How to Enable Intune Quick Machine Recovery for Windows 11 Devices

Before configuring QMR, confirm your devices meet the minimum requirements. Quick Machine Recovery requires Windows 11 version 24H2 (build 26100.4700 or later) and an enabled Windows Recovery Environment.

Open an elevated Command Prompt on a target device and run:

winver

Verify the build number shows 26100.4700 or higher. Next, check WinRE status:

reagentc /info

Look for "Windows RE status: Enabled" in the output. If disabled, enable it:

reagentc /enable

For bulk verification across your environment, use this PowerShell command on each device:

Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object WindowsVersion, WindowsBuildLabEx
reagentc /info

Navigate to the Microsoft Intune admin center and create targeted device groups for QMR deployment. This ensures you can control which devices receive the policy and monitor deployment progress.

In the Intune admin center:

1. Go to Groups > All groups > New group
2. Set Group type to Security
3. Enter Group name: "Windows 11 24H2 - QMR Enabled"
4. Set Membership type to Dynamic Device
5. Click Add dynamic query

Use this dynamic membership rule to target Windows 11 24H2 devices:

(device.deviceOSVersion -startsWith "10.0.26100") and (device.deviceOSType -eq "Windows")

Alternatively, for manual assignment, select Assigned membership and manually add your Windows 11 24H2 devices.

Create a new configuration profile using Settings Catalog to configure QMR settings. This is the recommended method as it provides the most granular control over QMR parameters.

In the Intune admin center:

1. Navigate to Devices > Windows > Configuration profiles
2. Click Create > New policy
3. Select Platform: Windows 10 and later
4. Select Profile type: Settings catalog
5. Click Create
6. Enter Name: "Windows 11 - Quick Machine Recovery (QMR)"
7. Add optional description: "Enables cloud-based automatic remediation for Windows 11 24H2 devices in recovery scenarios"

Click Next to proceed to configuration settings.

Add and configure the Remote Remediation settings that control QMR behavior. These settings determine how aggressively the system attempts automatic recovery and network connectivity options.

On the Configuration settings page:

1. Click Add settings
2. In the search box, type "Remote Remediation"
3. Expand Remote Remediation and select all available settings
4. Click Add

Configure each setting as follows:

For enterprise environments with Wi-Fi, optionally configure:

• Wi-Fi SSID: Your corporate Wi-Fi network name
• Wi-Fi Password: Network password (stored encrypted)

Assign the QMR policy to your previously created device groups and configure deployment settings for controlled rollout.

Click Next to reach the Assignments page, then:

1. Under Included groups, click Add groups
2. Select "Windows 11 24H2 - QMR Enabled" group
3. Click Select

For production deployments, consider using Intune's deployment rings:

Pilot Ring: 5-10 test devices
Broad Ring: Remaining production devices
Deployment schedule: 7-14 days between rings

Configure assignment filters if needed to exclude specific device types:

1. Click Edit filter next to your assigned group
2. Select Include filtered devices in assignment
3. Choose existing filter or create new one

Example filter to exclude virtual machines:

(device.model -notContains "Virtual")

Complete the policy creation process and initiate deployment to your target devices.

On the Review + create page:

1. Verify all settings match your requirements
2. Check assignment groups and filters
3. Click Create to deploy the policy

Monitor deployment progress:

1. Return to Devices > Windows > Configuration profiles
2. Click on your "Windows 11 - Quick Machine Recovery (QMR)" policy
3. Review the Device and user check-in status

Force immediate policy sync on test devices using PowerShell:

Get-ScheduledTask | Where-Object {$_.TaskName -eq "PushLaunch"} | Start-ScheduledTask
Start-Sleep -Seconds 10
Invoke-MDMAppDiagnosticsTool -AreaName "DeviceProvisioning" -OutputPath "C:\temp\MDMDiag"

Or use the Company Portal app: Settings > Sync

Verify that QMR settings have been successfully applied to your target devices using built-in Windows tools and registry verification.

On a target device, open an elevated Command Prompt and export the current recovery settings:

reagentc /getrecoverysettings

This creates an XML file (typically in C:\Windows\System32\Recovery\) containing current WinRE configuration. Look for RemoteRemediation entries.

Check the Windows Settings UI:

1. Open Settings > System > Recovery
2. Look for Quick machine recovery section
3. Verify "Cloud remediation" shows as enabled

For programmatic verification, check these registry locations:

reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\RemoteRemediation" /v CloudRemediation
reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\RemoteRemediation" /v AutoRemediation

Expected output should show:

CloudRemediation    REG_DWORD    0x1
AutoRemediation     REG_DWORD    0x1

Use PowerShell to check across multiple devices:

$devices = @("Computer1", "Computer2", "Computer3")
foreach ($device in $devices) {
    Invoke-Command -ComputerName $device -ScriptBlock {
        Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\RemoteRemediation" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

Test QMR functionality using Windows Insider builds or controlled test scenarios to ensure the configuration works as expected before relying on it in production.

For Windows Insider devices, enable test mode:

reagentc /SetRecoveryTestmode

Initiate a controlled boot to recovery environment:

reagentc /BootToRE

The system will reboot into WinRE and simulate a recovery scenario. QMR will:

1. Detect the simulated failure
2. Connect to Windows Update (using configured Wi-Fi if needed)
3. Download available remediation packages
4. Apply fixes automatically
5. Reboot back to normal Windows

After the test completes, verify remediation occurred:

1. Open Settings > Windows Update > Update history
2. Look for entries related to "Quick Machine Recovery" or "Remediation"
3. Check timestamps to confirm recent activity

Disable test mode when finished:

reagentc /disable
reagentc /enable

For production validation without full testing, monitor these event logs:

wevtutil qe "Microsoft-Windows-RemoteRemediation/Operational" /f:text /rd:true /c:10