Microsoft will be doing a forced upgrade for Businesses set to Semi-Annual Channel and a 0-day deferral. Starting on July 23, 2019, the devices will begin updating to Windows 10 v1903. The only exceptions are SAC-T for Office 365 ProPlus customers. Many computers have Branch Readiness Level set to Semi-Annual Channel and a default 0-day deferral, your 60-day one-time built-in deferral period will end.
Note: Many customers were deploying Office 365 ProPlus in parallel with Windows 10.
Windows 10 v1809 Business will be forced to update to v1903
Before v1903, Windows Update for Business had two settings to manage feature update and decide if it should be installed. It helped them to keep the system unaffected by new updates as long as possible and give them enough time to update their apps.
The first of the settings was the branch readiness level (SAC or SAC-T). The second was the deferral period. The deferral period specified the number of days after the branch readiness level-based date before an update was offered to a device. Microsoft has removed SAC-T from Windows v1903.
Post update, you will see a single entry for each new SAC release. Those who were using Windows Update for Business will also notice new UI and behavior. There will be one release date for each SAC release. If you are an IT admin, there will now only be one feature update published to WSUS, and this will occur at the time of release. It applies to the System Center Configuration Manager, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), or other management tools.
How is Microsoft going to handle for customers who have their branch readiness level configured for SAC?
There will be only one SAC in v1903. Anything you had configured earlier will be honored once.
- If you had set deferral days in Windows Update for Business, then v1903 will be rolled out after that.
- Those who have configured with branch readiness of SAC for the v1903 upgrade will get an additional 60 days to the configured deferral. It will simulate the delay previously experienced when Microsoft declared the SAC milestone. These 60 days are plus of whatever your defer updates are set to and will be handled by server-side.
- For subsequent feature updates after version 1903, your Windows Update for Business configuration deferral value will be whatever it was before release 1903.
While Microsoft is trying to align everyone with the same timeline, it’s going to be a little tight for businesses to adjust to the new method. A lot of confusion remains. Many are worried that since Microsoft will rollout update at the same time as consumers, will it be stable enough for business? That’s where the deferred delay comes into the picture. If you have any question, it is best to comment on the official post or support.
