Service update availability

Microsoft is committed to delivering predictable service updates. These service updates are made generally available for self-deployment approximately two weeks prior to Microsoft automatically applying the update.

Customers can take up to seven service updates per year and are required to take a minimum of two service updates per year. Customers can choose to pause up to three consecutive updates at a time. Pausing a service update can apply to the designated user acceptance testing (UAT) sandbox, production, or both environments. After the pause window has ended and if the customer hasn't self-updated to a supported service update, Microsoft will auto-apply the latest update based on the configuration selection made available in Dynamics Lifecycle Services. To learn more about how to pause service updates, see Pause service updates through Lifecycle Services.

Note

Service updates are not provided during the months of January, March, June, September, and December.

Targeted release schedule (dates subject to change)

Important

There are important changes coming to the service update release schedule. Details on the changes and updated schedule dates will be published by the end of September, 2023.

Note

Sandbox auto-update takes place 7 days prior to the production update. End of service indicates the date when no new cumulative service updates are provided.

Version	Preview availability	Generally available (self-update)	Auto-update schedule (via Lifecycle Services Update Settings) production start date	End of service
10.0.38 (The "February" release)	October 13, 2023	January 12, 2024	February 2, 2024	April 12, 2024
10.0.37 (The "November" release)	September 1, 2023	October 20, 2023	November 3, 2023	March 15, 2024
10.0.36* (The "October" release)	July 31, 2023	September 15, 2023	September 29, 2023	January 12, 2024
10.0.35 (The "August" release)	May 26, 2023	July 14, 2023	July 28, 2023	October 20, 2023
10.0.34 (The "July" release)	April 21, 2023	June 16, 2023	June 30, 2023	September 15, 2023
10.0.33 (The "May" release)	March 3, 2023	April 14, 2023	April 28, 2023	July 14, 2023
10.0.32* (The "April" release)	January 30, 2023	March 17, 2023	March 31, 2023	June 9, 2023
10.0.31 (The "February" release)	October 14, 2022	January 13, 2023	February 3, 2023	April 14, 2023
10.0.30 (The "November" release)	September 2, 2022	October 21, 2022	November 4, 2022	March 17, 2023
10.0.29* (The "October" release)	August 1, 2022	September 16, 2022	September 30, 2022	January 13, 2023
10.0.28 (The "August" release)	May 27, 2022	July 15, 2022	July 29, 2022	October 21, 2022
10.0.27 (The "July" release)	April 22, 2022	June 17, 2022	July 1, 2022	September 16, 2022
10.0.26 (The "May" release)	March 4, 2022	April 15, 2022	April 29, 2022	July 15, 2022
10.0.25* (The "April" release)	January 31, 2022	March 18, 2022	April 1, 2022	June 10, 2022

* Denotes a major release.

Note

The Software lifecycle policy applies to customers enrolled in First Release and when the service update is made generally available.

Note

In 2022 we made adjustments to end-of-year service update availability. Servicing for the major October release was extended into January. Similarly, servicing for the November release was extended into March. The January release was cancelled.

Note

The name of the month given to a release doesn't always indicate when the auto-update may occur. For example, in the table above, the auto-update schedule for the "October" release in 2022 actually starts on September 30, 2022.

Previews are available as a deployable package via the Shared Asset Library in Lifecycle Services. For more details, see One Version service updates FAQ.

Service update overview

Service updates are continuous, touchless updates that provide new features and functionality. They eliminate the need to do expensive upgrades every few years. The service updates maintain backward compatibility, which means there's no need to ‘merge your code.' We recommend using tools such as the Regression suite automation tool (RSAT) for regression testing.

You are in control and manage how your organization receives these updates. For example, you can sign up for the First Release program so that your organization receives updates first. You can apply the updates to any of your environments manually (self-update) or remain on the default release schedule and receive the auto-updates when you schedule them using Lifecycle Services.

Service updates contain both application and platform changes that are critical improvements to the service, including regulatory updates.

Release processes

The Dynamics 365 team designs and develops each new release. The feature team validates the new release first, then the finance and operations teams validates it. During this time, extensive testing is done on various test topologies. A compatibility checker also runs tests to ensure backward compatibility.

All customers have early access to the upcoming service update if they take advantage of its preview. The preview service update is used to validate customizations, learn about new features, and provide feedback to Microsoft. During the preview phase, customers must deploy the service update on a Dev/Test environment. The preview release can't be used in production. Once released, customers can download the package from the Shared Asset Library in Lifecycle Services. Customers must agree to the program terms at install time. Signing up for access to preview (formerly known as the Preview Early Access Program (PEAP)) is no longer required.

The First Release program is open to all customers. Customers who join the First Release program are the first, select group of customers to take the service update all the way to production. Microsoft manages the deployment of this service update to a UAT sandbox, and then auto-deploys the update to production seven days later. Customers participating in this program have the additional benefit of having dedicated Microsoft engineers closely monitoring the environments for any issues after updates are applied. To join First Release, see the First Release Program: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations applications form.

The service update is made generally available using the action center in Dynamics Lifecycle Services. When the service update is available, customers can manually apply it to all environments, including production. If the service update hasn't been applied to the designated sandbox or production environment, Microsoft auto-applies the update based on the Update settings for the Lifecycle Services project. To learn more, see Configure service updates through Lifecycle Services.