Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS

Key Takeaways

  • Understand the purpose and benefits of Intune Compliance Policies for iOS devices.
  • Learn how to create and configure an iOS compliance policy in Microsoft Intune.
  • Configure compliance settings, including password requirements, device health, OS version, and system security.
  • Deploy the compliance policy to the appropriate Microsoft Entra user groups.

Let’s discuss setting up an Intune Compliance Policy for iOS Devices. This post will explain how to do so. An Intune Compliance Policy ensures that iOS devices accessing company data meet specific security standards. Enforcing these policies can help protect your organization’s data from unauthorized access and potential security threats. The organization must ensure that the devices that access company apps and data comply with specific rules.

Table of Contents

Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS

These rules might include using a password/PIN to access devices and encrypting data stored on devices. This set of such rules is called a compliance policy. The best option is to use a compliance policy with Intune Conditional Access. A compliance policy is a set of guidelines that devices must meet to access organizational resources. It ensures that only secure and compliant devices can access company data, reducing the risk of data breaches or unauthorized access.

How to Setup Intune Compliance Policies for iOS

Sign in to the Microsoft Intune admin center and navigate to Devices > Compliance > Policies. Click + Create Policy to create a new compliance policy.

Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS - Fig.1
Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS – Fig.1

Select iOS/iPadOS as the platform, and then click Create. This opens the policy creation wizard, where you can define the compliance requirements that iOS devices must satisfy before accessing organizational resources.

Patch My PC
Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS - Fig.2
Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS – Fig.2

Start with Basic Tab

On the Basics page, enter a descriptive Name and an optional Description for the compliance policy. Using a meaningful name, such as iOS Compliance Policy – Corporate Devices, makes it easier to identify and manage the policy in environments with multiple compliance policies. After entering the required information, click Next.

Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS - Fig.3
Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS – Fig.3

How Do you Set up the Intune Compliance Policy for iOS?

The Compliance Settings page allows you to define the security requirements that iOS and iPadOS devices must meet to be considered compliant. Configure the settings according to your organization’s security policies. The available categories include:

  1. iOS compliance policies have 4 categories: Email, Device Health, Device Properties, and System Security.
  2. Email settings require mobile devices to have a managed email profile to access corporate resources.
  3. The device Health setting will check whether the device is jailbroken or not. If the iOS device is Jailbroken, it won’t provide mail access to that device.
  4. The device Properties setting will check the OS version of the device and the minimum version of the iOS OS.
  5. The System Security setting is based mainly on password settings. There are some improvements over the Intune Silverlight portal here. We can have the option not to configure some of the settings, like “Number of non-alphanumeric characters in password.” This was not possible with the Intune Silverlight portal.
How to Setup Intune Compliance Policy for iOS?
Require a password to unlock mobile devices.
Simple passwords
Minimum password length
Not ConfiguredAlphanumericNumeric
Number of non-alphanumeric characters in the password
Maximum minutes of inactivity before a password is required
Password expiration (days)
Number of previous passwords to prevent reuse
HStep-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS – Table 1
Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS - Fig.4
Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS – Fig.4

Actions for Noncompliance

On the Actions for Noncompliance page, specify what happens when a device fails to meet the compliance requirements. By default, Intune marks the device as non-compliant immediately, which can be used together with Microsoft Entra Conditional Access to block access to corporate resources.

The first action, Mark device noncompliant (0 days), flags the device immediately so Conditional Access can restrict corporate access. The second action, remotely lock the noncompliant device (3 days), automatically locks the device if it remains noncompliant for three days, forcing the user to re‑enter their passcode before regaining access.

  • This combination gives users time to fix issues while maintaining security. Once these actions are configured, click Next
Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS - Fig.5
Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS – Fig.5

Scope Tags

The Scope tags page is optional and is used to control which administrators can view and manage the compliance policy. If your organization does not use custom scope tags, leave the Default scope tag selected and click Next to continue.

Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS - Fig.6
Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS – Fig.6

Assignment Section

On the Assignments page, select the Microsoft Entra user groups that will receive the compliance policy. Assigning the policy to user groups ensures that all eligible iOS devices enrolled by those users are evaluated against the configured compliance settings.

  • Review the selected groups carefully before proceeding, and then click Next.
Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS - Fig.7
Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS – Fig.7

Review + Create

The Review + Create page displays a summary of all configured settings, including the policy name, compliance rules, noncompliance actions, and assignments. Review the configuration to verify that it matches your organization’s security requirements. Once you have confirmed that everything is configured correctly, click Create to deploy the compliance policy. Intune will begin applying the policy to the targeted users.

Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS - Fig.8
Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS – Fig.8

How to Find Out the Compliance Policy

Navigate to Devices > Compliance in the Intune Admin Center. Use the search box to locate the required iOS/iPadOS Compliance policy by entering its name. Once the policy appears in the list, select it to open the policy details.

Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS - Fig.9
Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS – Fig.9

Review the Policy Status

After opening the compliance policy, the Monitor tab displays the deployment status. Here, administrators can review the number of Compliant, Noncompliant, and Other devices assigned to the policy. Select View report to access detailed compliance information for individual devices.

Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS - Fig.10
Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS – Fig.10

Delete the Compliance Policy

Go to Devices > Compliance and search for the compliance policy. From the policy list, locate the required policy, select the 3-dot (More) menu next to it, and choose Delete. Confirm the deletion when prompted to permanently remove the compliance policy from Intune.

Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS - Fig.11
Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS – Fig.11

Video

In this video, you will learn all the details on how to set up Intune compliance policies for iOS devices. We’ll guide you through creating and configuring these policies to ensure your company’s data remains secure.

How to Setup Intune Compliance Policy for iOS Devices – Video 1

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Author

Anoop C Nair has been Microsoft MVP from 2015 onwards for 10 consecutive years! He is a Workplace Solution Architect with more than 22+ years of experience in Workplace technologies. He is also a Blogger, Speaker, and Local User Group Community leader. His primary focus is on Device Management technologies like SCCM and Intune. He writes about technologies like Intune, SCCM,  Windows,   Cloud PC, Windows, Entra, Microsoft Security, Career, etc.

5 thoughts on “Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring Intune Compliance Policies for iOS”

  1. i’m trying to set PIN on iOS Device with the simple password not permitted. Why the combination 307989 is considered too simple? thanks

    Reply
  2. I get “This Action is not allowed by your organisation” when trying to open a document attachment in Outlook for Android.

    Reply

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