Feature Update Status

Applies to

• Windows 10
• Windows 11

Important

Update Compliance was retired on March 31, 2023 and the service has been removed. Update Compliance has been replaced by Windows Update for Business reports. Support for Update Compliance ended on March 31, 2023.

The Feature Update Status section provides information about the status of feature updates across all devices. This section tile in the Overview Blade gives a percentage of devices that are on the latest applicable feature update; Servicing Channel is considered in determining applicability. Within this section are two blades; one providing a holistic view of feature updates, the other containing three Deployment Status tiles, each charged with tracking the deployment for a different Servicing Channel.

Overall Feature Update Status

The Overall Feature Update Status blade breaks down how many devices are up-to-date or not, with a special callout for how many devices are running a build that is not supported (for a full list of feature updates, check out the Windows 10 Release Information page). The table beneath the visualization breaks devices down by Servicing Channel and operating system version, then defining whether this combination is up-to-date, not up-to-date or out of support. Finally, the table provides a count of devices that fall into this category.

Deployment Status by Servicing Channel

To effectively track deployment, Deployment Status Blades are divided into each Servicing Channel chosen for the device. This is because Deployment for each channel will happen at different periods in time and feature updates are targeted separately for each channel. Within each Deployment Status tile, devices are aggregated on their feature update distribution, and the columns list the states each device is in.

Refer to the following list for what each state means:

• Installed devices are devices that have completed installation for the given update.
• When a device is counted as In Progress, it has begun the feature update installation.
• Devices that are scheduled next 7 days are all devices that were deferred from installing the Feature update using Windows Update for Business Settings and are set to begin installation in the next 7 days.
• Devices that have failed the given feature update installation are counted as Update failed.
• If a device should be, in some way, progressing toward this security update, but its status cannot be inferred, it will count as Status Unknown. Devices not using Windows Update are the most likely devices to fall into this category.

Safeguard holds

Microsoft uses diagnostic data to determine whether devices that use Windows Update are ready for a feature update in order to ensure a smooth experience. When Microsoft determines a device is not ready to update due to a known issue, a safeguard hold is generated to delay the device's upgrade and protect the end-user experience. Safeguard holds are released over time as diagnostic data is analyzed and fixes are addressed. Details are provided on some, but not all safeguard holds on the Windows client release information pages for any given release.

Queries for safeguard holds

Tip

For a new Update Compliance report with additional information on safeguard holds for devices managed using the Windows Update for Business deployment service, try the Safeguard Holds report.

The Feature Update Status report offers two queries to help you retrieve data related to safeguard holds. These queries show data for devices that are configured to send diagnostic data at the Optional level (previously Full). For Windows 10 devices, devices configured to send diagnostic data at Enhanced level are also included.

The first query shows the device data for all devices that are affected by safeguard holds. The second query shows data specific to devices running the target build.

Update Compliance reporting will display the safeguard hold IDs for known issues affecting a device in the DeploymentErrorCode column. Safeguard hold IDs for publicly discussed known issues are also included in the Windows Release Health dashboard, where you can easily find information related to publicly available safeguards.

Opt out of safeguard holds

You can opt out of safeguard holds protecting against known issues by using the Disable safeguards for Feature Updates Group Policy. This policy is available to Windows Update for Business devices running Windows 10, version 1809 or later that have installed the October 2020 security update.