diff --git a/.github/renovate.json5 b/.github/renovate.json5
index 5dff3eb1b2e1..18373fc1ac9b 100644
--- a/.github/renovate.json5
+++ b/.github/renovate.json5
@@ -1,23 +1,33 @@
 {
-  // Renovate configuration schema validation
   "$schema": "https://docs.renovatebot.com/renovate-schema.json",
-  // Extend recommended default rules from Renovate
   "extends": [
-    "config:recommended"
+    // Use pre-determined best practices, including monorepo groupings & GitHub Action digest pinning
+    "config:best-practices",
+    // Create version bump PRs globally on a monthly basis (first day of the month)
+    "schedule:monthly"
   ],
-  // Enforce Conventional Commits format for all pull requests generated by Renovate
   "semanticCommits": "enabled",
   "semanticCommitType": "chore",
   "semanticCommitScope": "deps",
-  // Widen dependency constraint ranges by default when updating dependencies
-  "rangeStrategy": "widen",
-  // Disable global lockfile maintenance by default; enabled per-group in packageRules below
+  // Increase compatibility with other projects
+  "rangeStrategy": "update-lockfile",
+  // Phase 1: Minimal lockfile maintenance across Core & Handwritten gems without proactive version bumps
   "lockFileMaintenance": {
-    "enabled": false
+    "enabled": true,
+    "groupName": "core handwritten gems lockfiles",
+    "automerge": false
+    // Inherits "schedule:monthly" from extends preset
   },
   "packageRules": [
+    // Group all patch updates across all dependencies into a single PR
+    {
+      "matchUpdateTypes": [
+        "patch"
+      ],
+      "groupName": "all patch updates"
+    },
+    // Disable Renovate processing for non-Phase 1 gems during our phased rollout
     {
-      // Disable Renovate processing for non-Phase 1 gems during phased rollout
       "description": "Disable Renovate processing for non-Phase 1 gems during phased rollout",
       "matchFileNames": [
         "!google-cloud-core/**",
@@ -32,31 +42,17 @@
       ],
       "enabled": false
     },
+    // Disable proactive rubygems version bumps across Phase 1 while keeping lockFileMaintenance enabled.
+    // Note: Even though proactive package updates (`rubygems`) are disabled here, when `lockFileMaintenance`
+    // runs (`bundle lock --update` via Renovate's bundler manager), it can still trigger `Gemfile` constraint updates
+    // to synchronize out-of-date bounds (e.g., internal monorepo gems or dev utilities) with the refreshed `Gemfile.lock`.
+    // When the team is ready for Phase 2 (allowing proactive Gemfile version bumps), simply delete this rule.
     {
-      // Phase 1: Enable minimal lockfile maintenance across Core and Handwritten gems
-      "description": "Phase 1: Core & Handwritten Gems Lockfile Rollout",
-      "matchFileNames": [
-        "google-cloud-core/**",
-        "google-cloud-storage/**",
-        "google-cloud-pubsub/**",
-        "google-cloud-bigquery/**",
-        "google-cloud-errors/**",
-        "google-cloud-resource_manager/**",
-        "google-cloud-bigtable/**",
-        "google-cloud-logging/**",
-        "google-cloud-monitoring/**"
+      "description": "Disable proactive rubygems version bumps across Phase 1; note that lockFileMaintenance (`bundle lock --update`) can still trigger Gemfile constraint updates when refreshing lockfiles",
+      "matchDatasources": [
+        "rubygems"
       ],
-      "groupName": "core handwritten gems lockfiles",
-      // Use update-lockfile strategy to prevent Gemfile constraint widening during lockfile maintenance
-      "rangeStrategy": "update-lockfile",
-      "lockFileMaintenance": {
-        "enabled": true,
-        "automerge": false,
-        "schedule": [
-          "before 5am"
-        ],
-        "commitMessageAction": "maintain Gemfile.lock files"
-      }
+      "enabled": false
     }
   ]
 }