Prioritize BITS

ComputerNeeds changes for IntuneL_SetBITSasPrimary

Supported on SUPPORTED_Windows7 (defined in the Windows templates)

5568.1000

What it does

This policy setting prioritizes the use of Windows Background Interface Transfer Service (BITS) by the Office client when downloading Office updates from the Office Content Delivery Network (CDN). If enabled, BITS will be used on devices that are downloading Office updates directly from the Office CDN and throttle values used by BITS will be honored. The device will not leverage BITS if updates are obtained from a local UNC share. If disable or not configured, BITS will not be prioritized and http will be the primary transport for downloading updates. Note: This policy setting only applies to subscription versions of Office, such as Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, and to subscription versions of Project and Visio.

What it writes

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry key: software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\officeupdate
Value name: setbitsasprimary
When enabled: DWORD 1
When disabled: DWORD 0

Why it needs changes for Intune

Policy references a Windows supportedOn definition.
ADMX-INTUNE-WINDOWS-SUPPORTEDON-REFERENCE

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\microsoft\office\16.0\common\officeupdate]
"setbitsasprimary"=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: Prioritize BITS
# Name: L_SetBITSasPrimary
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: office16.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\officeupdate' -Name 'setbitsasprimary' -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_office16/L_SetBITSasPrimary

ADMX 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_office16/L_SetBITSasPrimary</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&gt;</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: Prioritize BITS
# Name: L_SetBITSasPrimary
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: office16.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\officeupdate' -Name 'setbitsasprimary' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\officeupdate\setbitsasprimary') | 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: Prioritize BITS
# Name: L_SetBITSasPrimary
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: office16.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\officeupdate' -Name 'setbitsasprimary' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

History 1 retained release

5568.100010 Aug 2026
- Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.

Template

Internal name: L_SetBITSasPrimary
Namespace: office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows
Template file: office16.admx
Release: Microsoft 365 Apps 5568.1000 · file set 8be05d876aae137d…

Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="Machine" displayName="$(string.L_SetBITSasPrimary)" explainText="$(string.L_SetBITSasPrimaryExplain)" key="software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\common\officeupdate" name="L_SetBITSasPrimary" valueName="setbitsasprimary" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_Updates" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7" />
      <enabledValue>
        <decimal value="1" />
      </enabledValue>
      <disabledValue>
        <decimal value="0" />
      </disabledValue>
    </policy>

Editor controls

Supported platforms and category

office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_MicrosoftOfficemachine
<category displayName="$(string.L_MicrosoftOfficemachine)" name="L_MicrosoftOfficemachine" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_Updates
<category displayName="$(string.L_Updates)" name="L_Updates" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficemachine" />
    </category>
office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7" />
office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_MicrosoftOfficemachine
<category displayName="$(string.L_MicrosoftOfficemachine)" name="L_MicrosoftOfficemachine" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficemachine">Microsoft Office 2016 (Machine)</string></strings>
office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_Updates
<category displayName="$(string.L_Updates)" name="L_Updates" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficemachine" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_Updates">Updates</string></strings>