Automatic Updates detection frequency
Verified with Windows 11 25H2 — updated on July 30, 2026
Supported on: At least Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 or Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, excluding Windows RT
Path in the GPO console
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update\Manage updates offered from Windows Server Update Service Description
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.
Registry
HKLM
Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU Value name: DetectionFrequencyEnabled
Enabled: DetectionFrequencyEnabled = 1
Disabled: DetectionFrequencyEnabled = 0
MDM / Intune (CSP)
./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Update/DetectionFrequency Microsoft Learn documentation Mapping data: Microsoft Learn (CC BY 4.0)
Export Builder
BETAConfigure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.
These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO. ⓘ
.reg file
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: Automatic Updates detection frequency
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: At least Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 or Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, excluding Windows RT
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU]
"DetectionFrequencyEnabled"=dword:00000001
"DetectionFrequency"=dword:00000016More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)
PowerShell
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Automatic Updates detection frequency
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 or Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, excluding Windows RT
$path = 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'DetectionFrequencyEnabled' -Value 1 -Type DWord
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'DetectionFrequency' -Value 22 -Type DWordIntune XML
OMA-URI: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Update/DetectionFrequency
Data type: String
Value:
<enabled/>
<data id="DetectionFrequency_Hour2" value="22"/>Intune Remediation
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Automatic Updates detection frequency
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 or Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, excluding Windows RT
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU' -Name 'DetectionFrequencyEnabled' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU' -Name 'DetectionFrequency' -Expected 22 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Automatic Updates detection frequency
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 or Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, excluding Windows RT
$path = 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'DetectionFrequencyEnabled' -Value 1 -Type DWord
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'DetectionFrequency' -Value 22 -Type DWordSCCM scripts
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Automatic Updates detection frequency
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 or Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, excluding Windows RT
# SCCM Configuration Item guidance:
# Create a Configuration Item of type "Setting: Script".
# Discovery script: use the Detection script below.
# Remediation script: use the Remediation script below.
# Compliance rule: the Discovery script output equals 'Compliant'.
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Automatic Updates detection frequency
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 or Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, excluding Windows RT
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU' -Name 'DetectionFrequencyEnabled' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU' -Name 'DetectionFrequency' -Expected 22 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Automatic Updates detection frequency
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows XP Professional Service Pack 1 or Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, excluding Windows RT
$path = 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'DetectionFrequencyEnabled' -Value 1 -Type DWord
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'DetectionFrequency' -Value 22 -Type DWordBuilding a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.