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Important
The information in this article or section only applies if you have Windows Enterprise E3+ or F3 licenses (included in Microsoft 365 F3, E3, or E5) licenses and have activated Windows Autopatch features.
Feature activation is optional and at no additional cost to you if you have Windows 10/11 Enterprise E3 or E5 (included in Microsoft 365 F3, E3, or E5) licenses.
For more information, see Licenses and entitlements. If you choose not to go through feature activation, you can still use the Windows Autopatch service for the features included in Business premium and A3+ licenses.
Windows Autopatch provides tools to assist with the controlled roll out of annual Windows feature updates. These policies provide tools to allow version targeting, phased releases, and even Windows 10 to Windows 11 update options. For more information about how to configure feature update profiles, see Feature updates for Windows 10 and later policy in Intune.
Important
Windows Autopatch supports registering Windows 10 and Windows 11 Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) devices that are being currently serviced by the Windows 10 LTSC or Windows 11 LTSC. The service only supports managing the Windows quality updates workload for devices currently serviced by the LTSC. Windows Update for Business service and Windows Autopatch don't offer Windows feature updates for devices that are part of the LTSC. You must either use LTSC media or the Configuration Manager Operating System Deployment capabilities to perform an in-place upgrade for Windows devices that are part of the LTSC.
Multi-phase feature update allows you to create customizable feature update deployments using multiple phases for your existing Autopatch groups. These phased releases can be tailored to meet your organizational unique needs.
A release is made of one or more phases. The release status is based on the calculation and consolidation of each phase status.
The release statuses are described in the following table:
Release status | Definition | Options |
---|---|---|
Scheduled | Release is scheduled and not all phases created its Windows feature update policies |
|
Active | All phases in the release are active. All phases reached their first deployment date, which created the Windows feature update policies. |
|
Inactive | All the Autopatch groups within the release are assigned to a new release. As a result, the Windows feature update policies were unassigned from all phases from within the release. |
|
Paused | All phases in the release are paused. The release remains paused until you resume it. |
|
Canceled | All phases in the release are canceled. |
|
A phase is made of one or more Autopatch group deployment rings. Each phase reports its status to its release.
Important
The determining factor that makes a phase status transition from Scheduled to Active is when the service automatically creates the Windows feature update policy for each Autopatch group deployment ring. Additionally, the phase status transition from Active to Inactive occurs when Windows feature update policies are unassigned from the Autopatch groups that belong to a phase. This can happen when an Autopatch group and its deployment rings are re-used as part of a new release.
Phase status | Definition |
---|---|
Scheduled | The phase is scheduled but didn't reach its first deployment date yet. The Windows feature update policy wasn't created for the respective phase yet. |
Active | The first deployment date reached. The Windows feature update policy was created for the respective phase. |
Inactive | All Autopatch groups within the phase are reassigned to a new release. All Windows feature update policies were unassigned from the Autopatch groups. |
Paused | Phase is paused. You must resume the phase. |
Canceled | Phase is canceled. All Autopatch groups within the phase can be used with a new release. A phase that is canceled can't be deleted. |
For more information about Windows feature update policies that are created for phases within a release, see Windows feature update policies.
To create a custom release:
<First Deployment Date> + (<Number of gradual rollout groups> - 1) * Days in between groups (7) + Deadline for feature updates (5 days) + Grace Period (2 days)
.Note
Custom releases can't be deleted from the Feature updates tab in the Windows updates blade. The custom release record serves as a historical record for auditing purposes when needed.
Note
Only custom releases that have the Scheduled status can be edited. A release phase can only be edited prior to reaching its first deployment date. Additionally, you can only edit the deployment dates when editing a release.
To edit a custom release:
Important
You can only cancel a release under the Scheduled status. You cannot cancel a release under the Active, **Inactive, or Paused statuses.
To cancel a release:
Important
Due to a recent change, we have identified an issue that prevents the Paused and Pause status columns from being displayed in reporting. Until a fix is deployed, you must keep track of your paused releases so you can resume them at a later date. The team is actively working on resolving this issue and we'll provide an update when a fix is deployed.
Important
Pausing or resuming an update can take up to eight hours to be applied to devices. Windows Autopatch uses Microsoft Intune as its device management solution and that's the average frequency Windows devices take to communicate back to Microsoft Intune with new instructions to pause, resume or rollback updates. For more information, see how long does it take for devices to get a policy, profile, or app after they are assigned from Microsoft Intune.
To pause and resume a release:
Important
You can only pause an Autopatch group if you have Windows Enterprise E3+ or F3 licenses (included in Microsoft 365 F3, E3, or E5) licenses and have activated Windows Autopatch features.
Feature activation is optional and at no additional cost to you if you have Windows 10/11 Enterprise E3 or E5 (included in Microsoft 365 F3, E3, or E5) licenses.
For more information, see Licenses and entitlements. If you choose not to go through feature activation, you can still use the Windows Autopatch service for the features included in Business premium and A3+ licenses.
Note
If you pause an update, the specified release has the Paused status. The Windows Autopatch service can't overwrite IT admin's pause. You must select Resume to resume the update. The Paused by Service Pause status only applies to Windows quality updates. Windows Autopatch doesn't pause Windows feature updates on your behalf.
Windows Autopatch doesn't support the rollback of Windows feature updates through its end-user experience flows.
Events
19 Nov, 23 - 21 Nov, 23
Gain the competitive edge you need with powerful AI and Cloud solutions by attending Microsoft Ignite online.
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Manage Windows updates in the cloud - Training
Learn about how to manage updates for your Windows devices.
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