Why aren't Office updates showing up under Update Manager assessment results?

Question

We have a few Windows Server 2022 Datacenter VMs that also have Office Pro Plus 2016 installed. We confirmed it is the msi-based edition and not click-to-run or Office 365. We also confirmed the newest monthly updates have not been installed via Windows Update or any other means. We are looking to have Azure Update Manager install the Office security updates onto these VMs, but the updates do not show up as needed after the daily assessment is run. The only way to install the updates is to add the KB #s manually into the configuration management, or to run a 'One-time Update' from Update Manager.

We have other VMs that are running Windows Server 2019 Datacenter and also have Office 2016 installed, and the Office updates show up as recommended updates after the assessments are run. Is there a reason why the updates are not showing up on the 2022 VMs? We don't know if it is a coincidence they aren't running on 2022 or if it's related to the issue.

Answer 1

HI @sac16,

Adding to @Naveena Patlolla comment also try please solution

By default, Azure Update Manager and Windows Update on servers are often configured to use Windows Update, not Microsoft Update — which is required for Office updates.

 If you haven’t opted in to Microsoft Update on these Server 2022 VMs, Office updates (even MSI-based) won’t be detected.

Check the setting with:

 Get-WindowsUpdateSetting

 Verify in Windows Update GUI > Advanced Options > “Receive updates for other Microsoft products.

 Recommendations to Troubleshoot and Resolve

 1.Check Microsoft Update Opt-in: Run this PowerShell to opt in to Microsoft Update:

 
$ServiceManager = New-Object -ComObject "Microsoft.Update.ServiceManager" $ServiceManager.ClientApplicationID = "My App" $ServiceManager.AddService2("7971f918-a847-4430-9279-4a52d1efe18d",7,"")

 2.Manually run wuauclt /detectnow or use usoclient startscan and check if the Office updates become visible.

 3.Verify Update Classifications in Azure Update Manager: Ensure that "Updates," "Security Updates," and "Update Rollups" are enabled in your update classifications for the 2022 VMs.

 4.Check WSUS or Log Output: If these servers report to WSUS or if you can review logs in C:\Windows\WindowsUpdate.log (or via Get-WindowsUpdateLog), check for entries that indicate Office updates being skipped as "not applicable."

 5.Try Manually Downloading One Office 2016 Update: From the Microsoft Update Catalog, download one recent Office 2016 security update and install it manually on Server 2022. If it installs without complaint, it’s a sign that metadata classification is the issue.

Please let me know if you face any challenge here, I can help you to resolve this issue further

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