Microsoft’s Microsoft Intune release notes for the week of October 26, 2026 introduce bulk eSIM activation and updated wipe controls for corporate-owned Android Enterprise devices. The Intune What’s New page, dated October 28, covers activation batches of up to 100 devices, an Android 15 minimum, and default preservation of eSIM data plans during bulk wipes.

For Intune administrators, the signal is clear: eSIM provisioning and device wiping now require explicit lifecycle decisions. Activation can move in larger batches, but deprovisioning remains a separate administrative choice.

1. Bulk eSIM Actions for Corporate-Owned Android Devices

Microsoft says Intune can activate eSIMs on up to 100 selected devices through Devices > All devices > Bulk device actions. The targets must be corporate-owned Android Enterprise devices running Android 15 or later.

Bulk activation requires a carrier activation server URL and is available only through the updated bulk device actions experience. Personally owned Android Enterprise work profile devices are excluded.

What you can control: Administrators can select eligible corporate devices, provide the carrier activation server URL, and submit activation as a single bulk operation. This is not universal Android enrollment support. It is a targeted provisioning workflow with ownership, operating-system, and console-experience prerequisites.

Why this matters: The new batch limit reduces the need to process eSIM activation one device at a time. For your team, that turns eSIM enablement into a repeatable deployment task that can be incorporated into device staging and refresh procedures.

Microsoft also says bulk wipe preserves eSIM data plans by default on supported devices. Administrators must select the eSIM-removal option when the wipe should remove those plans.

That default changes the operational meaning of a wipe. A reset does not automatically equal cellular-service deprovisioning.

The Android Enterprise settings catalog also includes Remove all eSIMs during a device wipe. According to Microsoft’s release notes, the setting supports Android 15 or later and defaults to False.

Admin action:

  • Validate device ownership: Limit the workflow to corporate-owned Android Enterprise devices; personally owned work profile devices are unsupported.
  • Confirm operating-system eligibility: Verify that every selected device runs Android 15 or later before assembling the batch.
  • Use the updated workflow: Open Devices > All devices > Bulk device actions and confirm that your administrators are working in the updated bulk actions experience.
  • Secure the activation input: Validate the carrier activation server URL through your organization’s approved provisioning process before submitting it.
  • Define wipe intent: Decide whether each wipe should preserve cellular service or remove the eSIM and its data plan.
  • Review policy defaults: Account for Remove all eSIMs during a device wipe defaulting to False when documenting deprovisioning controls.

The Bigger Picture

  1. Treat eSIM activation as a controlled batch operation. The 100-device limit supports staged deployment waves with defined eligibility checks.

  2. Separate device reset from service removal. Because Intune preserves eSIM data plans by default, your offboarding process must explicitly address cellular-service deprovisioning.

  3. Standardize Android eligibility checks. Corporate ownership and Android 15 or later are prerequisites, not optional targeting criteria.

  4. Update operating procedures before broad use. Provisioning, wipe, reassignment, and retirement runbooks should state whether eSIM data must survive each lifecycle event.

Stay tuned for more Intune updates, and as always, test thoroughly before deploying to production!