Intune I try to rename the machine, either in Entra or in Intune, it says the name change is completed, but the device in Entra / Intune is still the same. Why is this still the incorrect name?

Is this a bug or something misconfigured on the macbooks? Any insight or direction would be greatly appreciated.

Microsoft Security | Intune | Microsoft Intune MacOs
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  1. AI answer

    2026-04-14T13:42:06.2733333+00:00

    For macOS devices, the Intune Rename device remote action changes only the Device name displayed in the Intune admin center, not all names everywhere, and different rename paths affect different “names”:

    1. Intune remote action (admin center)
      • The macOS rename action updates the Device name shown in Intune for that managed device.
      • It does not change the Management name in Intune or the Device name shown in the Company Portal.
    2. Company Portal self-service rename (end user)
      • When users rename from the Company Portal, that action only changes the device name in the Company Portal app or web portal, not on the device and not the Intune admin device object.
    3. Bulk rename behavior
      • Bulk rename uses the same rules as single-device rename, but requires including {{serialnumber}} or {{rand:x}} in the name.
      • This still only affects the Intune device name field that Intune controls.
    4. Entra ID device name vs. Intune device name
      • The documentation provided covers Intune’s rename behavior; it does not describe a supported path where renaming from Intune or Entra will always round‑trip and update every representation of the name across services for macOS.
      • If the rename action reports success but the visible name in Entra/Intune does not change, this indicates that only certain name fields are being updated and others (such as the existing object name or management name) are not being modified by that action.

    Given the documented behavior:

    • This is not described as a misconfiguration of the MacBooks.
    • It is expected that some rename actions affect only specific name fields (for example, Intune device name vs. Company Portal listing), and not all places where the device name appears.

    To ensure consistent naming in Intune for macOS:

    1. Use the Intune admin center remote action Rename device on each macOS device to set the desired Intune device name.
    2. Avoid relying on the Company Portal rename for admin views, since it only changes the name that users see in the portal.
    3. If bulk renaming, use Bulk Device Actions → Rename with a naming pattern that includes {{serialnumber}} or {{rand:x}}.

    If after using the documented Intune rename action the Intune device name still does not change at all, collect diagnostics and open a support case, as that would be outside the behavior described in the documentation.

    References:

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  2. Jose Benjamin Solis Nolasco 12,036 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-04-14T14:34:32.2666667+00:00

    Hello Moises Vasquez, I hope you are doing well,

    For Macs, Intune treats the local physical device as the definitive source of truth. When you rename the machine in Entra or Intune, the cloud portals successfully update their database records. However, the very next time that MacBook checks in, it reads its own local computer name and immediately overwrites your cloud changes to match the physical device.

    To make a name change stick in Intune and Entra, you absolutely must change the name locally on the MacBook itself. If you only have a few devices, you can just have the staff go into their Apple Menu, open System Settings, navigate to General and then About, and change the name field there. Once they force a sync from the Company Portal, the new name will push up to the cloud.

    At the end the next check in your computer will change the hostname.

    😊 If my answer helped you resolve your issue, please consider marking it as the correct answer. This helps others in the community find solutions more easily. Thanks!

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