Intune Sync and Policy Delivery: Debunking the 8-Hour Myth
For years, many Intune administrators have believed that Windows devices only sync policies once every eight hours. This assumption has spread widely across forums, documentation, and training materials — but it’s not entirely true.
The “8-hour sync” does exist, but it’s a fallback mechanism, not the primary method for policy delivery. In reality, Intune uses multiple check-in phases, push notifications, and dynamic triggers to keep devices up-to-date far more frequently than most people realize.
Understanding How Intune Policy Sync Works
When a Windows device first joins Intune, it doesn’t wait hours to apply settings. Instead, it follows a structured sync pattern that ensures policies are applied quickly during the initial enrollment phase.
1. The Enrollment Phase: Rapid Policy Retrieval
As soon as a Windows device is enrolled in Intune:
- It performs a check-in every 3 minutes for the first 15 minutes.
- Then, it continues to check every 15 minutes for the next 2 hours.
- Only after 2 hours does it switch to the standard 8-hour schedule.
This design allows critical configuration profiles, compliance policies, and baseline security settings to apply rapidly — ensuring devices become compliant and functional right after enrollment.
2. The Scheduled 8-Hour Check-In
Once the initial setup phase ends, Windows devices fall back to an every-8-hours sync cadence.
This schedule isn’t about performance or throttling — it’s simply a safety net. If push notifications fail (due to network issues, firewall restrictions, or device sleep), the scheduled sync ensures devices still check in automatically to stay compliant.
The Real Driver: Push Notifications via WNS
The key to faster Intune communication is push-based sync triggers. When you make a change in Intune — such as:
- Updating a configuration profile
- Modifying a compliance policy
- Changing a group membership
- Deploying a new app
Intune doesn’t wait for the 8-hour interval. It uses the Windows Notification Service (WNS) to send a push message directly to affected devices.
When the device receives this WNS signal, it triggers a scheduled background task that initiates an immediate sync with Intune. This mechanism is what allows devices to receive updates within minutes after a change, not hours.
Throttling Behavior: Controlling Push Frequency
Microsoft designed Intune’s push notification system to be smart and resource-efficient.
Here’s how it behaves in practice:
- Devices won’t receive more than one WNS push notification every 30 minutes.
- If multiple configuration or app changes occur within a short period, Intune bundles them together.
- The first change triggers an immediate push; subsequent ones are queued and sent in the next cycle.
This prevents network congestion and avoids unnecessary sync loops — while still ensuring that policy changes are delivered efficiently.
Upcoming Improvements to Policy Delivery
Microsoft is modernizing this sync logic with a more adaptive batching system. The goal: deliver changes even faster while minimizing redundant network traffic.
The new process works like this:
- When an admin makes a change, Intune starts a 3-minute timer.
- If no other changes occur within that window, the system sends a push immediately.
- If additional changes happen within those 3 minutes, Intune batches them together.
- The batched updates are sent within 10 minutes after the last detected change.
- After this batch, any new changes wait until the next hour mark to avoid overload.
This intelligent batching system ensures faster, more predictable delivery — especially in dynamic environments where multiple admins may be deploying or modifying policies simultaneously.
Why the Windows Notification Service (WNS) Matters
WNS is a critical component for real-time policy delivery. It acts as the bridge between the Intune cloud and the Windows client device.
If WNS is blocked by a corporate firewall, disabled via policy, or otherwise unavailable, push notifications fail — and devices revert to the slower 8-hour sync pattern.
Firewall / Network Requirements for WNS
To ensure WNS functions properly:
- Allow outbound HTTPS connections to
*.wns.windows.com. - Ensure ports 443 and 80 are open for WNS traffic.
- Verify that the Windows Push Notification Service isn’t disabled in your environment.
Blocking this service might save a small amount of network traffic, but it severely impacts policy freshness and compliance responsiveness — especially in environments with frequent policy changes or dynamic group memberships.
Testing Policy Delivery in Practice
Admins can test Intune’s push behavior using Event Viewer and Task Scheduler:
- Look for the task:
Microsoft > Windows > EnterpriseMgmt > PushLaunch
This task is triggered by WNS when Intune sends a push notification. - Check Event Viewer > Microsoft > Windows > DeviceManagement-Enterprise-Diagnostics-Provider
for events showing “Policy retriggered due to push” or similar logs.
These entries confirm that your environment is receiving push notifications successfully — and that WNS isn’t blocked.
Common Misunderstandings
| Misconception | Actual Behavior |
|---|---|
| Intune devices sync every 8 hours | 8-hour is only a fallback schedule |
| Policy updates require manual sync | Push notifications deliver changes automatically |
| WNS is optional | Blocking WNS delays all real-time updates |
| Enrollment takes hours | Enrollment sync is fast and continuous for the first 2 hours |
Practical Recommendations
To ensure fast and reliable policy delivery:
- Keep WNS unblocked – confirm firewall rules allow push traffic.
- Avoid frequent manual syncs – they can interfere with automated throttling.
- Monitor event logs – to verify push triggers are working as expected.
- Communicate with network teams – to whitelist necessary endpoints.
- Educate admins – so they understand the real behavior, not the myth.
Key Takeaways
- The 8-hour sync exists but serves only as a fallback.
- Initial enrollment syncs happen every few minutes for rapid setup.
- Push notifications via WNS drive near real-time policy delivery.
- Throttling prevents overloading devices with constant updates.
- Microsoft’s new batching logic will soon deliver changes even faster.
Intune is far more responsive than many believe. With WNS enabled and proper configuration, policy and app updates usually reach endpoints within minutes — not hours.
