Pause and rollback

Use pause and rollback in cloud update to help respond to issues with updates for Microsoft 365 Apps. Pause temporarily stops update activity. Rollback returns selected devices to a previous version while you investigate or resolve an issue.

This article explains how pause and rollback work.

Important

Pause and rollback are available only for devices managed by the Monthly Enterprise profile.

Pause a profile

Use pause when you need to stop update activity immediately. For example, if an update causes compatibility issues with another app in your environment, you can pause the profile while you investigate and resolve the issue.

• When you pause a profile, the remaining update deployments stop until an admin resumes the profile. Resume the profile as soon as possible so devices can continue to receive updates.
• If an update is already in progress on a device, the installation continues. If needed, use rollback for affected devices.
• You can start rollback while the profile is paused.
• Rollout waves continue to follow their release schedule while a profile is paused. When the profile resumes, any waves that became eligible during the pause will start immediately instead of restarting the rollout schedule.

To pause or resume a profile, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center with an account that has permission to manage cloud update.
2. In the left navigation, expand Cloud Update, and then select Monthly Enterprise.
3. On the Overview tab for the Monthly Enterprise profile, select Pause updates. After the profile is paused, the button changes to Resume updates.
4. To confirm that the profile is paused, check that the status next to Rollout information changed from active to paused.
5. To resume update activity, return to the Monthly Enterprise profile, and then select Resume updates.

Roll back devices

Use rollback when you need to return affected devices to a previous version. For example, if users experience an issue with an add-in after the latest update, you can roll back the affected devices while you investigate the issue.

• Devices remain on the previous version until the next version is released. When the next version is released, rolled-back devices return to their regular update schedule and update to the latest release.
• If the issue is resolved before the next version is released, you can cancel the rollback action.
• You can roll back devices while the profile is paused.
• You can select one of two previous builds. The default option includes the latest security update.
• Rollback doesn't change the assigned update channel for the device.
• For group-based rollback, cloud update evaluates group membership when the rollback action is created. Group processing can add time to the rollback action, depending on the number of group members.
• Rollback supports Microsoft Entra groups that contain user objects. Cloud update matches those users to their corresponding devices. If a targeted user has multiple eligible devices in Inventory, rollback applies to each eligible device.

To roll back devices, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center with an account that has permission to manage cloud update.
2. In the left navigation, expand Cloud Update, and then select Monthly Enterprise.
3. On the Overview tab for the Monthly Enterprise profile, select Actions > Roll back devices.
4. In the flyout, select the previous build that you want devices to roll back to.
5. Choose the devices to roll back. You can target rollback in one of the following ways:
   • Select Roll back all devices to roll back all devices on the latest version. This option also prevents other devices from continuing with the update.
   • Enter one or more device names.
   • Enter one or more Microsoft Entra group names.

Rollback can take up to 24 hours to complete, depending on device connectivity, content download, and user postponement. To monitor rollback status, on the Overview page, select Actions > Manage rolled back devices.

Resume rolled back devices

Use resume when you want rolled back devices to return to the normal update process before the next version is released. Resuming removes the rollback state and allows devices to receive updates based on their assigned profile and update schedule.

To resume rolled back devices, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center with an account that has permission to manage cloud update.
2. In the left navigation, expand Cloud Update, and then select Monthly Enterprise.
3. On the Overview tab for the Monthly Enterprise profile, select Actions > Manage rolled back devices.
   • For individual devices, locate the device and select resume.
   • For all devices, toggle on Resume updates for all rolled back devices and select Resume for All devices.

After you resume devices, they can begin receiving updates again based on their profile configuration. Depending on device connectivity and update conditions, it might take up to 24 hours for update activity to resume.