Windows 11 Update Changes: No Restart Required by Default for Office PCs

Windows 11 Update Changes: No Restart Required by Default for Office PCs

Microsoft’s Hotpatching Update for Windows 11: A New Era for Enterprises

In May of this year, Microsoft made headlines with the introduction of the inaugural hotpatch update for Windows 11 devices. Shortly thereafter, the company unveiled enhancements to the Windows Autopatch feature, integrating hotpatching capabilities that significantly streamline update processes for enterprise users.

Understanding Windows Autopatch

For those unfamiliar, Windows Autopatch is a cloud-based service offered by Microsoft, designed to facilitate the automation of updates for Windows, Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, Microsoft Edge, and Microsoft Teams. It establishes various deployment policies that allow for seamless management of these updates.

Latest Developments in Hotpatching

During its initial announcement, Microsoft indicated that the hotpatching functionality via Autopatch would be available by June. In a recent update to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, the company provided additional insights into this service, announcing that it would now be accessible through Microsoft Intune Mobile Device Management (MDM).

Newly created Windows quality update policies will have hotpatch updates enabled by default to streamline policy creation.

Hotpatch updates will be automatically enabled for new policies starting on June 23, 2025, or soon after.

Organizations using Windows Autopatch will benefit from faster security compliance and reduced downtime for devices running supported Windows editions.

Enabling Hotpatching for Existing Policies

For organizations with existing policies, Microsoft has provided a comprehensive guide for IT and system administrators to activate hotpatching for Windows quality updates. This process involves adjusting settings within the Intune admin center. Here are the steps to follow:

To enable hotpatch updates on your existing policies:

  1. Visit the Microsoft Intune admin center.
  2. Navigate to Devices > Windows updates > Quality updates.
  3. Select the specific quality update policy you wish to modify. A properties screen will appear.
  4. Click Edit in the “Settings” section. Under the “Automatic update deployment” settings, find the option labeled “When available, apply without restarting the device (‘hotpatch’).”
  5. Toggle it to Allow.

Accessing More Information

For those with access to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, further details are available under the message ID MC1101876, providing additional context and guidance for leveraging this new capability.

By adopting these updates, enterprises are poised to achieve quicker security compliance while minimizing device downtime, marking a significant advancement in system management efficiency.

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