Wrong. /sync doesn’t reapply unchanged policies – it just waits for background cycles to finish.
In short, /force is for what you already have, while /sync is for guaranteeing that complex changes are fully integrated at the next opportunity.
gpupdate /force → Stops current Group Policy client → Re-downloads all GPOs (no delta detection) → Overwrites all managed settings → Restarts the policy engine → Returns after foreground apply finishes
Group Policy refreshes in the background every 90–120 minutes (randomized offset). When a policy changes on the domain controller (DC), clients don’t see it until their next background refresh.