Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

iTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more

To give Windows 365 users local administrator rights or permission to reset their Cloud PCs, create a user settings policy in the Microsoft Intune admin center and assign it to the right user group. These are separate permissions: local admin applies to each assigned user’s own Cloud PCs, while reset wipes and reprovisions a Cloud PC, removing its user data and apps.

Choose the permissions users actually need

A Cloud PC user settings policy can grant local admin rights, allow user-initiated reset, and allow users to restore their own Cloud PCs to an available backup. Enable only the permissions your users need; restore is a separate recovery permission, not the same action as reset.

Control What it allows Key consideration
Enable local admin Elevates the assigned user to local administrator on each of their own Cloud PCs. This is local administration on the user’s Cloud PCs, not a grant of broader tenant administrator rights.
Enable users to reset their Cloud PCs Makes a Reset option available to assigned users in the Windows App and portal. Reset wipes and reprovisions the Cloud PC, deleting user data and apps.
Allow user-initiated restore Lets users restore their own Cloud PCs to an available backup version. Evaluate this separately from reset as a recovery capability.

Microsoft says User settings do not apply to Windows 365 Flex Cloud PCs in Shared mode. See Microsoft’s Cloud PC user settings guidance for the current behavior.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Create and assign a user settings policy in Intune

  1. In the Microsoft Intune admin center, go to Devices > Cloud PC Settings.
  2. Select Create > User settings.
  3. Enter a clear policy name and enable only the needed controls: local admin, user reset, and, if appropriate, user-initiated restore.
  4. Assign the policy to the user group that should receive those permissions. Microsoft permits applying the settings before or after a Cloud PC is assigned.
  5. Review existing User settings assignments for overlap before saving.

For the exact current interface and assignment behavior, follow Microsoft’s instructions for creating and managing Cloud PC user settings.

Warn users before enabling reset

Reset is destructive: it wipes and reprovisions the Cloud PC, removing personal files, apps, and settings. Tell users to back up anything they need before selecting Reset. Microsoft’s Cloud PC reset instructions also advise backing up important files before reset.

Check overlapping policies and when changes take effect

Microsoft’s User settings guidance says that if more than one User settings policy applies to a user, the most recently created policy supplies the settings and the other policies are ignored. Editing a policy does not change that creation-order priority. Avoid overlapping assignments when practical, and confirm the applicable policy type and guidance in your tenant.

Rank #2
Microsoft Office Home 2024 | Classic Office Apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint | One-Time Purchase for a single Windows laptop or Mac | Instant Download
  • Classic Office Apps | Includes classic desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with ease.
  • Install on a Single Device | Install classic desktop Office Apps for use on a single Windows laptop, Windows desktop, MacBook, or iMac.
  • Ideal for One Person | With a one-time purchase of Microsoft Office 2024, you can create, organize, and get things done.
  • Consider Upgrading to Microsoft 365 | Get premium benefits with a Microsoft 365 subscription, including ongoing updates, advanced security, and access to premium versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and more, plus 1TB cloud storage per person and multi-device support for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Android.

There is a broader policy description as well: Microsoft’s Settings overview, updated July 9, 2026, describes ranking across settings policies, with the higher-ranked policy taking precedence when values conflict. The specific User settings overlap rule and the broader ranking description should not be treated as interchangeable; verify the current guidance for the policy type you are using.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

A change takes effect when the user logs on. If the user is already signed in, they must sign out and back in to receive it.

Use the recommended configuration for new local admin setup

Microsoft’s current Cloud PC configurations guidance recommends Enable local admin (preview) in Cloud PC configurations. Existing local admin settings in User settings can continue to be managed there for now, while Microsoft phases out support through User settings over time; the guidance does not give a final phase-out date. The preview setting has an applicability condition for devices with specifications of 8 vCPU/32 GB/256 GB and higher. Check the current controls and applicability in your tenant before creating a new configuration. See Microsoft’s Cloud PC configurations documentation.

Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

Update a user setting with Microsoft Graph

For authorized automation, Microsoft Graph exposes the cloudPcUserSetting resource with the Boolean properties localAdminEnabled and resetEnabled. Microsoft documents resetEnabled as false by default. The update operation is:

PATCH /deviceManagement/virtualEndpoint/userSettings/{id}

For this operation, Microsoft lists CloudPC.ReadWrite.All as the least-privileged permission for delegated work or school account and application access. Use an appropriately authorized identity and test the target policy and group scope. See the Microsoft Graph update documentation for cloudPcUserSetting.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.