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To enable Widgets on Intune-managed Windows devices, deploy the device policy Allow widgets with the value Allowed (CSP integer 1). In Intune, the usual route is a Windows 10 and later Settings catalog profile. The policy permits Widgets; it does not guarantee that every user keeps Widgets switched on in Settings or that every entry point is visible.

Check Windows support and policy scope first

Microsoft documents the underlying NewsAndInterests Policy CSP setting for Windows 11 version 21H2 (build 10.0.22000) and later, on Pro, Enterprise, Education, IoT Enterprise, and IoT Enterprise LTSC editions. It is device-scoped, so assign the profile to the intended device group and verify the target devices meet the documented requirements. See Microsoft’s NewsAndInterests Policy CSP documentation.

The policy setting is named Allow widgets. Its CSP path is ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/NewsAndInterests/AllowNewsAndInterests; integer 1 means Allowed and 0 means Not allowed. Microsoft documents 1 as the default, but an explicit Intune setting manages the value rather than leaving it open to another policy or a device user.

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Create an Intune Settings catalog profile

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft Intune admin center with a role that can manage configuration profiles. Microsoft names Policy and Profile Manager as the minimum role, and the devices must be enrolled in Intune. See Microsoft’s device configuration profile guidance.
  2. Go to Devices > Manage devices > Configuration > Create > New policy. Select Windows 10 and later for the platform and Settings catalog for the profile type. The portal labels can change; Microsoft’s Settings catalog guide describes the current profile workflow.
  3. Enter a descriptive profile name and, optionally, a description. Under Configuration settings, select Add settings and search for Allow widgets or AllowNewsAndInterests. Confirm the result is the intended device setting.
  4. Set Allow widgets to Allowed. This corresponds to CSP value 1. Do not leave it unconfigured if the goal is to enforce the policy: an unconfigured setting is not managed by that profile.
  5. Assign the profile to the device group containing the intended computers. Review the configuration and assignment, then create the profile.
  6. Check the profile and device status. Intune applies configuration settings when the device next checks for updates; allow for that check-in before judging the result.

If “Allow widgets” is not in the catalog

The CSP documentation provides the exact device OMA-URI and data type: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/NewsAndInterests/AllowNewsAndInterests, integer. Confirm whether the setting is supported in the current tenant’s catalog and whether an appropriate custom CSP configuration route is available in your environment before using it. The documentation establishes the CSP path, but does not establish that every tenant exposes a particular custom-profile workflow for this setting.

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What the policy enables—and what it does not

The setting controls whether the Widgets feature is allowed on the device. Microsoft’s taskbar policy reference says Widgets are on by default unless changed in Settings, and that enabling the policy enables Widgets automatically unless a user turns them off in Settings. Thus, an Allowed policy is not a promise that every user will leave the feature enabled or that every Windows configuration will show an identical taskbar entry point. See Microsoft’s Windows taskbar policy settings reference.

The CSP page also lists DisableWidgetsBoard and DisableWidgetsOnLockScreen, but marks those controls as applicable to Windows Insider Preview. Keep a production deployment focused on Allow widgets unless you have verified the current applicability and support status of those companion settings.

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Troubleshoot Widgets missing after the policy applies

  1. Confirm the effective setting is Allowed (CSP value 1), not Not allowed (0).
  2. Check that the device runs a listed Windows 11 version and edition.
  3. Verify the profile assignment includes the intended device and that the device has checked in since the profile was created or changed.
  4. Separate policy allowance from the user-facing setting: a user may have turned Widgets off in Settings, or the expected taskbar entry point may be hidden or otherwise unavailable in that configuration.

These checks follow the documented policy scope and taskbar behavior. Microsoft’s cited pages do not provide a Widgets-specific troubleshooting decision tree, so do not treat a successful profile status alone as proof that a user will see the feature in a particular place.

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