How Long Do Windows Updates Take

Research shows Windows updates tin can accept vi hours to complete

Devices running Windows 10 and xi tin take upwardly to eight hours to fully download and utilise software updates, according to a new written report from Microsoft.

Lucas Mearian Past

Senior Reporter, Computerworld |

Editor'south note: An earlier version of this story said some devices demand up to viii hours of time connected to the net to update; the story has been revised based on updated information from Microsoft.

Windows devices that aren't connected to the cyberspace for upwardly to six hours at a time are "very unlikely" to successfully update fully and properly, a recent Microsoft investigation revealed.

Microsoft program manager David Guyer wrote in a recent blog post that devices need a minimum of two continuous connected hours, and half-dozen full continued hours to install "quality and feature updates."

"This allows for a successful download and groundwork installations that are able to restart or resume one time a device is active and connected," Guyer wrote.

Nearly a week subsequently the blog was outset posted, Guyer answered some pointed questions in a comment thread, explaining that the majority of updates — from kickoff to finish — can take less than an 60 minutes.

"The six 'full connected hours' (non 8) I cited in this postal service are based on studies that include devices that are infrequently used, ofttimes simply online for a few minutes beyond multiple hours, accept intermittent connectivity, and are oft running on battery power," Guyer wrote. "Some parts of the update procedure can restart where they left off, like the downloads. Others need to restart from the start if the device shuts downwards. And so these are both taken into account in the criteria."

The problem with long updates, Microsoft claimed, is nigh prevalent on devices running Windows 10; those systems require substantially larger updates than Windows 11. Microsoft reduced the size of updates for Windows 11 by forty% through compression technology, "thereby cut time and bandwidth requirements for updates," a Microsoft software engineer and plan manager wrote in an October 2021 blog mail.

heatherpoulsen 1 1643291738979 — How devices with Insufficient update connectivity show up in the Windows Expedited update report in Intune.

Microsoft, Guyer wrote, has invested in a significant try to understand why some Windows devices are still not always fully up to appointment.

Virtually half of Windows 10 devices that are no longer running a serviced build don't spend plenty time online for the updates to be downloaded and installed. That number drops to 25% of Windows 10 devices that are on a serviced build but have security updates more than 60 days out of date, according to Microsoft.

One trouble is end users power down their systems at the cease of their workday, eliminating the possibility of updates overnight. "Impress upon [users] the importance of keeping their devices connected so their devices tin stay protected and they can stay productive," Guyer said.

When investigating the consequence, Microsoft found "insufficient update connectivity," or the amount of fourth dimension and bandwidth needed to update hardware completely during the 6 hours of connected time. "If a device has insufficient update connectivity, then investigating other update issues is complicated because the depression update connectivity can create new issues that go away once in that location's enough connectivity," Guyer wrote.

The bottom line, all the same, is that Windows updates are large, and fifty-fifty breaking the updates into smaller segments and spacing them out so they don't take identify all at once still requires the machine to be on a long time; then, one time the update is fully downloaded, the PC still has to contain the software in groundwork fashion to take minimal impact on the motorcar performance.

The updating result for Microsoft has been a problem for years; it'southward not something new with Windows 10.

"Microsoft will have a tough time moving beyond this scenario, but they are trying to do then with each new Os, and getting ameliorate at it, but still have a ways to go," said Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Assembly.

The fundamental problem is that the style Microsoft has structured Windows and the update process essentially requires a very large part of the OS to be updated whenever there is a new version, according to Gold.

"Other OSes, peculiarly some of the mobile ones…, have figured out how to do a componentized arroyo to updating merely the portions of the lawmaking necessary," Gold wrote in an e-mail response to Computerworld. "Microsoft is trying to move in this direction equally well, and Windows 11 does do better at this. Only the fundamental architecture of Windows makes it difficult to motility fully to a less burdensome process, given that much of the existing code and platform is used in new versions of the Os."

heatherpoulsen 0 1643291738955 — A failure report filtered to the Insufficient Update Connectivity alert, which shows devices with Insufficient update connectivity.

If Microsoft tried to give Os updates the priority they need to complete chop-chop, it would basically take over a machine'due south CPU, leading to sluggish operation for all applications on the system.

To address the issue, Microsoft settled on partial downloads, performing 1, waiting a bit, then downloading some more than, Gold said.

"Basically, they are throttling back so every bit non to overly impact performance…, so as not to totally trash the user working on the machine," Gold said.

Other OSes have similar issues, but to a much lesser extent. For instance, Apple's macOS is congenital on a Linux kernel that's much more segmented than Windows. Then updates to the organisation aren't usually as big, unless a user is upgrading to a totally new version of macOS.

"But, that's non to say that the updating procedure on Macs is a cakewalk either," Gilded said. "It still takes compute resource to download and brand upgrades. It's just a niggling easier on the system and user than Windows."

According to Microsoft, another issue affecting updates is power direction. Some ability settings and related policies put a device into a deep sleep or hibernation too apace, which can prevent updates from occurring outside active hours.

Microsoft provides recommendations on how to make certain updates are done, including power settings that allow devices to stay current with security updates. IT admins using Grouping Policy Objects to manage policies can utilize the settings in the Windows security baselines, bachelor as office of the Security Compliance Toolkit, to configure power settings.

Companies might likewise want to consider filtering out devices that do not have the minimum update connectivity. The reasoning is that those devices are not "update good for you," and irresolute policies or targeting them with more updates volition not help until they meet the minimum Update Connectivity measurement required for success.

Admins can check which devices have Insufficient update connectivity using Microsoft Intune. Once there, navigate to Devices > Monitor and select either the Feature update failures or Windows Expedited update failures report.

Senior Reporter Lucas Mearian covers Windows, Future of Piece of work issues, mobile, Apple in the enterprise, and healthcare It.