Allow network unlock at startup

ComputerIntune-readyAllowNetworkUnlockAtStartup_Name

Supported on At least Windows Server 2012 or Windows 8

25H2 · 1.0

What it does

This policy setting controls whether a BitLocker-protected computer that is connected to a trusted wired Local Area Network (LAN) and joined to a domain can create and use Network Key Protectors on TPM-enabled computers to automatically unlock the operating system drive when the computer is started. If you enable this policy, clients configured with a BitLocker Network Unlock certificate will be able to create and use Network Key Protectors. To use a Network Key Protector to unlock the computer, both the computer and the BitLocker Drive Encryption Network Unlock server must be provisioned with a Network Unlock certificate. The Network Unlock certificate is used to create Network Key Protectors, and protects the information exchanged with the server to unlock the computer. You can use the group policy setting "Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Public Key Policies\BitLocker Drive Encryption Network Unlock Certificate" on the domain controller to distribute this certificate to computers in your organization. This unlock method uses the TPM on the computer, so computers that do not have a TPM cannot create Network Key Protectors to automatically unlock with Network Unlock. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, BitLocker clients will not be able to create and use Network Key Protectors. Note: For reliability and security, computers should also have a TPM startup PIN that can be used when the computer is disconnected from the wired network or the server at startup.

What it writes

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry key: SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\FVE
Value name: OSManageNKP
When enabled: DWORD 1
When disabled: DWORD 0

In Intune

No native CSP; import the ADMX (Intune-ready).

From Microsoft's Policy CSP DDF files (DDF v2 Files, February 2026), read 18 Oct 2026.

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\FVE]
"OSManageNKP"=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: Allow network unlock at startup
# Name: AllowNetworkUnlockAtStartup_Name
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: VolumeEncryption.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\FVE' -Name 'OSManageNKP' -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_VolumeEncryption/AllowNetworkUnlockAtStartup_Name

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_VolumeEncryption/AllowNetworkUnlockAtStartup_Name</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: Allow network unlock at startup
# Name: AllowNetworkUnlockAtStartup_Name
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: VolumeEncryption.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\FVE' -Name 'OSManageNKP' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\FVE\OSManageNKP') | 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: Allow network unlock at startup
# Name: AllowNetworkUnlockAtStartup_Name
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: VolumeEncryption.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\FVE' -Name 'OSManageNKP' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

History 5 retained releases

22H2 · 1.015 Jul 2024
- Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.

4 later releases left it unchanged.

Template

Internal name: AllowNetworkUnlockAtStartup_Name
Namespace: Microsoft.Policies.VolumeEncryption
Template file: VolumeEncryption.admx
Release: Windows 11 25H2 · 1.0 · file set de4e49983ebd651f…

Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="Machine" displayName="$(string.AllowNetworkUnlockAtStartup_Name)" explainText="$(string.AllowNetworkUnlockAtStartup_Help)" key="SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\FVE" name="AllowNetworkUnlockAtStartup_Name" valueName="OSManageNKP" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.VolumeEncryption:FVEOSCategory" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.VolumeEncryption:SUPPORTED_Windows8NoARM" />
      <enabledValue>
        <decimal value="1" />
      </enabledValue>
      <disabledValue>
        <decimal value="0" />
      </disabledValue>
    </policy>

Editor controls

Supported platforms and category

Microsoft.Policies.VolumeEncryption:category:FVECategory
<category displayName="$(string.FVECategory)" name="FVECategory" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.VolumeEncryption:category:FVEOSCategory
<category displayName="$(string.FVEOSCategory)" name="FVEOSCategory" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.VolumeEncryption:FVECategory" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.VolumeEncryption:definition:SUPPORTED_Windows8NoARM
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_Windows8NoARM)" name="SUPPORTED_Windows8NoARM" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Microsoft.Policies.VolumeEncryption:category:FVECategory
<category displayName="$(string.FVECategory)" name="FVECategory" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.VolumeEncryption:FVECategory">BitLocker Drive Encryption</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.VolumeEncryption:category:FVEOSCategory
<category displayName="$(string.FVEOSCategory)" name="FVEOSCategory" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.VolumeEncryption:FVECategory" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.VolumeEncryption:FVEOSCategory">Operating System Drives</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.VolumeEncryption:definition:SUPPORTED_Windows8NoARM
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_Windows8NoARM)" name="SUPPORTED_Windows8NoARM" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.VolumeEncryption:SUPPORTED_Windows8NoARM">At least Windows Server 2012 or Windows 8</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents">Windows Components</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents_Help">Contains settings for operating system components.</string></strings>