Device Management Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) Push message Routing Service
This service is part of the device-management platform in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
since 0.9.8.11
Purpose
Identifier: dmwappushservice
Setup Foundry sets the service startup type to Manual.
This service is part of the device-management platform in Windows 10 and Windows 11. It categorizes and processes incoming Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) messages, including Windows management messages and Service Indication or Service Loading messages. After authenticating received messages, it routes them to the appropriate Windows components.
dmwappushservice also initiates and coordinates synchronization sessions with a mobile device management (MDM) server. For push-initiated management, the management server uses Windows Notification Services (WNS) to request that the device establish a session with the server and retrieve pending policies or management actions.
Notes
Additional effects
Microsoft identifies the service as required on client devices that use Microsoft Intune, other MDM products, or similar management technologies. Older Microsoft service guidance also lists it as a requirement for Unified Write Filter. Enrollment and management operations that depend on the service can fail if it is unavailable.
Privacy and security
The service handles messages received remotely for device management. It does not perform all requested management operations itself; it passes authenticated messages to other components in the Windows management stack for further processing.
Microsoft states that dmwappushservice does not send telemetry. It does, however, participate in management sessions in which an enrolled device communicates with its configured MDM service. The device, configuration, and status information exchanged during those sessions depends on the management product and the policies assigned to the device.
Setting the startup type to Manual does not prevent these communications. When Windows or a management component requests the service, it can start and process the relevant messages and synchronization sessions.
Effects of the change
Manual startup means that the service is not started at system boot solely because of its startup type. Windows or an application can still start it on demand. Changing the startup configuration does not immediately stop an instance that is already running; the new configuration becomes relevant after the service stops or the computer starts again.
A device that is not enrolled in an MDM system will also normally show no user-visible difference.
On a device managed through Intune or another MDM system, the service remains available for on-demand startup. Push messages and management synchronization can therefore continue. If the particular management configuration expects the service to run automatically, or if the service is not requested or fails to start correctly, push-triggered actions and synchronization may be delayed or fail. New policies, applications, or remote actions might then not arrive promptly, and the displayed last synchronization time might not advance.
The service is not disabled. The complete Intune synchronization failures that Microsoft documents for a disabled or missing dmwappushservice therefore do not follow merely from changing its startup type to Manual.
Notes
In contrast, an Intune troubleshooting article recommends Automatic startup when correcting a specific synchronization problem caused by the service having been disabled.
Microsoft documentation
Microsoft Learn: Mobile device management overview
Microsoft Learn: Device management push notification support
Microsoft Learn: Guidance on configuring system services
Microsoft Learn: Troubleshoot Windows 10 devices that cannot sync with Intune after enrollment