Do I have to use Intune?

No. It is the easiest path for managed Windows, Apple and Android devices — Intune hands out the certificate profile, devices enrol themselves, and Passbeam can read Intune's compliance verdict — which is why it is the default when you add a client. But it is one of three ways in.

If the client has Entra ID but manages devices with something else — Jamf, Mosyle, Kandji, or a profile you build yourself — choose Entra ID without Intune. Passbeam issues an enrolment challenge to put in your MDM's SCEP payload, and checks Entra on every request before signing. Offboarding works exactly as it does with Intune. See “Can I use Jamf, Mosyle, Kandji or another MDM instead of Intune?”.

If there is no directory at all — printers, cameras, door controllers, building management — choose Appliances only. No Entra, no MDM: Passbeam issues each device a certificate by hand and answers the switches the same way. See “Can I use Passbeam for a network with no Entra ID at all — printers, cameras, door access, building controls?”.

And in any of the three, you can issue a certificate to a person or a device directly from Passbeam and install it by hand. That is how most people test the first one.