Set the background tab inactivity timeout for sleeping tabs

Computer and userIntune-readySleepingTabsTimeout

Supported on Microsoft Edge version 88, Windows 7 or later

155.0.4283.62

What it does

This policy setting lets you configure the timeout, in seconds, after which inactive background tabs are automatically put to sleep if sleeping tabs is enabled. By default, this timeout is 7,200 seconds (2 hours). Tabs are only put to sleep automatically when the policy 'SleepingTabsEnabled' (Configure sleeping tabs) is enabled or isn't configured, and the user has enabled the sleeping tabs setting. If you don't configure this policy, users can choose the timeout value. Policy options mapping: * 30Seconds (30) = 30 seconds of inactivity * 5Minutes (300) = 5 minutes of inactivity * 15Minutes (900) = 15 minutes of inactivity * 30Minutes (1800) = 30 minutes of inactivity * 1Hour (3600) = 1 hour of inactivity * 2Hours (7200) = 2 hours of inactivity * 3Hours (10800) = 3 hours of inactivity * 6Hours (21600) = 6 hours of inactivity * 12Hours (43200) = 12 hours of inactivity Use the preceding information when configuring this policy.

What it writes

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Registry key: Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge

Options

Option	Type	Registry value	Allowed values
Set the background tab inactivity timeout for sleeping tabs	Drop-down list	`SleepingTabsTimeout`	30 seconds of inactivity`30` 5 minutes of inactivity`300` 15 minutes of inactivity`900` 30 minutes of inactivity`1800` 1 hour of inactivity`3600` 2 hours of inactivity`7200` 3 hours of inactivity`10800` 6 hours of inactivity`21600` 12 hours of inactivity`43200`

Configure and deploy

Choose a state and the option values; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.

Enabled · Computer · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge]
"SleepingTabsTimeout"=dword:0000001E

PowerShell

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Set the background tab inactivity timeout for sleeping tabs
# Name: SleepingTabsTimeout
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: msedge.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge' -Name 'SleepingTabsTimeout' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 30

The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.
The generated payload is incomplete because one or more ADMX element values were not supplied: SleepingTabsTimeout

ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)

./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_msedge/SleepingTabsTimeout

Intune remediation scripts

Detection

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()

function Test-RegistryValueExists {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}

function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    $valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
        return $false
    }

    $actual = $valueObject.$Name
    switch ($Kind) {
        'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
        'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
        'MultiString' {
            $actualArray = @($actual)
            $expectedArray = @($Expected)
            if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
                if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        'Binary' {
            $actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
            $expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
            if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
                if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
    }
}

# Policy: Set the background tab inactivity timeout for sleeping tabs
# Name: SleepingTabsTimeout
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: msedge.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge' -Name 'SleepingTabsTimeout' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 30
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\SleepingTabsTimeout') | Out-Null
}

if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
    Write-Output 'Compliant'
    exit 0
}

$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1

Remediation

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Set the background tab inactivity timeout for sleeping tabs
# Name: SleepingTabsTimeout
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: msedge.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge' -Name 'SleepingTabsTimeout' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 30

History 37 retained releases

150.0.4078.8016 Jul 2026
- Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.

36 later releases left it unchanged.

Template

Internal name: SleepingTabsTimeout
Namespace: Microsoft.Policies.Edge
Template file: msedge.admx
Release: Microsoft Edge 155.0.4283.62 · file set 0a733b0040dbbf02…

Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="Both" displayName="$(string.SleepingTabsTimeout)" explainText="$(string.SleepingTabsTimeout_Explain)" key="Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge" name="SleepingTabsTimeout" presentation="$(presentation.SleepingTabsTimeout)" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Edge:SleepingTabs" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.Edge:SUPPORTED_WIN7_V88" />
      <elements>
        <enum id="SleepingTabsTimeout" valueName="SleepingTabsTimeout">
          <item displayName="$(string.SleepingTabsTimeout_30Seconds)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="30" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.SleepingTabsTimeout_5Minutes)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="300" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.SleepingTabsTimeout_15Minutes)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="900" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.SleepingTabsTimeout_30Minutes)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="1800" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.SleepingTabsTimeout_1Hour)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="3600" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.SleepingTabsTimeout_2Hours)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="7200" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.SleepingTabsTimeout_3Hours)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="10800" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.SleepingTabsTimeout_6Hours)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="21600" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.SleepingTabsTimeout_12Hours)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="43200" />
            </value>
          </item>
        </enum>
      </elements>
    </policy>

Editor controls

<presentation id="SleepingTabsTimeout" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions"><dropdownList refId="SleepingTabsTimeout">Set the background tab inactivity timeout for sleeping tabs</dropdownList></presentation>

Supported platforms and category

Microsoft.Policies.Edge:category:SleepingTabs
<category displayName="$(string.SleepingTabs_group)" name="SleepingTabs" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Edge:microsoft_edge" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.Edge:category:microsoft_edge
<category displayName="$(string.microsoft_edge)" name="microsoft_edge" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Microsoft.Policies.Edge:definition:SUPPORTED_WIN7_V88
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_WIN7_V88)" name="SUPPORTED_WIN7_V88" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Microsoft.Policies.Edge:category:SleepingTabs
<category displayName="$(string.SleepingTabs_group)" name="SleepingTabs" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Edge:microsoft_edge" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Edge:SleepingTabs_group">Sleeping tabs settings</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.Edge:category:microsoft_edge
<category displayName="$(string.microsoft_edge)" name="microsoft_edge" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Edge:microsoft_edge">Microsoft Edge</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.Edge:definition:SUPPORTED_WIN7_V88
<definition displayName="$(string.SUPPORTED_WIN7_V88)" name="SUPPORTED_WIN7_V88" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Edge:SUPPORTED_WIN7_V88">Microsoft Edge version 88, Windows 7 or later</string></strings>