Edit

Share via

The OneDrive sync app update process

  • Article

This article is for IT admins who manage the OneDrive sync app (OneDrive.exe) in an enterprise environment. It explains how we release updates to the sync app for Windows and the standalone sync app for Mac through rings of validation, and how the app checks for updates. If you deploy the sync app alongside Office (via the Office Deployment Tool or some other means), it continues to check for updates independent of any Office update restrictions you set.

Note

If you allow your users to sync personal OneDrive accounts, the update process described in this article and any settings you select apply to all instances of the sync app.

The sync app installed from the Mac App Store follows a separate update process. After we finish rolling out updates within the Production ring, we publish them to the Mac App Store, where they're immediately released to everyone.

How we release updates through multiple rings

After we validate updates through rings within Microsoft, we release them to the first public ring, Insiders. To try these latest features, join the Windows Insider program or the Office Insider program. It takes about three days to roll out to this ring. Later, we release to organizations in the default update ring, Production. We roll them out to a small percentage of users in the ring at first, and slowly roll them out to everyone in the ring. This process typically takes one to two weeks. At each increase along the way, we monitor telemetry for quality assurance purposes. In the rare case when we detect an issue, we suspend the release, address the issue, and release a new update to users in the same order. After updates roll out completely within the Production ring, and remain in Production for at least 60 days, we release them to the next ring, Deferred.

Insiders > Production > Deferred
1-2 times per week > Every 1-2 weeks > Every 2-3 months

Important

We recommend selecting several people in your IT department as early adopters to join the Insiders ring and receive features early. We recommend leaving everyone else in the organization in the default Production ring to ensure they receive bug fixes and new features in a timely fashion. See all our recommendations for configuring the sync app

The Deferred ring provides builds that were monitored throughout the Production rollout, so fewer releases are suspended. The Deferred ring also lets you as an admin:

  • Control when you deploy updates (within 60 days of their release).

  • Deploy new versions from an internal network location to avoid using Internet bandwidth. (If you don't deploy an update after 60 days, it will be automatically downloaded and installed.)

However, as the slowest ring, the Deferred ring receives performance improvements, reliability fixes, and new features last.

Note

Microsoft reserves the right to bypass the 60-day grace period for critical updates.

How the sync app checks for and applies updates

The OneDrive sync app checks for available updates every 24 hours when it's running. If it stops and doesn't check for updates in more than 24 hours, the sync app checks for updates as soon as it starts. Windows also has a scheduled task that updates the sync app even when it's not running.

To determine if an update is available, the OneDrive sync app checks if:

  • The latest version released to the update ring is higher than what is installed on the computer. If the installed version is too old to be updated to the current version, the sync app first updates to the minimum version within the ring.

  • The update is available to the computer based on the rollout percentage we set within the ring.

If both of these conditions are true, OneDrive downloads the update to a hidden folder without any user interaction. After the download is complete, OneDrive verifies and installs it. If OneDrive is running, it stops and then restarts. Users don't need to sign in again, and they don't need administrative rights to install the update.

For info about the latest releases, see New OneDrive sync app release notes.

Note

To apply sync app updates, computers in your organization must be able to reach the following: "oneclient.sfx.ms" and "g.live.com." Make sure you don't block these URLs. They are also used to enable and disable features and apply bug fixes. See More info about the URLs and IP address ranges used in Microsoft 365.

Deploying updates in the Deferred ring

At any given time, the next planned Deferred ring release publishes on the OneDrive sync app release notes page with a link to the corresponding installer and the version's targeted release date. On the specified date, the "Rolling out" version for the Deferred ring becomes the new minimum. All sync apps below that version automatically download the installer from the Internet and update themselves.

To deploy an updated version of the sync app for Windows, run the following command using Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager:

Execute <pathToExecutable>\OneDriveSetup.exe /update /restart

Where pathToExecutable is a location on the local computer or an accessible network share and OneDriveSetup.exe is the target version downloaded from the release notes page. Running this command restarts OneDrive.exe on all computers. If you don't want to restart the sync app, remove the /restart parameter. See Deploy using Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager for tips on how to set up the Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager deployment package.

To deploy an updated version of the sync app for Mac, deploy the OneDrive.pkg with the target version by using your MDM solution.