We recently ran across an issue where users in a pod need to be able to have location services enabled in their VMs but I believe OSOT is disabling this as part of the default optimization template.

Does anyone know where I can enable location services in the OSOT config? We are using the MDT plugin and in the task sequence under OSOT optimize there is no option for location services.

I'm also exploring options using gpo but not having much luck since it appears to have deleted all the relevant location services registry keys.

In OSOT you can search for settings in the Template tab. This allows you to see what a setting actually does, so that can see what was changed.

For example, I searched for location

@Graeme Gordon How would I add this to the MDT plugin though? 

You can't really use OSOT to undo settings that you have already applied. If the desktops have already been provisioned, you can use something like GPO to push out registry settings to change the values that were set by OSOT.

If you want to change this for future builds of gold images, then the easiest way is to configure the MDT task sequence to use a different template for the Optimize task,

1. First use OSOT to create a customized template where you deselect thing settings you don't want applied. Use the Template tab, and the Copy and Edit button.
2. Search for the settings you want to not be applied and for each one, change the Default Selected value to false, in the Properties pane.
3. Save you custom template.
4. Use the Export Template button to save the template as an XML file.
5. Copy the XML file to your MDT server, into the VMware/OSOT folder in the Deployment share.
6. Now you can edit your MDT task sequences to select this template on the Optimize task.

We deploy a new gold image every month to ensure it's fully up to date. I just needed to understand how I can change the OSOT MDT settings to include this one change. I'll look at creating a custom template. We've been just using what is available in the plugin as default and have been happy with that, however we want to also add location settings to the image as well. Thanks.

@Graeme Gordon

Is there a way to get an XML file for the base VMware Templates\Windows 10, 11 and server 2019, 2022 that is listed in the plugin? I want to base any customizations we do on that as that has been our base template for a very long time. Thanks.

You can export the built-in template by selecting it on the Template tab of OSOT and using the Export Template button at the bottom.

But it you use the Copy and Edit button it will create a copy of this that you can edit. That copy will have all the same customizations that the built-in template has.

In your picture I can faintly detect the import settings button.

Not sure how it works but if this takes the same JSON from the OSOT tool you could create handpicked options from the default template and import them into your MDT task.

Because if I remember correctly, they copied templates don't work (well) with the 'Common Options'

After reviewing the location settings that are found by searching the template, those are all for scheduled tasks. I'm not seeing any that are actually related to disabling the location settings on the image.

We don't have any GPOs set to disable location settings and if I'm an admin, I can enable it on the VM. We found the related registry entry that is set to deny location settings and are testing that. However I would like to determine where in the image creation process this is getting disabled. It may not even be OSOT doing so.

I appreciate all the feedback thus far!

Maybe it is done as far back as the Unattend.xml file? I know you can do a lot of things during that file and seeing as you have the privacy settings during OOBE it might be a good place to start looking. 

I definitely think it's something early on in the OS deployment as typically when you set up a new VM/machine manually, it will eventually prompt the user for privacy settings like location. However finding where this is controlled seems to be not easy. Google searching brings up topics that talk about making this change in the Window PE environment, but I can't find any documentation that states how/where. I love these fun rabbit hole issues that take you on a wild goose chase.

We don't have a solution yet. However this is definitely not an OSOT issue. If I ever find a true solution I'll post it in case it helps others.

I  found a post at  Location services turned off ("some of these settings are managed by your organization") · Issue #133 · LeDragoX/Win-Debloat-Tools which may help. Looks  like you could apply this via GPO