Enable optional updates

ComputerNative Intune settingAllowOptionalContent

Supported on At least Windows Server 2025, Windows 10 Version 21H2, or Windows 11 Version 22H2

25H2 · 1.0

What it does

This policy enables devices to get optional updates (including gradual feature rollouts (CFRs) - learn more by visiting aka.ms/AllowOptionalContent) When the policy is configured • If "Automatically receive optional updates (including CFRs)" is selected, the device will get the latest optional updates automatically in line with the configured quality update deferrals. This includes optional cumulative updates and gradual feature rollouts (CFRs). • If "Automatically receive optional updates" is selected, the device will only get optional cumulative updates automatically, in line with the quality update deferrals. • If "Users can select which optional updates to receive" is selected, users can select which optional updates to get by visiting Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates. Users can also enable the toggle "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" to automatically receive optional updates and gradual feature rollouts.

What it writes

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry key: Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate
Value name: SetAllowOptionalContent
When enabled: DWORD 1
When disabled: DWORD 0

In Intune

Native Intune setting: Yes — Policy CSP

./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Update/AllowOptionalContentUpdate on Microsoft LearnWindows builds listed: 10.0.19044.3757.

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

Options

Option	Type	Registry value	Allowed values
Select how users receive optional updatesRequiredDefault: Automatically receive optional updates (including CFRs)	Drop-down list	`AllowOptionalContent`	Automatically receive optional updates (including CFRs)`1` Automatically receive optional updates`2` Users can select which optional updates to receive`3`

Configure and deploy

Choose a state and the option values; 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\Windows\WindowsUpdate]
"AllowOptionalContent"=dword:00000001
"SetAllowOptionalContent"=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: Enable optional updates
# Name: AllowOptionalContent
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: WindowsUpdate.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate' -Name 'SetAllowOptionalContent' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate' -Name 'AllowOptionalContent' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

These deployment candidates come from the ADMX template; they are separate from the native CSP mapping above.

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_WindowsUpdate/AllowOptionalContent

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_WindowsUpdate/AllowOptionalContent</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&gt;
&lt;data id="AllowOptionalContent" value="1"/&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: Enable optional updates
# Name: AllowOptionalContent
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: WindowsUpdate.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate' -Name 'SetAllowOptionalContent' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\SetAllowOptionalContent') | Out-Null
}

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate' -Name 'AllowOptionalContent' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AllowOptionalContent') | 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: Enable optional updates
# Name: AllowOptionalContent
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: WindowsUpdate.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate' -Name 'SetAllowOptionalContent' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate' -Name 'AllowOptionalContent' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

History 5 retained releases

24H2 · 1.030 Sep 2024
- Supported on At least Windows [added: Server 2025, Windows 10 Version 21H2, or Windows ]11 Version 22H2
- Supported on ~~[removed: windows:SUPPORTED_Windows_11_0_22H2;]~~[added: WU_SUPPORTED_WinServer2025_Win1021H2_Win1122H2;] resolved; AnyOf; products:MicrosoftWindows [1~~[removed: 6]~~[added: 3], ]
- Intune import ~~[was: Needs changes]~~[now: Ready]
- Intune import ~~[was: 1]~~[now: 0]
23H2 · 1.015 Jul 2024
- Added in this release.

1 later release left it unchanged.

Template

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

Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="Machine" displayName="$(string.AllowOptionalContent_Title)" explainText="$(string.AllowOptionalContent_Help)" key="Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate" name="AllowOptionalContent" presentation="$(presentation.AllowOptionalContent_Title)" valueName="SetAllowOptionalContent" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WindowsUpdateOffering" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WU_SUPPORTED_WinServer2025_Win1021H2_Win1122H2" />
      <enabledValue>
        <decimal value="1" />
      </enabledValue>
      <disabledValue>
        <decimal value="0" />
      </disabledValue>
      <elements>
        <enum id="AllowOptionalContent" required="true" valueName="AllowOptionalContent">
          <item displayName="$(string.ReceiveOptionalContentWithAutoApproval)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="1" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.ReceiveOptionalLCUWithAutoApproval)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="2" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.ReceiveOptionalContentNeedUserApproval)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="3" />
            </value>
          </item>
        </enum>
      </elements>
    </policy>

Editor controls

<presentation id="AllowOptionalContent_Title" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <dropdownList defaultItem="0" noSort="true" refId="AllowOptionalContent">Select how users receive optional updates:</dropdownList>
      </presentation>

Supported platforms and category

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.WindowsUpdate:category:WindowsUpdateCat
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsUpdateCat)" name="WindowsUpdateCat" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:category:WindowsUpdateOffering
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsUpdateOffering)" name="WindowsUpdateOffering" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WindowsUpdateCat" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:definition:WU_SUPPORTED_WinServer2025_Win1021H2_Win1122H2
<definition displayName="$(string.WU_SUPPORTED_WinServer2025_Win1021H2_Win1122H2)" name="WU_SUPPORTED_WinServer2025_Win1021H2_Win1122H2" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <or>
          <range minVersionIndex="13" ref="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows" />
        </or>
      </definition>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:unresolved:unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows
<unresolved reference="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows" />
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents">Windows Components</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents_Help">Contains settings for operating system components.</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:category:WindowsUpdateCat
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsUpdateCat)" name="WindowsUpdateCat" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WindowsUpdateCat">Windows Update</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:category:WindowsUpdateOffering
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsUpdateOffering)" name="WindowsUpdateOffering" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WindowsUpdateCat" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WindowsUpdateOffering">Manage updates offered from Windows Update</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:definition:WU_SUPPORTED_WinServer2025_Win1021H2_Win1122H2
<definition displayName="$(string.WU_SUPPORTED_WinServer2025_Win1021H2_Win1122H2)" name="WU_SUPPORTED_WinServer2025_Win1021H2_Win1122H2" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <or>
          <range minVersionIndex="13" ref="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows" />
        </or>
      </definition>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WU_SUPPORTED_WinServer2025_Win1021H2_Win1122H2">At least Windows Server 2025, Windows 10 Version 21H2, or Windows 11 Version 22H2</string></strings>