Monthly Archives: April 2026

Xbox mode has begun rolling out in select markets to Windows 11 PCs, including laptops, desktops and tablets, bringing a console-inspired Xbox experience to more players than ever.

Xbox mode is designed for the moments when you want your gam

The post Windows 11 PC gamers: Xbox mode rolls out and ROG Xbox Ally updates include Auto SR preview appeared first on Windows Blog.

You can now use policy to remove select pre-installed Microsoft Store apps on devices running Windows 11, version 25H2 or version 24H2. We’ve also made a significant update to this policy: a dynamic app removal list. This feature lets you remove any preinstalled MSIX/APPX app by referencing its Package Family Name (PFN).

What’s the benefit? Fewer unwanted apps, simpler provisioning, and a more tailored desktop for your users. Just use a standard, policy-based approach that integrates with Microsoft Intune and Group Policy. This policy, called „Remove default Microsoft Store packages from the system,“ is available only on Enterprise and Education devices. The improvements are available starting with the April 2026 Windows non-security update. Additional Intune capabilities are coming.

Dynamic app removal list

Microsoft offers a set of robust policy controls to help you customize app availability for your users. With the latest updates to the RemoveDefaultMicrosoftStorePackages policy, you can now remove any MSIX/APPX packaged app. Just add its Package Family Name (PFN) to the new dynamic app removal list. Today, you can use Group Policy Object (GPO) or custom OMA-URI for mobile device management (MDM).

Group Policy

Here’s how you can make it work using Group Policy:

1. Find the app’s PFN using PowerShell. Use the following example, replacing „Notepad“ with your desired app:

   Get-AppxPackage *Notepad* | Select-Object PackageFamilyName

2. Open Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc). Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > App Package Deployment and select Remove default Microsoft Store packages from the system.
3. Add the PFN to the multi-text list under Specify additional package family names to remove. Enter one package family name per line.

Custom OMA-URI

Alternatively, you can configure devices with the RemoveDefaultMicrosoftStorePackages Policy CSP. This ADMX-backed policy uses an XML payload to specify which apps to remove. For example, to remove Bing News and the Windows Alarms apps, see the last entry.

• OMA-URI: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ApplicationManagement/RemoveDefaultMicrosoftStorePackages
• Data type: string
• Value:

  <enabled/>
  <data id="WindowsFeedbackHub" value="false"/>
  <data id="MicrosoftOfficeHub" value="false"/>
  <data id="Clipchamp" value="false"/>
  <data id="Copilot" value="false"/>
  <data id="BingNews" value="true"/>
  <data id="Photos" value="false"/>
  <data id="MicrosoftSolitaireCollection" value="true"/>
  <data id="MicrosoftStickyNotes" value="true"/>
  <data id="MSTeams" value="false"/>
  <data id="Todo" value="false"/>
  <data id="BingWeather" value="true"/>
  <data id="OutlookForWindows" value="false"/>
  <data id="Paint" value="false"/>
  <data id="QuickAssist" value="false"/>
  <data id="ScreenSketch" value="false"/>
  <data id="WindowsCalculator" value="false"/>
  <data id="WindowsCamera" value="false"/>
  <data id="MediaPlayer" value="false"/>
  <data id="WindowsNotepad" value="false"/>
  <data id="WindowsSoundRecorder" value="false"/>
  <data id="WindowsTerminal" value="false"/>
  <data id="GamingApp" value="true"/>
  <data id="XboxGamingOverlay" value="true"/>
  <data id="XboxIdentityProvider" value="true"/>
  <data id="XboxSpeechToTextOverlay" value="true"/>
  <data id="XboxTCUI" value="true"/>
  <data id="DynamicRemovalList" value="Microsoft.BingNews_8wekyb3d8bbwe&#x0D;&#x0A;Microsoft.WindowsAlarms_8wekyb3d8bbwe"/>

The XML payload includes a static list of app names (preceded by „data id“) and corresponding values. Apps with the value of „true“ will be removed. Apps with the value of „false“ won’t be removed.

You can remove additional apps by adding them to the value field of the „DynamicRemoval List“ at the end of the payload. Separate multiple apps by the HTML-encoded carriage return + line feed characters ( 
), indicating a new line between each app name.

IMPORTANT: If you create a custom OMA-URI, you must open the dynamic list entry in the registry once on each device to which the policy is targeted. This helps ensure the correct format for the items in the dynamic list. Here is the entry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindowsAppxRemoveDefaultMicrosoftStorePackages

Once configured, change happens at provisioning or on next user sign-in. The device uninstalls the apps you specify in the following two areas:

• The default checkbox selections
• The dynamic PFN list

Removed apps remain blocked from reinstallation while the policy is active.

IMPORTANT:

• Removing an app also removes any associated on-disk app data. Therefore, notify users in advance if they need to save local data.
• You can’t use the dynamic list to remove system components. These components aren’t supposed to be removed.

Prepare for Microsoft Intune capabilities

The Intune settings catalog entry for this policy doesn’t yet contain the dynamic list option. It will be available in the following months.

When this feature becomes generally available in Intune, search for „Remove Default Microsoft Store packages“ in the settings picker to locate it.

During rollout of the updated RemoveDefaultMicrosoftStorePackages policy, devices in your environment might support different CSP versions. If a device receives a policy that doesn’t match its supported schema, the policy might fail to parse and won’t be applied.

To prevent this, maintain your existing policy for older devices. Create a separate policy that includes the new dynamic app removal list for newer devices. Use Intune assignment filters or targeting rules (such as OS version or update rings) to help ensure that each device receives a compatible policy.

Once all devices are updated, and Intune fully supports the new CSP, you can safely consolidate policies.

Extended support: Windows 11, version 24H2 and later

The updated app removal policy is now extended to Windows 11, version 24H2 Enterprise and Education editions. Originally, you could only use this feature on devices running Windows 11, version 25H2 or newer. If your organization has standardized on the 2024 release, you can benefit from policy-driven app management without a full OS version upgrade. The same Group Policy path and enforcement behavior apply to all supported versions.

• Supported Windows versions: Windows 11, version 24H2 and later
• Supported Windows editions: Enterprise and Education (Home and Pro remain unsupported)

IMPORTANT: Ensure that your devices have the latest cumulative updates installed to receive these improvements. You need at least the April 2026 Windows non-security update. If you’re a Windows Insider, you’d have this feature with the March 13, 2026 builds in the Dev and Beta channels.

Control your preinstalled apps like a pro

With dynamic app removal, you can remove any preinstalled app with a simple policy change. Benefit from a cleaner, more controlled Windows experience across your organization, now on even more devices. Start planning this policy rollout across your enterprise today.

Have feedback? Share your thoughts in the Feedback Hub (accessible using the shortcut WIN + F) under Developer Platform > App Deployment.

Learn more with additional resources:

• Policy-based removal of pre-installed Microsoft Store apps
• Policy-based in-box app removal
• ApplicationManagement Policy CSP