Configure rollout waves and update deadlines

Note

Enhanced rollout waves is rolling out gradually and might not be available in your tenant right away. If this experience isn’t available in your tenant, see rollout waves for guidance on the existing experience.

Use rollout waves and update deadlines in cloud update to control when eligible devices receive updates for Microsoft 365 Apps and when users must complete installation. Rollout waves define the deployment order for devices. Update deadlines define how long users can postpone installation after an update becomes available.

Maximum delay

For the Monthly Enterprise profile, the combined total for rollout wave delays and the update deadline can't exceed 25 days. This limit helps ensure that devices have time to update within each monthly update cycle. The following sections explain how to configure deadlines and rollout waves within these limits.

Configure update deadlines

An update deadline is required for both the Current and Monthly Enterprise profiles. The deadline determines when users are prompted to close Microsoft 365 Apps so updates can be installed. A shorter deadline helps devices update sooner. A longer deadline can reduce disruption for users. The default deadline is 3 days. You can set the deadline from 0 to 14 days.

• The update deadline doesn't apply to New Outlook or Microsoft Teams.
• After the deadline passes, users see a prompt to save their work, close their apps, and complete the update installation. They can install the update immediately or postpone it.
• Users can postpone installation up to three times. Each postponement lasts two hours. After the third postponement, users see a final 30-minute countdown to save their work and close their apps.
• When the countdown reaches zero, the update process saves open files, closes the required apps, installs the update, and reopens the apps and files. User downtime is typically less than five minutes.
• If you set the deadline to 0 days, users receive the update prompt as soon as eligible updates are available and Microsoft 365 Apps are open. Users can still postpone installation up to three times.
• If a user postpones installation, the update can still install when other update conditions are met, such as when the device restarts or when Update Under Lock applies.

For more information about user notifications, see End-user update notifications for Microsoft 365 Apps.

To configure the update deadline, 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 a profile.
3. On the profile page, select the Settings tab.
4. Select Deadline or Rollout configuration, depending on the profile.
5. Adjust the Update deadline slider to the value that you want, and then select Save.

Configure rollout waves

The Current profile doesn't support rollout waves because Current Channel updates are released more frequently. Devices managed by the Current profile receive updates within one to two days after release in coordination with the global throttle.

Rollout waves are optional for the Monthly Enterprise profile and disabled by default. When rollout waves aren't enabled, devices managed by the Monthly Enterprise profile receive updates over four to five days in coordination with the internal cloud update throttle.

• Devices must be eligible for and assigned to the Monthly Enterprise profile before you can include them in rollout waves.
• Rollout waves use Microsoft Entra groups.
• Group assignment for rollout waves is separate from profile assignment.
• You don't need to include every device in your rollout waves. A final wave is included by default and contains all remaining devices in the Monthly Enterprise profile that aren't assigned to an earlier wave.
• Rollout waves don't apply to rollback.
• The rollout wave schedule starts with each new update release, typically on Patch Tuesday.
  • The rollout schedule continues when a profile is paused or an exclusion window is active. For example, if you pause a profile on Patch Tuesday and resume it 10 days later, all waves scheduled during that period have already passed. Devices that still need the update can start receiving it when the profile resumes.
  • To help devices follow your rollout wave schedule for their first update, assign them to the Monthly Enterprise profile early in the update release. Devices assigned later in the month are more likely to update outside the rollout wave schedule.
• A common rollout strategy is to use earlier waves for closer monitoring and later waves for broader deployment. For example, you might use waves 1 and 2 for the first 20% of devices, and waves 3 and 4 for the remaining 80%.

To configure rollout waves, 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 Monthly Enterprise page, select the Settings tab.
4. Select Rollout configuration.
5. Select Yes, create rollout waves.
6. Select + Add waves, add your Microsoft Entra groups, set the Delay before next wave value, and then select Save. Repeat this step for your remaining waves.
7. Select Save.

After you configure rollout waves, monitor rollout progress from the Monthly Enterprise profile page. Under the wave chart, select View waves overview.