Windows Backup for Organizations: Migrate to Windows 11
Windows Backup for Organizations: Key Considerations for IT admins
Microsoft’s Windows Backup for Organizations offers a centralized way to safeguard user settings and preferences, streamlining device management and recovery. While the backup functionality extends to devices running Windows 10 (version 22H2) and Windows 11 (version 22H2 or later), a critical limitation exists: the restore function is exclusively for Windows 11 (version 22H2 or later). This means organizations with a mixed environment, or those still reliant on Windows 10, will only be able to back up settings from windows 10 devices, but not restore them using this tool.
given that Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, this limitation serves as a strong incentive to accelerate Windows 11 deployments. Windows Backup for Organizations can ease the transition by ensuring user settings are preserved during the upgrade process.
To fully leverage Windows Backup for Organizations,ensure the August 2025 Windows security update is applied to all relevant systems. The feature is designed primarily for Entra-joined systems. Though, organizations with on-premises Active Directory domains can still utilize the tool through a hybrid join configuration, bridging Active Directory to Entra ID.
The “restore” setting is being rolled out gradually within Intune tenants. If you don’t see it instantly, Microsoft advises checking back within a week. Once enabled,backups will run automatically every eight days,securely storing user settings and preferences within the organization’s tenant data store.