In this guide, you’ll learn how to pause Config Refresh in Intune. When you pause Config Refresh on a Windows device, Intune reapplies the previously applied policies without requiring the device to check in or restart.
Config Refresh allows you to periodically update the MDM policy settings on your devices, keeping them secure and configured according to your preferences. During Config Refresh enforcement, the remote Windows device can be online or offline. The device will not check the latest policies with the Intune service but will apply the policies that were received to the device during the previous check-in.
The Config Refresh feature was first introduced for the Windows 11 Insiders build. Later, it was made available for all Windows 11 versions (21H2, 22H2). Only the devices running Windows 11 support pause config refresh. Windows 10 devices aren’t supported.
Policy Refresh Intervals vs Config Refresh
Let’s understand the difference between policy refresh intervals and config refresh. The policy refresh intervals define how often Intune notifies the device to check in with the Intune service. For Windows devices that are enrolled in Intune, the policy refresh interval is 8 hours by default. You can manually sync policies on a device to check in with Intune. Whereas with Config Refresh, there is a remote action that allows for a pause. If an admin needs to make changes or run remediation on a device for troubleshooting or maintenance, they can issue the Pause action from Intune for a specified period. When the period expires, the settings are enforced again on that device.
Use Settings Catalog to configure Config Refresh and Refresh Cadence
To enable Windows devices to reapply previously received policy settings on a schedule other than checking in to Intune every 90 minutes (or every 30 minutes if preferred), Microsoft advises using the Windows settings catalog. This refresh cycle can be adjusted using the Config refresh and Refresh Cadence settings via the Settings Catalog or ConfigRefresh CSP settings in Intune.
Let’s create a policy in Intune to configure the refresh cadence and config refresh using the settings catalog.
- Sign in to the Microsoft Intune admin center.
- Go to Devices > Windows > Configuration.
- Select Create > New Policy.
- Choose Windows 10 and later as Platform and Settings Catalog as Profile Type. Select Create.
On the Basics page, enter the policy name and description. Click Next.
In the Configuration Settings section, under Settings Catalog, click Add Settings. On the Settings picker window, type “Config Refresh” in the search box and click Search. From the search results, select the Config Refresh category.
Select both the settings: Config Refresh and Refresh Cadence and close the settings picker window.
Configure the below two settings:
- Config Refresh: Enable this setting.
- Refresh Cadence: This setting determines the number of minutes ConfigRefresh should be paused for. By default, the value is 0. Set a time period between 0 and 1440 minutes (24 hours).
Click Next.
In the Assignments tab, specify the Entra ID groups to assign the policy. We recommend deploying the profile to a few test groups first and then expanding it to more groups if the testing is successful. Select Next.
Finally, on the Review+Create tab, take a look at all the settings you’ve configured for enforcing Config Refresh enforcement with Intune. Click Create.
The newly created configuration profile appears in Intune’s list of configuration profiles.
How to use Pause Config Refresh in Intune
Perform the following steps to initiate Pause Config Refresh in the Intune admin center:
- Sign in to the Microsoft Intune admin center as an administrator.
- Select Devices, and then select All devices.
- From the list of devices you manage, select a Windows device and choose Pause Config Refresh.
Specify the number of minutes to pause Config Refresh in the Time period to Pause Config Refresh. In the below example, we’ve specified a time period of 45 minutes. The maximum time period is 1440 minutes (24 hours). Select Pause.
The Intune portal displays a notification that reads “Config refresh pause initiated” in the upper-right corner. In addition, the device overview page shows the following status: “Pause config refresh pending…“.
After a few minutes, the device overview page shows the status as “Pause config refresh: Completed.” This verifies that the remote device action to pause config refresh has been successfully executed.
Note: If you pause a device that does not have Config Refresh enabled, it has no effect. If Config Refresh is paused, and you want to resume, then select Pause again for 0 minutes to resume Config Refresh enforcement.
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