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Configure Windows Backup for Organizations as two separate controls: a backup policy that captures supported user settings, and a restore policy that makes those settings available during or after device setup. Enabling backup does not enable restore. Use Group Policy or Intune for backup, then choose and validate a supported restore path for your enrollment process.
What Windows Backup for Organizations does—and does not do
Windows Backup for Organizations preserves supported Windows settings and a list of Microsoft Store apps associated with a user’s backup profile, so eligible settings can be restored on another device. It does not back up Windows Update settings. This is different from backing up Group Policy Objects (GPOs): GPMC has separate operations for protecting and restoring policy objects. See Microsoft’s Windows Backup for Organizations FAQ and its guide to backing up and restoring Group Policy Objects.
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Administrators should plan backup and restore independently. Backup policy controls whether eligible settings are captured; restore policy controls whether a restore experience is offered. Restore is disabled by default.
Check eligibility before configuring policy
Requirements differ between backup and restore, and can vary by Windows release, build, join state, cloud, and enrollment method. Microsoft’s overview lists backup support for Windows 10 version 22H2 and Windows 11 versions 22H2, 23H2, and 24H2 at specified cumulative-update builds on Microsoft Entra joined or hybrid joined devices. Restore has separate version, build, and enrollment requirements. Do not treat the backup minimum as proof that a device qualifies for restore; check the current Windows Backup for Organizations overview and the relevant Intune enrollment guidance for the target flow.
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- Confirm the Windows version and cumulative update on the devices in scope.
- Confirm that the device’s Entra join state meets the applicable requirement.
- For restore, verify the exact enrollment or provisioning method. Microsoft’s Intune known-issues guidance excludes some flows, including enrollment via Group Policy, co-management, and self-deployment.
- Confirm that the required user backup profile exists and that the deployment is not a shared or userless-device scenario.
- Check the target cloud and edition against Microsoft’s current support list; availability limitations apply to some government, sovereign, and China cloud scenarios.
Configure the backup policy
The policy is named Enable Windows Backup and appears under Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Sync your settings. Intune offers it through the Settings Catalog for Windows 10 and later; Group Policy exposes it in Computer Configuration.
In Intune Settings Catalog
- In the Intune admin center, create a configuration policy for the Windows 10 and later platform and choose Settings catalog.
- Add the setting at Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Sync your settings > Enable Windows Backup.
- Set Enable Windows Backup to Enabled, then create the policy.
- Assign it to the intended device or user group. Use assignments that match your management and targeting model, and verify that the intended devices receive the policy.
Microsoft also documents the SettingsSync Policy CSP setting ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/SettingsSync/EnableWindowsbackup for policy-based configuration outside the Settings Catalog workflow. See the Windows Backup policy settings.
In Group Policy
- Open the Group Policy Management Console and edit or create a GPO that applies to the intended computers.
- Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Sync your settings.
- Open Enable Windows Backup and set it to Enabled.
- Link the GPO to the appropriate domain or organizational unit, and use the filtering and inheritance rules that fit your environment.
After the backup policy applies, Microsoft documents that backup occurs automatically every eight days. This is Microsoft’s stated schedule, not a guarantee of an immediate backup after policy assignment. See the overview.
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Choose between an enrollment-time restore page and a post-enrollment policy. The first is a tenant-wide Intune enrollment option intended to reach devices during enrollment; post-enrollment policy can be applied through Intune, the Policy CSP, or Group Policy. These routes are not interchangeable for every provisioning method.
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Show the restore page during Intune enrollment
- In the Intune admin center, go to Devices > Enrollment > Windows Backup and Restore.
- Turn on Show restore page to make the restore page available during device enrollment.
- Review the scope before enabling it: this is a tenant-wide enrollment setting, not a per-device configuration policy. Microsoft’s instructions specify the Intune Service Administrator role for configuring these enrollment settings.
- Confirm that the exact enrollment flow is supported and that the user’s backup profile and device meet restore requirements.
Do not assume this OOBE route works for every way a device can be provisioned. Microsoft’s Intune restore guidance and known issues identify unsupported enrollment scenarios, including Group Policy enrollment, co-management, and self-deployment. Check the current list for other exclusions before rollout.
Apply post-enrollment restore policy
If the device is already enrolled, use a device configuration policy with the restore setting, or configure the supported Policy CSP or Group Policy setting. Microsoft documents the setting and its policy routes in the policy settings reference. Group Policy offers post-enrollment restore configuration; it does not make Group Policy enrollment itself a supported restore provisioning flow.
Troubleshoot backup and verify deployment
If the main backup policy is enabled but backup is not occurring, check the other policy settings Microsoft says must not be set to Disabled:
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In Intune, review the per-device Windows Backup and Restore reporting. Statuses include Not Applicable, No policy assigned, Succeeded, Failed, No Backup Profiles, and Setup as New PC Selected. These help distinguish an assignment or eligibility issue from a user choosing a fresh setup instead of restoring. The reporting workflow is described in Microsoft’s Intune article.
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What changes in 2026
As described in Microsoft guidance available on October 3, 2026, two dated changes affect planning. Starting July 2026, Enterprise State Roaming (ESR) management moved to Windows settings backup and restore; Microsoft described a transition in which both management approaches were supported through June 2026. See the ESR guidance.
Microsoft also says Windows backup is enabled by default for eligible devices starting with Windows 11, version 26H2. Existing administrator-configured enabled or disabled policy continues to be honored. This default applies to backup; administrators still need to configure restore. Eligibility is not universal, so consult Microsoft’s current overview for the affected devices and conditions.
Disabling backup and handling existing data
Disabling the backup policy stops scheduled backups; it does not, by itself, delete data that has already been backed up. Microsoft documents options to view, export, or delete organization backup data through Microsoft Graph beta APIs or the WindowsBackupAdmin PowerShell scripts/module. Follow Microsoft’s current data-handling instructions for permissions and deletion before making changes.
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