3,503 settings · 23H2 · 1.0 · 15 Jul 2024

1 settingCSV

Use a common set of exploit protection settings Computer

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Windows Components › Windows Update › Manage updates offered from Windows Server Update Service

Automatic Updates detection frequency

ComputerNative Intune settingDetectionFrequency_Title

Supported on At least Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 or Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, excluding Windows RT

23H2 · 1.0

What it does

Specifies the hours that Windows will use to determine how long to wait before checking for available updates. The exact wait time is a sum of the specific value and a random variant of 0-4 hours. If the status is set to Enabled, Windows will check for available updates at the specified interval. If the status is set to Disabled or Not Configured, Windows will check for available updates at the default interval of 22 hours. Note: The "Specify intranet Microsoft update service location" setting must be enabled for this policy to have effect. Note: If the "Configure Automatic Updates" policy is disabled, this policy has no effect. Note: This policy is not supported on Windows RT. Setting this policy will not have any effect on Windows RT PCs.

What it writes

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Registry key: Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU
Value name: DetectionFrequencyEnabled
When enabled: DWORD 1
When disabled: DWORD 0

In Intune

Native Intune setting: Yes — Policy CSP

./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Update/DetectionFrequencyUpdate on Microsoft LearnSets the option “interval (hours)”.Windows builds listed: 10.0.15063.

From Microsoft's Policy CSP DDF files (DDF v2 Files, February 2026), read 18 Oct 2026.

Options

Option	Type	Registry value	Allowed values
interval (hours)RequiredDefault: 22	Number	`DetectionFrequency`	1 to 22

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\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU]
"DetectionFrequency"=dword:00000016
"DetectionFrequencyEnabled"=dword:00000001

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: Automatic Updates detection frequency
# Name: DetectionFrequency_Title
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: WindowsUpdate.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU' -Name 'DetectionFrequencyEnabled' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU' -Name 'DetectionFrequency' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 22

These deployment candidates come from the ADMX template; they are separate from the native CSP mapping above.

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.

ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)

./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_WindowsUpdate/DetectionFrequency_Title

ADMX SyncML candidate

<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
  <SyncBody>
    <Replace>
      <CmdID>1</CmdID>
      <Item>
        <Meta>
          <Format>chr</Format>
          <Type>text/plain</Type>
        </Meta>
        <Target>
          <LocURI>./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_WindowsUpdate/DetectionFrequency_Title</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&gt;
&lt;data id="DetectionFrequency_Hour2" value="22"/&gt;</Data>
      </Item>
    </Replace>
    <Final/>
  </SyncBody>
</SyncML>

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: Automatic Updates detection frequency
# Name: DetectionFrequency_Title
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: WindowsUpdate.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU' -Name 'DetectionFrequencyEnabled' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU\DetectionFrequencyEnabled') | Out-Null
}

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU' -Name 'DetectionFrequency' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 22
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU\DetectionFrequency') | 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: Automatic Updates detection frequency
# Name: DetectionFrequency_Title
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: WindowsUpdate.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU' -Name 'DetectionFrequencyEnabled' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU' -Name 'DetectionFrequency' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 22

History 3 retained releases

22H2 · 1.015 Jul 2024
- Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.

2 later releases left it unchanged.

Template

Internal name: DetectionFrequency_Title
Namespace: Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate
Template file: WindowsUpdate.admx
Release: Windows 11 23H2 · 1.0 · file set d784d0ea5f14a680…

Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="Machine" displayName="$(string.DetectionFrequency_Title)" explainText="$(string.DetectionFrequency_Help)" key="Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU" name="DetectionFrequency_Title" presentation="$(presentation.DetectionFrequency_Title)" valueName="DetectionFrequencyEnabled" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WSUSOffering" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WU_SUPPORTED_Win2kSP3_Or_XPSP1_NoWinRT" />
      <enabledValue>
        <decimal value="1" />
      </enabledValue>
      <disabledValue>
        <decimal value="0" />
      </disabledValue>
      <elements>
        <decimal id="DetectionFrequency_Hour2" maxValue="22" minValue="1" required="true" valueName="DetectionFrequency" />
      </elements>
    </policy>

Editor controls

<presentation id="DetectionFrequency_Title" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <text>Check for updates at the following</text>
        <decimalTextBox defaultValue="22" refId="DetectionFrequency_Hour2">interval (hours): </decimalTextBox>
      </presentation>

Supported platforms and category

Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:category:WSUSOffering
<category displayName="$(string.WSUSOffering)" name="WSUSOffering" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WindowsUpdateCat" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:category:WindowsUpdateCat
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsUpdateCat)" name="WindowsUpdateCat" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:definition:WU_SUPPORTED_Win2kSP3_Or_XPSP1_NoWinRT
<definition displayName="$(string.WU_SUPPORTED_Win2kSP3_Or_XPSP1_NoWinRT)" name="WU_SUPPORTED_Win2kSP3_Or_XPSP1_NoWinRT" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <or>
          <range minVersionIndex="3" ref="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows2000" />
          <range minVersionIndex="1" ref="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindowsXP" />
          <range maxVersionIndex="8" minVersionIndex="3" ref="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows" />
        </or>
      </definition>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:unresolved:unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows
<unresolved reference="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows" />
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:unresolved:unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows2000
<unresolved reference="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows2000" />
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:unresolved:unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindowsXP
<unresolved reference="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindowsXP" />
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents">Windows Components</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents_Help">Contains settings for operating system components.</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:category:WSUSOffering
<category displayName="$(string.WSUSOffering)" name="WSUSOffering" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WindowsUpdateCat" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WSUSOffering">Manage updates offered from Windows Server Update Service</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:category:WindowsUpdateCat
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsUpdateCat)" name="WindowsUpdateCat" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WindowsUpdateCat">Windows Update</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:definition:WU_SUPPORTED_Win2kSP3_Or_XPSP1_NoWinRT
<definition displayName="$(string.WU_SUPPORTED_Win2kSP3_Or_XPSP1_NoWinRT)" name="WU_SUPPORTED_Win2kSP3_Or_XPSP1_NoWinRT" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <or>
          <range minVersionIndex="3" ref="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows2000" />
          <range minVersionIndex="1" ref="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindowsXP" />
          <range maxVersionIndex="8" minVersionIndex="3" ref="unresolved(products):MicrosoftWindows" />
        </or>
      </definition>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.WindowsUpdate:WU_SUPPORTED_Win2kSP3_Or_XPSP1_NoWinRT">At least Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 or Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, excluding Windows RT</string></strings>