Allow non-administrators to receive update notifications

ComputerIntune-readyElevateNonAdmins_Title

Supported on At least Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 or At least Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 through Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2 with most current service pack. Not supported on Windows 10 and above.

25H2 · 1.0

What it does

This policy setting allows you to control whether non-administrative users will receive update notifications based on the "Configure Automatic Updates" policy setting. If you enable this policy setting, Windows Automatic Update and Microsoft Update will include non-administrators when determining which logged-on user should receive update notifications. Non-administrative users will be able to install all optional, recommended, and important content for which they received a notification. Users will not see a User Account Control window and do not need elevated permissions to install these updates, except in the case of updates that contain User Interface , End User License Agreement , or Windows Update setting changes. There are two situations where the effect of this setting depends on the operating system: Hide/Restore updates, and Cancel an install. On XP: If you enable this policy setting, users will not see a User Account Control window and do not need elevated permissions to do either of these update-related tasks. On Vista: If you enable this policy setting, users will not see a User Account Control window and do not need elevated permissions to do either of these tasks. If you do not enable this policy setting, then users will always see an Account Control window and require elevated permissions to do either of these tasks. On Windows 7 : This policy setting has no effect. Users will always see an Account Control window and require elevated permissions to do either of these tasks. On Windows 8 and Windows RT: This policy setting has no effect. Users will always see an Account Control window and require elevated permissions to do either of these tasks. If you disable this policy setting, then only administrative users will receive update notifications. Note: On Windows 8 and Windows RT this policy setting is enabled by default. In all prior versions of windows, it is disabled by default. If the "Configure Automatic Updates" policy setting is disabled or is not configured, then the Elevate Non-Admin policy setting has no effect.

What it writes

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry key: Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate
Value name: ElevateNonAdmins
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\Windows\WindowsUpdate]
"ElevateNonAdmins"=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 non-administrators to receive update notifications
# Name: ElevateNonAdmins_Title
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: WindowsUpdate.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate' -Name 'ElevateNonAdmins' -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_WindowsUpdate/ElevateNonAdmins_Title

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/ElevateNonAdmins_Title</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 non-administrators to receive update notifications
# Name: ElevateNonAdmins_Title
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: WindowsUpdate.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate' -Name 'ElevateNonAdmins' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\ElevateNonAdmins') | 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 non-administrators to receive update notifications
# Name: ElevateNonAdmins_Title
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: WindowsUpdate.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate' -Name 'ElevateNonAdmins' -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: ElevateNonAdmins_Title
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="$(string.ElevateNonAdmins_Title)" explainText="$(string.ElevateNonAdmins_Help)" key="Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate" name="ElevateNonAdmins_Title" valueName="ElevateNonAdmins" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:PreSV" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WU_SUPPORTED_Win2kSP3_Or_XPSP1_Through_Win81_or_Server2012R2" />
      <enabledValue>
        <decimal value="1" />
      </enabledValue>
      <disabledValue>
        <decimal value="0" />
      </disabledValue>
    </policy>

Editor controls

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:PreSV
<category displayName="$(string.PreSV)" name="PreSV" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WindowsUpdateCat" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:category:WindowsUpdateCat
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsUpdateCat)" name="WindowsUpdateCat" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:definition:WU_SUPPORTED_Win2kSP3_Or_XPSP1_Through_Win81_or_Server2012R2
<definition displayName="$(string.WU_SUPPORTED_Win2kSP3_Or_XPSP1_Through_Win81_or_Server2012R2)" name="WU_SUPPORTED_Win2kSP3_Or_XPSP1_Through_Win81_or_Server2012R2" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <or>
          <range minVersionIndex="3" ref="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows2000" />
          <range minVersionIndex="2" ref="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindowsXP" />
          <range maxVersionIndex="12" minVersionIndex="4" ref="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows" />
        </or>
      </definition>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:unresolved:unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows
<unresolved reference="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows" />
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:unresolved:unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows2000
<unresolved reference="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows2000" />
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:unresolved:unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindowsXP
<unresolved reference="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindowsXP" />
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents">Windows Components</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents_Help">Contains settings for operating system components.</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:category:PreSV
<category displayName="$(string.PreSV)" name="PreSV" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WindowsUpdateCat" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:PreSV">Legacy Policies</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:category:WindowsUpdateCat
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsUpdateCat)" name="WindowsUpdateCat" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WindowsUpdateCat">Windows Update</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:definition:WU_SUPPORTED_Win2kSP3_Or_XPSP1_Through_Win81_or_Server2012R2
<definition displayName="$(string.WU_SUPPORTED_Win2kSP3_Or_XPSP1_Through_Win81_or_Server2012R2)" name="WU_SUPPORTED_Win2kSP3_Or_XPSP1_Through_Win81_or_Server2012R2" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <or>
          <range minVersionIndex="3" ref="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows2000" />
          <range minVersionIndex="2" ref="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindowsXP" />
          <range maxVersionIndex="12" minVersionIndex="4" ref="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows" />
        </or>
      </definition>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WU_SUPPORTED_Win2kSP3_Or_XPSP1_Through_Win81_or_Server2012R2">At least Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 or At least Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 through Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2 with most current service pack. Not supported on Windows 10 and above.</string></strings>