Mozilla › Firefox
Manual Update Only
Supported on Firefox 88 or later, Firefox 78.10 ESR or later
What it does
If this policy is enabled, the user will not be prompted to install updates and Firefox will not check for updates in the background. The user must manually check and install updates from the About dialog. If this policy is disabled or not configured, the browser receives updates. This policy is not recommended for most users.
What it writes
- Hive
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_CURRENT_USER
- Registry key
Software\Policies\Mozilla\Firefox- Value name
ManualAppUpdateOnly- When enabled
- DWORD 1
- When disabled
- DWORD 0
Configure and deploy
Choose a state; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.
Enabled · Computer · template defaults
Registry file (.reg)
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Mozilla\Firefox]
"ManualAppUpdateOnly"=dword:00000001
PowerShell
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
function Set-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
}
New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}
function Remove-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
)
if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
}
function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
return
}
foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
}
# Policy: Manual Update Only
# Name: ManualAppUpdateOnly
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: firefox.admx
Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Mozilla\Firefox' -Name 'ManualAppUpdateOnly' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1
- The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
- Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.
ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)
./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_firefox/ManualAppUpdateOnlyADMX SyncML candidate
<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
<SyncBody>
<Replace>
<CmdID>1</CmdID>
<Item>
<Meta>
<Format>chr</Format>
<Type>text/plain</Type>
</Meta>
<Target>
<LocURI>./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_firefox/ManualAppUpdateOnly</LocURI>
</Target>
<Data><enabled/></Data>
</Item>
</Replace>
<Final/>
</SyncBody>
</SyncML>Intune remediation scripts
Detection
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()
function Test-RegistryValueExists {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
return $false
}
return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}
function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
return $false
}
$valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
return $false
}
$actual = $valueObject.$Name
switch ($Kind) {
'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
'MultiString' {
$actualArray = @($actual)
$expectedArray = @($Expected)
if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
'Binary' {
$actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
$expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
}
}
# Policy: Manual Update Only
# Name: ManualAppUpdateOnly
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: firefox.admx
$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Mozilla\Firefox' -Name 'ManualAppUpdateOnly' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
$reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Mozilla\Firefox\ManualAppUpdateOnly') | Out-Null
}
if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1
Remediation
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
function Set-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
}
New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}
function Remove-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
)
if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
}
function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
return
}
foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
}
# Policy: Manual Update Only
# Name: ManualAppUpdateOnly
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: firefox.admx
Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Mozilla\Firefox' -Name 'ManualAppUpdateOnly' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1
History 93 retained releases
- 7.513 Nov 2025
- Description
If this policy is enabled,
[removed: users][added: the user] will not be prompted to install updates and Firefox will not check …Whole description, marked
If this policy is enabled,
[removed: users][added: the user] will not be prompted to install updates and Firefox will not check for updates in the background. The user must manually check and install updates from the About dialog. If this policy is disabled or not configured, the browser receives updates. This policy is not recommended for most users.
- Description
If this policy is enabled,
- 6.69 Jan 2025
- Translations changed; choose a language above to compare its wording.
- 6.526 Nov 2024
- Translations changed; choose a language above to compare its wording.
- 6.011 Jul 2024
- Translations changed; choose a language above to compare its wording.
- 5.1017 Apr 2024
- Translations changed; choose a language above to compare its wording.
- 5.920 Mar 2024
- Added in this release.
29 later releases left it unchanged.
Template
- Internal name
ManualAppUpdateOnly- Namespace
Mozilla.Policies.Firefox- Template file
firefox.admx- Release
- Mozilla Firefox 8.4 · file set
a495190075c2a974…
Definition, editor controls and support
Definition
<policy class="Both" displayName="$(string.ManualAppUpdateOnly)" explainText="$(string.ManualAppUpdateOnly_Explain)" key="Software\Policies\Mozilla\Firefox" name="ManualAppUpdateOnly" valueName="ManualAppUpdateOnly" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Mozilla.Policies.Firefox:firefox" />
<supportedOn ref="Mozilla.Policies.Firefox:SUPPORTED_FF88" />
<enabledValue>
<decimal value="1" />
</enabledValue>
<disabledValue>
<decimal value="0" />
</disabledValue>
</policy>Editor controls
Supported platforms and category
Mozilla.Policies.Firefox:category:firefox
<category displayName="$(string.firefox)" name="firefox" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Mozilla.Policies:Cat_Mozilla" />
</category>
Mozilla.Policies.Firefox:definition:SUPPORTED_FF88
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_FF88)" name="SUPPORTED_FF88" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Mozilla.Policies:category:Cat_Mozilla
<category displayName="$(string.mozilla)" name="Cat_Mozilla" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Mozilla.Policies.Firefox:category:firefox
<category displayName="$(string.firefox)" name="firefox" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Mozilla.Policies:Cat_Mozilla" />
</category>
<strings><string id="Mozilla.Policies.Firefox:firefox">Firefox</string></strings>
Mozilla.Policies.Firefox:definition:SUPPORTED_FF88
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_FF88)" name="SUPPORTED_FF88" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Mozilla.Policies.Firefox:SUPPORTED_FF88">Firefox 88 or later, Firefox 78.10 ESR or later</string></strings>
Mozilla.Policies:category:Cat_Mozilla
<category displayName="$(string.mozilla)" name="Cat_Mozilla" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Mozilla.Policies:mozilla">Mozilla</string></strings>