Use only Token Activation

ComputerNeeds changes for IntuneL_UseOnlyTokenActivation

Supported on SUPPORTED_Windows7 (defined in the Windows templates)

5568.1000

What it does

This policy setting allows you to specify Token Activation as the only volume activation method for volume editions of Office. This policy setting only applies if a Token Activation Issuance License has been installed on the computer. If you enable this policy setting, Token Activation is the only method that may be used to activate Office. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, Key Management Service (KMS) or Token Activation may be used as methods to activate Office.

What it writes

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry key: none
When enabled: software\policies\microsoft\officesoftwareprotectionplatform\tokenactivationonly = DWORD 1; software\policies\microsoft\softwareprotectionplatform\vlactivationtype = DWORD 3
When disabled: software\policies\microsoft\officesoftwareprotectionplatform\tokenactivationonly = DWORD 0; software\policies\microsoft\softwareprotectionplatform\vlactivationtype = 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\none]
@=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\policies\microsoft\officesoftwareprotectionplatform]
"tokenactivationonly"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\policies\microsoft\softwareprotectionplatform]
"vlactivationtype"=dword:00000003

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: Use only Token Activation
# Name: L_UseOnlyTokenActivation
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: office16.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\policies\microsoft\officesoftwareprotectionplatform' -Name 'tokenactivationonly' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\policies\microsoft\softwareprotectionplatform' -Name 'vlactivationtype' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 3

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\none' -Name '' -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_UseOnlyTokenActivation

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_UseOnlyTokenActivation</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: Use only Token Activation
# Name: L_UseOnlyTokenActivation
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: office16.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\policies\microsoft\officesoftwareprotectionplatform' -Name 'tokenactivationonly' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\policies\microsoft\officesoftwareprotectionplatform\tokenactivationonly') | Out-Null
}

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\policies\microsoft\softwareprotectionplatform' -Name 'vlactivationtype' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 3
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\policies\microsoft\softwareprotectionplatform\vlactivationtype') | Out-Null
}

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\none' -Name '' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\none\') | 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: Use only Token Activation
# Name: L_UseOnlyTokenActivation
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: office16.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\policies\microsoft\officesoftwareprotectionplatform' -Name 'tokenactivationonly' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\policies\microsoft\softwareprotectionplatform' -Name 'vlactivationtype' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 3

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\none' -Name '' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

History 1 retained release

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

Template

Internal name: L_UseOnlyTokenActivation
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="$(string.L_UseOnlyTokenActivation)" explainText="$(string.L_UseOnlyTokenActivationExplain)" key="none" name="L_UseOnlyTokenActivation" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_VolumeActivation" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows7" />
      <enabledList>
        <item key="software\policies\microsoft\officesoftwareprotectionplatform" valueName="tokenactivationonly">
          <value>
            <decimal value="1" />
          </value>
        </item>
        <item key="software\policies\microsoft\softwareprotectionplatform" valueName="vlactivationtype">
          <value>
            <decimal value="3" />
          </value>
        </item>
      </enabledList>
      <disabledList>
        <item key="software\policies\microsoft\officesoftwareprotectionplatform" valueName="tokenactivationonly">
          <value>
            <decimal value="0" />
          </value>
        </item>
        <item key="software\policies\microsoft\softwareprotectionplatform" valueName="vlactivationtype">
          <value>
            <decimal value="0" />
          </value>
        </item>
      </disabledList>
    </policy>

Editor controls

Supported platforms and category

office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_MicrosoftOfficemachine
<category displayName="$(string.L_MicrosoftOfficemachine)" name="L_MicrosoftOfficemachine" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_VolumeActivation
<category displayName="$(string.L_VolumeActivation)" name="L_VolumeActivation" 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="$(string.L_MicrosoftOfficemachine)" name="L_MicrosoftOfficemachine" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficemachine">Microsoft Office 2016 (Machine)</string></strings>
office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_VolumeActivation
<category displayName="$(string.L_VolumeActivation)" name="L_VolumeActivation" 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_VolumeActivation">Volume Activation</string></strings>