Bewerken

Delen via


Windows feature update policies

Important

The information in this article or section only applies if you have Windows Enterprise E3+ or F3 licenses (included in Microsoft 365 F3, E3, or E5) licenses and have activated Windows Autopatch features.

Feature activation is optional and at no additional cost to you if you have Windows 10/11 Enterprise E3 or E5 (included in Microsoft 365 F3, E3, or E5) licenses.

For more information, see Licenses and entitlements. If you choose not to go through feature activation, you can still use the Windows Autopatch service for the features included in Business premium and A3+ licenses.

Windows feature updates for Windows 10 and later

These policies control the minimum target version of Windows that a device is meant to accept. Throughout the rest of the article, these policies are referred to as DSS policies. There are four of these policies in your tenant with the following naming convention:

Modern Workplace DSS Policy [ring name]

Windows feature update deployment settings

Setting name Test First Fast Broad
Name Current targeted version of Windows Current targeted version of Windows Current targeted version of Windows Current targeted version of Windows
Rollout options Immediate start Immediate start Immediate start Immediate start

Windows feature update policy assignments

Setting name Test First Fast Broad
Included groups Modern Workplace Devices-Windows Autopatch-Test Modern Workplace Devices-Windows Autopatch-First Modern Workplace Devices-Windows Autopatch-Fast Modern Workplace Devices-Windows Autopatch-Broad

Default release policy configuration

You can see the following default policies created by the service in the Microsoft Intune admin center:

Policy name Phase mapping Feature update version Rollout options Support end date
Windows Autopatch - DSS Policy [Test] Phase 1 Windows 10 22H2 Make update available as soon as possible October 14, 2025
Windows Autopatch - DSS Policy [First] Phase 2 Windows 10 22H2 Make update available as soon as possible October 14, 2025
Windows Autopatch - DSS Policy [Fast] Phase 3 Windows 10 22H2 Make update available as soon as possible October 14, 2025
Windows Autopatch - DSS Policy [Broad] Phase 4 Windows 10 22H2 Make update available as soon as possible October 14, 2025

Note

Gradual rollout settings aren't configured in the default Windows Update feature policy. If the date of the final group availability is changed to a past date, all remaining devices are offered the update as soon as possible. For more information, see rollout options for Windows Updates in Microsoft Intune.

Global release policy configuration

Windows Autopatch configures the values for its global Windows feature update policy. See the following default policies created by the service in the Microsoft Intune admin center:

Policy name Feature update version Rollout options Support end date
Windows Autopatch - Global DSS Policy [Test] Windows 10 22H2 Make update available as soon as possible October 14, 2025

Note

Gradual rollout settings aren't configured in the default Windows Update feature policy. If the date of the final group availability is changed to be a past date, all remaining devices are offered the update as soon as possible. For more information, see rollout options for Windows Updates in Microsoft Intune.

Difference between the default and global update policies

Important

Once you create a custom Windows feature update release, both the global and the default Windows feature update policies are unassigned from Autopatch group's deployment rings behind the scenes.

The differences in between the global and the default Windows feature update policy values are:

Default Windows feature update policy Global Windows feature update policy
  • Set by default with an Autopatch group and assigned to Test, Ring1, Ring2, Ring3. The default policy isn't automatically assigned to the Last ring in an Autopatch group.
  • The Windows Autopatch service keeps its minimum Windows OS version updated following the recommendation of minimum Windows OS version currently serviced by the Windows servicing channels.
  • Set by default and assigned to all new deployment rings added as part of an Autopatch group customization
  • Set by default and assigned to all deployment rings created as part of Autopatch groups.

Windows Update ring policies

Feature update policies work with Windows Update rings policies. Windows Update rings policies are created for each deployment ring for the Autopatch group based on the deployment settings you define. The policy name convention is Windows Autopatch Update Policy - <Autopatch group name> - <Deployment group name>.

The following table details the default Windows Update rings policy values that affect either the default or custom Windows feature updates releases:

Policy name Microsoft Entra group assignment Quality updates deferral in days Feature updates deferral in days Feature updates uninstall window in days Deadline for quality updates in days Deadline for feature updates in days Grace period Auto restart before deadline
Windows Autopatch Update Policy - Default - Test Windows Autopatch - Test 0 0 30 0 5 0 Yes
Windows Autopatch Update Policy - Default - Ring1 Windows Autopatch - Ring1 1 0 30 2 5 2 Yes
Windows Autopatch Update Policy - Default - Ring2 Windows Autopatch - Ring2 6 0 30 2 5 2 Yes
Windows Autopatch Update Policy - Default - Ring3 Windows Autopatch - Ring3 9 0 30 5 5 2 Yes
Windows Autopatch Update Policy - Default - Last Windows Autopatch - Last 11 0 30 3 5 2 Yes

Important

When you create a custom Windows feature update release, new Windows feature update policies are:

  • Created corresponding to the settings you defined while creating the release.
  • Assigned to the Autopatch group's deployment rings you select to be included in the release.

Phase policy configuration

Windows Autopatch creates one Windows feature update policy per phase using the following naming convention:

Windows Autopatch - DSS policy - <Release Name> - Phase <Phase Number>

These policies can be viewed in the Microsoft Intune admin center.

The following table is an example of the Windows feature update policies that were created for phases within a release:

Policy name Feature update version Rollout options Day between groups Support end date
Windows Autopatch - DSS Policy - My feature update release - Phase 1 Windows 10 22H2 Make update available as soon as possible N/A October 14, 2025
Windows Autopatch - DSS Policy - My feature update release - Phase 2 Windows 10 22H2 Make update available as soon as possible 7 October 14, 2025
Windows Autopatch - DSS Policy - My feature update release - Phase 3 Windows 10 22H2 Make update available as soon as possible 7 October 14, 2025
Windows Autopatch - DSS Policy - My feature update release - Phase 4 Windows 10 22H2 Make update available as soon as possible 7 October 14, 2025
Windows Autopatch - DSS Policy - My feature update release - Phase 5 Windows 10 22H2 Make update available as soon as possible 7 October 14, 2025