Windows Media Player Enterprise Codec Paywalls

Question

Windows Media Player Enterprise Codec Paywalls

Michael Johnson 0

Hello,

My media training department noticed that the modern Windows 11 Media Player uses significantly more RAM than the legacy player and prompts a paywall for certain advanced corporate video codecs. How can we use Intune to block the modern app and restore the classic Windows Media Player as the default handler for all media extensions?

Many thanks

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Answer 1

Hi Michael

The modern Windows 11 Media Player is delivered as a Store app, so the easiest way to block it is by creating an App protection policy or App removal policy that uninstalls or prevents installation of that package across your devices. At the same time, you’ll want to re‑enable the legacy Windows Media Player feature via Intune’s Feature on Demand deployment. Once the old player is back, you can push a Default app association policy XML file through Intune to set Windows Media Player as the handler for all media extensions (mp4, mp3, etc.).

Best practice is to test the XML associations on a pilot group first, since file association enforcement can be strict and overwrite user preferences. Also, make sure your Intune policy sequence removes the modern app before applying the default associations, otherwise Windows may still point to the new player. This way your training department gets the lightweight legacy player back without codec paywalls, and you maintain consistency across the environment.

If this clears things up and helps you move forward, please hit accept answer .

Thank you