The answer is to increase the signInFrequency value to 24 hours. This control in Conditional Access directly determines how often a user must re-authenticate, and raising it from one hour to a full day reduces MFA prompts while still enforcing daily re-authentication for approved Microsoft applications. On the Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert AZ-305 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of balancing security posture with user experience in Entra ID policies—a common trap is assuming session controls like persistent browser cookies are the fix, but sign-in frequency is the precise lever for prompt reduction. Remember that sign-in frequency is a time-based reauthentication interval, not a session timeout, so increasing the value proportionally decreases prompts. Memory tip: think “frequency = friction,” so a higher number means fewer interruptions.
AZ-305 Practice Question: Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions
This AZ-305 practice question tests your understanding of design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
You are reviewing a Conditional Access policy for a Microsoft Entra ID tenant. The exhibit shows the policy configuration. Users report that they are prompted for MFA every hour even when using approved Microsoft applications. The security team wants to reduce MFA prompts but maintain security. What should you modify?
Why wrong: Enabling persistent browser would reduce prompts for browsers, but the policy is applied to all applications and the sign-in frequency is the main issue.
B
Change cloudAppSecurityType to 'blockDownloads'
Why wrong: Blocking downloads does not affect MFA prompt frequency.
C
Remove the 'approvedApplication' grant control
Why wrong: Removing approved application control would reduce security by allowing unapproved apps.
D
Increase the signInFrequency value to 24 hours
Increasing sign-in frequency to 24 hours reduces MFA prompts while maintaining security.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Increase the signInFrequency value to 24 hours
The sign-in frequency control in Conditional Access determines how often a user must re-authenticate. Increasing the value from 1 hour to 24 hours directly reduces the frequency of MFA prompts while still requiring re-authentication daily, balancing security and user experience. This change applies to approved Microsoft applications as configured in the policy.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Enable 'persistentBrowser' session control
Why it's wrong here
Enabling persistent browser would reduce prompts for browsers, but the policy is applied to all applications and the sign-in frequency is the main issue.
✗
Change cloudAppSecurityType to 'blockDownloads'
Why it's wrong here
Blocking downloads does not affect MFA prompt frequency.
✗
Remove the 'approvedApplication' grant control
Why it's wrong here
Removing approved application control would reduce security by allowing unapproved apps.
✓
Increase the signInFrequency value to 24 hours
Why this is correct
Increasing sign-in frequency to 24 hours reduces MFA prompts while maintaining security.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse session controls like 'persistentBrowser' with sign-in frequency, assuming that keeping the browser session alive will also reduce MFA prompts, but sign-in frequency is a separate, explicit time-based re-authentication control that overrides session persistence.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The sign-in frequency setting uses the 'Keep me signed in' (KMSI) token lifetime, which is separate from the refresh token lifetime. When set to 1 hour, the user must re-authenticate even if the session token is still valid, because Conditional Access enforces a fresh primary refresh token (PRT) request. Increasing this value to 24 hours aligns with typical organizational policies for low-risk sessions, reducing friction while still meeting compliance requirements for periodic re-authentication.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this AZ-305 question in full detail.
Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions — This question tests Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Increase the signInFrequency value to 24 hours — The sign-in frequency control in Conditional Access determines how often a user must re-authenticate. Increasing the value from 1 hour to 24 hours directly reduces the frequency of MFA prompts while still requiring re-authentication daily, balancing security and user experience. This change applies to approved Microsoft applications as configured in the policy.
What should I do if I get this AZ-305 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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