Windows 10: Windows 10 1903: the case of the missing update deferral options

GHacks · May 28, 2019

Windows 10 machines that have received the Windows 10 version 1903 feature update, the May 2019 Update, may lack update deferral options in the Settings application.

Windows 10 administrators may defer feature updates to block their installation on devices that they manage. Microsoft changed the existing update behavior significantly with the release of Windows 10 version 1903; feature updates are not installed automatically anymore when they become available.

Feature updates are separated from regular monthly updates. The latter get installed just like they did before but feature updates are highlighted to users but not installed. The updates will be installed eventually if the admin does not take action but only when the currently installed version is about to reach end of support.

Admins had to defer updates previously to block the installation of feature updates on managed Windows 10 devices. Microsoft added new update options to Windows 10 version 1903 as well.

I ran a story in March 2019 that covered the removal of deferral options in Windows 10 version 1903. The information was based on an Insider Build. Now, with the final release of Windows 10 version 1903, it is time to take another look.

Bad news is that the situation is not clear entirely. When I open Settings > Update & Security > Advanced Options on a Windows 10 version 1903 test system, I don't see feature update or quality update deferral options listed.

The only available option is to pause the update for up to 7 days on that page. Administrators could use the options previously to defer feature updates by up to 365 days.

Some users report that they still have these options in the Settings application, see Günter Born's analysis of the issue. Born comes to the same conclusion: some systems display the deferral options in Settings, others don't. He was not able to figure out why that is the case and concluded that it is likely a bug that Microsoft has not addressed yet.

It is unclear if Microsoft's intention is to remove the deferral options from the Settings or if the company never had the intention to do so. Is the lack of deferral options the bug, or the presence of them?

Could other factors play a role? Maybe. Certain Enterprise-features could impact the visibility of the feature but nothing has been confirmed and tests are not conclusive.

Group Policy

Deferral options are still available in the Group Policy. Tap on the Windows-key, type gpedit.msc, and hit the Enter-key to launch the Group Policy Editor (professional versions only).

Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update > Windows Update for Business.

There you find "Select when Preview Builds and Feature Updates are received" and "Select when Quality Updates are received".

Closing Words

It is still possible to use deferral options on Pro, Enterprise, and Education versions of Windows 10 version 1903. Admins who don't find them in the Settings application may still configure these in the Group Policy.

Now You: Bug or feature, what is your take?

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Ahhzz · May 28, 2019

Windows 10 Tweaks

Pressing “Windows+Pause Break” (it’s up there next to scroll lock) opens the “System” Window.

Windows 10: In the new version of Windows, Explorer has a section called Quick Access. This includes your frequent folders and recent files. Explorer defaults to opening this page when you open a new window. If you’d rather open the usual This PC, with links to your drives and library folders, follow these steps:

Open a new Explorer window.

Click View in the ribbon.

Click Options.

Under General, next to “Open File Explorer to:” choose “This PC.”

Click OK

credit to Lifehacker.

Steve C · May 28, 2019

Windows Update Deferral

You should be able to set the feature update deferral period from Settings / Windows Update / Advanced Options from an admin account using Windows 10 Pro.

Brink · May 28, 2019

Call to action: review your Windows Update for Business deferral value

With Windows Update for Business, an organization can take advantage of cloud-delivered updates, while still creating and managing a ring-based deployment approach. Using Windows Update for Business deferrals, you can group devices into deployment rings to control and manage the deployment of both monthly quality updates and semi-annual feature updates.

If devices under your management are still running Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Pro for Workstation, version 1703, your devices will reach end of service on April 9, 2019 if you have configured both of the following Windows Update for Business policies:

Branch readiness is configured as Semi-Annual Channel (SAC)

Feature update deferral is configured as 274 days or more

In order avoid this, you need to set your feature update deferral policy to 273 days or less.

To calculate the maximum number of deferral days you can configure and remain in service, determine the number of days between the release date of the next version your devices are moving to and the end of service date for your current version. In the case of Windows 10, version 1709, there are 273 days between the release date for Windows 10, version 1803 (July 10, 2018) and the end of service date for Windows 10, version 1709 (April 9, 2019).

How deferral policies work in Windows Update for Business

A feature update deferral is enforced at the time a device checks Windows Update for updates. If the configured number of deferral days has passed, the applicable update—which will have been in service for the number of configured deferral days—is offered.

Currently, the end of service date is not considered when evaluating a feature update deferral in Windows Update for Business. This, combined with the ability to delay the targeted phase of your deployment by setting branch readiness to SAC, makes it possible to defer past the end of service date for the currently installed release. After talking with customers and evaluating data on how deferrals are used across a broad set of organizations and devices, we do not believe that organizations using deferrals intend for their devices to reach end of service as those devices would no longer receive monthly security and quality updates.

For devices with branch readiness set to SAC, we recommend a feature update deferral be configured to no more than 180 days, which would ensure that devices under your management will always be in service. In the future, we will make changes to Windows Update for Business to safeguard against the condition where an extended deferral can result in devices reaching end of service.

With Windows 10, version 1903 and later releases, we have simplified the configuration as I explained in my previous blog post, which will also prevent a device from reaching end of service due to a deferral policy.

For more information about end of service dates for Windows 10 releases, please see the Windows lifecycle fact sheet.
Click to expand...

Source: Call to action: review your Windows Update for Business deferral values - Microsoft Tech Community - 394244

Tip How to Defer Feature and Quality Updates in Windows 10

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Windows 10: Windows 10 1903: the case of the missing update deferral options

Windows 10 1903: the case of the missing update deferral options

Windows 10 1903: the case of the missing update deferral options

Windows 10 1903: the case of the missing update deferral options

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