Windows Backup for Organizations
In August 2025 Microsoft has released Windows Back-up for Organizations this feature was in Preview. Last month this feature has been released as Global Available (GA). Time to take a closer look at this feature. In this post I describe how to enable the feature, control the settings available. And last but not least how can the user perform the restore.
What is Windows Backup for Organizations?
According to the Microsoft documentation Windows Backup for Organization is designed to streamline device transition by preserving user settings. These user settings are part of the backup and can be restored as part of the Windows AutoPilot ESP proces. Is not a typically backup because it focused more in preserving specific user settings, so files and applications aren't a part of this proces. We can use Windows Backup for Organizations as an extra option next to Enterprise State Roaming (ESR) and OneDrive with Know Folder Migration (KFM)
Some of the following settings are in the backup, for a full list make use of the link to the documentation, there is an FAQ section where it is described more in detail.
- System Settings
- Bluetooth & Devices
- Network & Internet
- Personalization
- Accounts
- Time & Language
- Gaming
- Accessibility
- Hearing
- Interaction
- File Explorer settings
Requirements
Requirements can be divided into two different types
- Backup
- Restore
Backup
To make use of this feature the device needs to be Entra or Entra Hybrid Joined, Windows 10 22H2 is supported from a specific build, for full requirements read the Microsoft Learn documentation listed below.
Restore
To make us of the Restore feature the device needs to have an Windows 11 22H2 build or higher. Device needs to be Entra joined, and for AutoPilot only the User-Driven mode can be used, which makes sense because the user can choose to restore the backup. And of course there must be at least one backup profile. For full requirements read the Microsoft Learn documentation listed below.
Enable the Feature in Intune - Restore option
We need to enable the feature to give the users the option to restore the backup as part of the AutoPilot enrollment proces. Head-over to the Intune portal and navigate to:
- Devices
- Enrollment
- Windows Backup and Restore
Select the option Show restore page.
Enable the Feature in Intune - Backup option
Now that we have enabled the restore option we need the make a configuration profile for the backup options. We can also select which settings are part of the backup.
From the Intune portal head-over to
Devices > Configuration and make a new settings catalog profile
Search for Sync your settings in the Setting Picker:
We can choose for Enable Windows Backup, but if we wan't to control the settings, make sure you select Select all these settings.
Make the necessary adjustment by enabling or disabling some of the settings based on your need. For example the option to make not use to sync passwords, or not to sync om metered connections. Of course the Enable Windows Backup feature must be Enabled
Assign the profile to the corresponding group. The members of the attached group now have the Windows backup option enabled.
Perform a Backup
When to profile is attached a scheduled task is created on the device to perform a back-up in the background every 8 days.
On the device head-over to the Task scheduler > Microsoft > Windows > CloudRestore
The interval is shown here, also the last Run time and the next backup.
We can also view the last backup from the Settings app navigate to:
- Accounts
- Windows Backup
To perform a manual backup look for the Windows Backup application and choose for Backup. Because some settings in my config aren't enabled the display wil show that a partial backup was performed, be aware of this!
Perform a restore
The restore can be selected as part of the AutoPilot proces. When the user signs in during AutoPilot the option wil appear to restore a pervious backup or the configure the device as new. When the restore option is selected we have to option to choose the restore point. After this the normal proces for the Out Of the Box Experience (OOBE) will take place. After enrollment the settings in de backup are restored.
In Intune we can also check if the user has selected the restore option. From the Intune portal head-over to the corresponding Device and choose for Enrollment
There we can see if the restore option was selected and if the restore was succeeded.
Recap
With the feature Windows Backup for Organizations we can extend our possibilities to restore the user specific settings next to the already available options like ESR en OneDrive KFM. With the support for Windows 10 22H2 for Backup we can make use of this feature as part in a upgrade scenario. Be aware that when you adjust the setting for the backup specific setting what to backup that a manual backup wil trigger a warning of a partial backup.
Documentation
MS Learn: Windows backup for Organization