Microsoft itself disclosed the data while it detailed a new Microsoft Intune tool. In the case of continuous connections, however, a minimum of two hours may be enough.
Windows devices need approximately six hours online to receive and install the latest security updates after they are released via Windows Update. To say it is Microsoft, which has begun to monitor the data through a measure called Update Connectivity. An interesting fact that helps the company understand why some devices may struggle to stay up to date with the latest security patches.
Data collected by Microsoft and disclosed by David Guyer indicates that devices need a minimum of two hours of continuous internet connection to receive patches and install them, or a total of six hours connected after the update is released. and has been made available for that specific device. The timing is needed to successfully complete the package download and to finish the background installation.
Update Connectivity, what is the new parameter explained by Microsoft for
“What we have found is that devices that do not reach the connected time target are very unlikely to be updated successfully,” were the words of Microsoft’s Program Manager for Windows Update. As the company manager himself explains, the data can be reached through Microsoft Intune and are useful for an organization that has to manage a (more or less large) fleet of machines. Through Update Connectivity it is possible to find out which devices do not connect for long enough to keep them updated, understand how to best treat these devices, and then evaluate the security risk of the same.
Guyer explains that the data can be monitored by going to Devices, then Monitor and finally Feature update failures or the Windows Expedited update failures report. Warnings about any unsatisfactory value in terms of Update Connectivity can be viewed on Summary (Reports> Windows updates – Reports – Windows Expedited update report. According to Microsoft data, about 50% of devices using no longer supported versions of Windows 10 does not reach a satisfactory Update Connectivity y, while 25% of devices with supported versions of Windows 10 that does not reach the minimum value have installed security updates that are no more recent than 60 days.
Microsoft’s goal is clearly to optimize the distribution of security updates as much as possible. The company is testing a new distribution method called Update Stack Package that optimizes the necessary operations even before ordinary releases (monthly or with features), while on Windows 11 the system has been redesigned at the base of the cumulative updates making them smaller by about 40% compared to the same patches on Windows 10.
