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Windows 365 Frontline Cloud PCs rely on active hours Windows Update policies to make sure that Cloud PCs don't reboot for Windows Update during active usage. The following table lists recommended update configurations for Frontline Cloud PCs. Make sure to use the Filter function or create a dynamic device group to target the policies only to your Frontline Cloud PCs.
| Windows Update policy setting | Windows 365 Frontline recommendation |
|---|---|
| Microsoft product updates | Allow |
| Windows drivers | Allow |
| Quality update deferral period | 9 |
| Feature update deferral period | 0 |
| Upgrade Windows 10 to latest Windows 11 release | No |
| Set feature update uninstall period | 30 days |
| Servicing channel | General availability |
| Automatic update behavior | Auto install and restart at maintenance time* |
| Restart checks | Allow |
| Option to pause updates | Disable |
| Option to check for Windows Updates | Default |
| Change notification update level | Turn off all notifications, including restart warnings |
| Deadline for feature updates | Default (Not configured) |
| Deadline for quality updates | Default (Not configured) |
| Grace Period | 2 |
| Auto-restart before deadline | No |
| Active hours start | Defined by IT administrator |
| Active hours end | Defined by IT administrator |
| Active hours max range | Defined by IT administrator |
These settings are important to make sure that users aren't disrupted by a Windows Update during their work hours.
Automatic deallocate cancellation during Windows Updates
The Windows 365 service cancels the deallocate action on a Frontline Cloud PC in dedicated mode when it detects that a Windows Update is in progress. This behavior prevents the Cloud PC from being deallocated mid-patch and gives the update time to finish successfully.
When the service starts to deallocate a Cloud PC and a Windows Update is running, the service:
- Detects the in-progress update.
- Cancels the deallocate action.
- Keeps the Cloud PC running until the update completes, including any required reboot.
After the update finishes, the Cloud PC follows its normal deallocation schedule. Users don't need to take any action, and no update progress is lost.