In April 2022, Microsoft said that the Autopatch service will be released later in July this year. The service will automatically keep Windows and Microsoft 365 software up to date in enterprise environments.
According to Lior Bela, a Senior Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft, this service will come at no additional cost. However, it will only be available to customers with a Windows 10/11 Enterprise E3 license or higher.
Microsoft Enterprise Autopatch manages feature updates, drivers, firmware, and Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise updates on Windows 10/11.
Autopatch Prerequisites
- Licensing: Windows 10/11 Enterprise E3 license (or higher) is a requirement for Windows Autopatch. Additionally, Azure Active Directory Premium and Microsoft Intune are mandatory as well.
- Azure Active Directory: This must either be the source of authority for all user accounts, or user accounts must be synchronized from on-premises Active Directory using the latest supported version of Azure Active Directory Connect to enable Hybrid Azure Active Directory to join Autopatch.
- Device management: Windows Autopatch devices must be managed by Microsoft Intune. Intune must be set as the Mobile Device Management (MDM) authority or co-management must be turned on and enabled on the target devices. At a minimum, the Windows Update, Device configuration, and Office Click-to-Run apps workloads must be set to Pilot Intune or Intune. Devices intended to be on Windows Autopatch should be in the targeted device collection.
- Connectivity: All Windows Autopatch devices require connectivity to multiple Microsoft service endpoints from the corporate network.
Enrolling for MS Enterprise Autopatch
This week, Microsoft has announced that Autopatch is now available for public preview. After meeting the above prerequisites, admins should use InPrivate or Incognito browser window to redeem their public preview code.
Finally, run the readiness assessment, then add the admin contact, and devices.
Check the video below for more guidance.
