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Manage device groups

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Important

This is the Azure Sphere (Legacy) documentation. Azure Sphere (Legacy) is retiring on 27 September 2027, and users must migrate to Azure Sphere (Integrated) by this time. Use the Version selector located above the TOC to view the Azure Sphere (Integrated) documentation.

This topic documents how to manage your device groups using either the CLI or Azure Sphere Explorer. The steps in this topic assume that you are familiar with the concepts of Azure Sphere tenants, products, and device groups.

List device groups

List all device groups in your Azure Sphere tenant using the azsphere device-group list command or by using the Device Group - List API.

To list all device groups:

azsphere device-group list

List the device groups in a specific product using the azsphere product device-group list command or by using the Product - List Groups API.

azsphere product device-group list --product <product-name>

  1. Open Azure Sphere Explorer.

  2. Expand the Tenant node for the tenant you are interested in.

  1. Open Azure Sphere Explorer.

  2. Expand the Tenant node for the tenant you are interested in.

To view a tenant's products and device groups:

  1. Open Azure Sphere Explorer.

  2. Expand the Tenant node for the tenant you are interested in.

If there are no products listed, create a product.

If the device is already associated with a product and assigned to a group, you can update its device group at any time.

To view a tenant's products and device groups:

  1. Open Azure Sphere Explorer.

  2. Expand the Tenant node for the tenant you are interested in.

If there are no products listed, create a product.

If the device is already associated with a product and assigned to a group, you can update its device group at any time.

Create a device group

Create a device group using the azsphere device-group create command or by using the Device Group - Create API.

To create a device group:

azsphere device-group create --product <product-name> --name <device-group-name> --description <device-group-description>

Names for device groups can contain only alphanumeric characters and spaces. They cannot exceed 50 characters. If either the name or description includes spaces, enclose it in quotation marks.

You can include the following optional parameters:

  • --os-feed specifies the OS feed type to use for OS updates.
  • --application-update sets application updates policy for this device group.

  1. Open Azure Sphere Explorer.

  2. For the tenant you are interested in, expand the Product node.

  3. For the product you are interested in, right-click and select New Device Group.

  4. Specify a name for the device group and press Enter. Names for device groups can contain only alphanumeric characters and spaces. They cannot exceed 50 characters. If you specify an invalid name, an error is reported in the Output window.

You can create a device group in Visual Studio Code, but not delete it. To delete a device group, use the azsphere device-group delete command or the Azure Sphere Public API.

  1. Open Azure Sphere Explorer.

  2. For the tenant you are interested in, expand the Product node.

  3. For the product you are interested in, right-click and select New Device Group.

  4. Specify a name for the device group and press Enter or click Apply. Names for device groups can contain only alphanumeric characters and spaces. They cannot exceed 50 characters. If you specify an invalid name, an error is reported in the Output window.

You can create a device group in Visual Studio, but not delete it. To delete products, use the azsphere device-group delete command or the Azure Sphere Public API.

Update the device group

You can modify a device group's name or description using the azsphere device-group update command or by using the Device Group - Patch API.

To update a device group's name and description:

azsphere device-group update --device-group <device group ID or product-name/device-group-name> --new-name <new-device-group-name> --new-description <new-device-group-description>

You can also update the os-feed and application-update parameters using the azsphere device-group update command.

  1. Open Azure Sphere Explorer.

  2. For the tenant you are interested in, expand the Product node.

  3. For the product you are interested in, expand the product node to show its included device groups. You can rename the device group or update its description, OS feed type, or update policy:

  • To rename a device group, right-click the device group name and select Rename, type a new name, and then press Enter. Names for device groups can contain only alphanumeric characters and spaces. They cannot exceed 50 characters. If you specify an invalid name, an error is reported in the Output window.

  • To update the description for the device group, right-click the device group name and select Update Description, type a new description, and then press Enter.

  • To update the OS feed type, expand the device group, right-click OS feed type, select Update, and then choose Retail or RetailEval from the menu.

  • To change the update policy, expand the device group, right-click Update policy, select Update, and then choose No3rdPartyAppUpdates or UpdateAll from the menu. (The third option, NoUpdates, is currently reserved for internal use. If you choose this option, an error is reported in the Output window.)

Move a device to a different device group using the azsphere device update command or by using the Devices - Move API.

  1. Open Azure Sphere Explorer.

  2. For the tenant you are interested in, expand the Product node.

  3. For the product you are interested in, expand the product node to show its included device groups. You can rename the device group or update its description, OS feed type, or update policy:

  • To rename a device group, select the device group name and press F2 or right-click the device group name and select Rename, type a new name, and then press Enter or click Apply. Names for device groups can contain only alphanumeric characters and spaces. They cannot exceed 50 characters. If you specify an invalid name, an error is reported in the Output window.

  • To update the description for the device group, expand the device group, select Description and press F2 or right-click Description and select Modify, type a new description, and then press Enter or click Apply.

  • To update the OS feed type, expand the device group, select OS feed type and press F2 or right-click OS feed type and select Modify, choose Retail or RetailEval from the menu, and then press Enter or click Apply.

  • To change the update policy, expand the device group, select Update policy and press F2 or right-click Update policy and select Modify, choose No3rdPartyAppUpdates or UpdateAll from the menu, and then press Enter or click Apply. (The third option, NoUpdates, is currently reserved for internal use. If you choose this option, an error is reported in the Output window).

Move a device to a different device group using the azsphere device update command or by using the Devices - Move API.

Move a device to a different device group

Move a device to a different device group using the azsphere device update command or by using the Devices - Move API.

Specify either the device group ID or a combination of the product name and device group name in the <product-name>/<device-group-name> format:

azsphere device update --device-group <device-group-id>

azsphere device update --device-group <product-name/device-group-name>

Delete a device group

Delete a specified device group in your Azure Sphere tenant using the azsphere device-group delete command or by using the Device Group - Delete API.

A device group can only be deleted when:

Specify either the device group ID or a combination of the product name and device group name in the <product-name>/<device-group-name> format:

azsphere device-group delete --device-group <device-group-id>

azsphere device-group delete --device-group <product-name/device-group-name>