Microsoft Edge › Sleeping tabs settings
Set the background tab inactivity timeout for sleeping tabs
Supported on Microsoft Edge version 88, Windows 7 or later
Shown as of 157.0.4341.57, 13 Nov 2026. See it in the latest templates.
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 900 seconds (15 minutes). When energy saver is active, Microsoft Edge uses the shorter of this timeout and the energy saver timeout. The energy saver timeout is 5 minutes in maximum savings mode. In other active modes, it's 30 minutes, or 15 minutes on devices with less than 6 GB of memory. 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 (enum) | SleepingTabsTimeout |
|
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/SleepingTabsTimeoutIntune 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' {
$actualBits = if ($actual -is [uint64]) { $actual } else { [BitConverter]::ToUInt64([BitConverter]::GetBytes([int64]$actual), 0) }
$expectedBits = if ($Expected -is [uint64]) { $Expected } else { [BitConverter]::ToUInt64([BitConverter]::GetBytes([int64]$Expected), 0) }
return $actualBits -eq $expectedBits
}
'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 48 retained releases
- 156.0.4314.4222 Oct 2026Registry key:
Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge· Value name:Not specified- Description
… to sleep if sleeping tabs is enabled. By default, this timeout is
[removed: 7,200][added: 900] seconds[removed: (2 hours).][added: (15 minutes). When energy saver is active, Microsoft Edge uses the shorter of this timeout and the energy saver timeout. The energy saver timeout is 5 minutes in maximum savings mode. In other active modes, it's 30 minutes, or 15 minutes on devices with less than 6 GB of memory.] Tabs are only put to sleep automatically when the policy 'SleepingTabsEnabled' (Configure …Whole description, marked
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
[removed: 7,200][added: 900] seconds[removed: (2 hours).][added: (15 minutes). When energy saver is active, Microsoft Edge uses the shorter of this timeout and the energy saver timeout. The energy saver timeout is 5 minutes in maximum savings mode. In other active modes, it's 30 minutes, or 15 minutes on devices with less than 6 GB of memory.] 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.
- Description
… to sleep if sleeping tabs is enabled. By default, this timeout is
- 150.0.4078.8016 Jul 2026
- Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.
46 later releases left it unchanged.
Template
- Internal name
SleepingTabsTimeout- Namespace
Microsoft.Policies.Edge- Template file
msedge.admx- Release
- Microsoft Edge 157.0.4341.57 · file set
aef15aa0bbb05530…
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>