How To Join Windows 7 To Azure Ad

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In this blog post, we will learn how to join a Windows 7 machine to an Azure Active Directory (AD) domain. While Windows 7 is not officially supported as an Azure AD-joined device, there is a workaround using Azure AD Connect.

Prerequisites

  • An active Azure subscription with access to Azure AD
  • A Windows 7 machine with administrative privileges
  • Azure AD Connect installed on a Windows Server machine (in the same network as the Windows 7 machine)

Step 1: Configure Azure AD Connect

Before you can join the Windows 7 machine to the Azure AD domain, you need to ensure that Azure AD Connect is synchronizing your on-premises Active Directory with Azure AD. To do this, follow these steps on your Windows Server machine:

  1. Open the Azure AD Connect application.
  2. Click Configure and select Add an additional Azure AD domain.
  3. Enter your Azure AD credentials when prompted.
  4. Select the on-premises AD domain to synchronize with Azure AD and click Next.
  5. Click Configure to start the synchronization process.

Once the synchronization is complete, your on-premises AD domain will be connected to Azure AD.

Step 2: Join the Windows 7 Machine to the On-Premises AD Domain

Since Windows 7 does not support joining Azure AD directly, you will first need to join the Windows 7 machine to the on-premises AD domain that is synchronized with Azure AD. To do this, follow these steps on your Windows 7 machine:

  1. Click Start and right-click on Computer. Select Properties.
  2. Click Change settings next to the computer name.
  3. Click the Change button and select Domain.
  4. Enter the domain name of your on-premises AD domain (e.g., yourdomain.local) and click OK.
  5. Enter the credentials of a domain administrator when prompted.
  6. Restart the Windows 7 machine when prompted.

Once the Windows 7 machine is connected to the on-premises AD domain, it will also be available in Azure AD through Azure AD Connect.

Step 3: Verify the Windows 7 Machine in Azure AD

To ensure that the Windows 7 machine is now part of your Azure AD domain, follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to the Azure portal with your Azure AD credentials.
  2. Click on Azure Active Directory from the left-hand menu.
  3. Click on Devices and then All devices.
  4. Search for your Windows 7 machine by its computer name.

If the Windows 7 machine appears in the list of devices, it has been successfully joined to the Azure AD domain.

Conclusion

While Windows 7 does not natively support joining Azure AD, you can use Azure AD Connect to synchronize an on-premises AD domain with Azure AD and join the Windows 7 machine to the on-premises domain. This workaround allows you to manage Windows 7 devices in Azure AD and take advantage of Azure AD features.