Windows Update for Business

Beginning in spring 2024, Information Technology Services will implement Microsoft Windows Update for Business to enhance the deployment of Microsoft Windows updates for Temple managed computers.

With Windows Update for Business, your computer will receive monthly or feature updates, even if it is off campus. You will also have more control over when to apply the updates.

Windows Update for Business will provide the following types of updates:

• Feature updates (new operating system build upgrades)
• Quality updates (monthly cumulative security updates)​​​​​
• Driver and Firmware updates (Microsoft and third-party vendor updates)
  These updates can occur any time of the month.

• The new update method does not require your Windows computer to be connected to the Temple network for monthly updates, firmware, and driver updates from off campus.
• You can schedule the update and restart of your computer on your schedule, provided it occurs before the stated deadline.

You will start seeing various pop-up notifications when there are important updates to be installed. Depending on the timeline status of the specific update, various "restart pending" pop-ups will appear. Below is an example of what appears when an update requires you to restart your computer:

As long as you have not yet reached the stated deadline, you can choose a time for when you want this to occur. You can also choose to restart your computer now.

Important ​​​​​​​Notes:

• Please make sure to save your work before the scheduled restart time to prevent any loss of your work.
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• To avoid missing essential reboot notifications, please “sign out” of Windows and do not put your computer to “sleep” at the end of your business day. When your computer is locked or asleep, you will miss important notifications, which may result in untimely computer reboots.

​​​​​​​In addition to pop-up notifications, you will also see Windows Update status icons on the system tray and power button. You can also use these to choose a time for when you want the update to occur or to restart your computer now.
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​​​​​When double-clicking the Windows Update for Business notification in the system tray, you can choose a time to restart your computer by clicking the down arrow or choose to restart now.

Note: If you click the power button icon, you will next have the option to select Update and shut down or Update and restart . You can choose either option.

Information Technology Services and other campus support teams will test new Microsoft Windows updates as soon as they are released. Once the testing is complete and no issues are found, the updates will be made available to all Temple-managed Windows computers.

When prompted to install an update, you will have five days to schedule the installation and restart your computer. After this time, you will no longer have the option to schedule the installation and your computer will be automatically restarted during business hours.

We recommend that you pick a time or restart now, rather than deferring the updates. Some updates can take a while to install so plan accordingly to minimize disruption of your workday. Additionally, we recommend keeping your Temple-managed Windows laptop regularly charged so it can automatically receive these updates. It is also a best practice to save your work and close your applications at the end of each day to ensure there is no data loss due to your computer rebooting once the deadline is passed.

The patching calendar below reflects the Windows update start dates, indicating when updates will be available, the reboot deadline, and the automatic reboot dates for test, regular, academic, and special machines.

​​​​​​​Note that this calendar is an example to reflect deadline timelines. Details will vary for each month.

​​​​​​​​​​​Grace Period
​​​​​​​ Temple currently has a three-day grace period for restarting a computer after the deadline is reached. This allows for extra time to install the updates at a time of your choosing, if for example, you were away from your office with your computer powered off and missed the initial five-day deadline.

​​​​​​​​Restart Checks
Before automatically restarting your computer to install a pending update, Windows checks for the following conditions:
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- Battery level is 40% or greater
- An active user session is in progress
- Computer is not in presentation or full-screen mode

If these conditions are met, a pop-up notification will appear 15 minutes before your computer is restarted.

For questions about Microsoft Windows Update for Business, please contact the Technology Support Center or your dedicated school /college support team.