Microsoft 365: Switch to monthly app updates for May 2022 planned

[German]Microsoft plans in May 2022 to switch systems with Microsoft 365 currently in semi-annual enterprise channel to the monthly enterprise channel. This means that the Office apps will then be updated every month. Administrators, who do not want this must actively initiate an opt-out in the Microsoft 365 Apps Admin Center untill May 20, 2022. The information has been distributed as a notification in the Admin Center at the end of April 2022. Here is some information about this process.

Update channels for Microsoft 365 apps

According to Microsoft, yes, one of the benefits of Microsoft 365 apps is that new (and updated) features for Office apps, such as Excel and Word, are delivered on a regular basis. Administrators can control how often users should receive these new features through the update channel. According to this document, Microsoft has historically provided three primary update channels for the Office apps in Microsoft 365. 

• Current Channel: Deploy Office app updates without a fixed schedule, at least once a month (probably more often)
• Monthly Enterprise Channel: Monthly deployment of Office app updates, once a month, on the second Tuesday of the month 
• Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel: Deploy twice a year (in January and July) on the second Tuesday of the month.

In the semi-annual deployment, the support duration of the app versions is 14 months, while in monthly updates it is only two months. In the current channel, support ends with each new feature update.

Switch from semi-annual to monthly updates

Microsoft seems to be notifying customers via the Admin Center, who have chosen a semi-annual update plan for MS 365 Office apps, that the systems will be switched to a monthly update channel starting in May 2022. I came across this via a post on patchlist.org, but Reddit.com also has a related post. 

The system administrator in question asks whether other users have also received a notification. In the notification, Microsoft writes that the data shows that some devices in the company in question receive feature updates for the Microsoft 365 apps only once every six months. Customers who receive monthly feature updates (e.g., via monthly Enterprise Channel) are more satisfied than customers who receive semi-annual feature updates, the company said.

Microsoft will therefore automatically switch all devices with Microsoft 365 Apps to the monthly Enterprise Channel from the end of May 2022. Those who do not want this change can opt out of this automatic switch to the monthly update channel in the Admin Center. This opt-out must be done by May 20, 2022. The opt-out takes place in the Microsoft 365 Apps Admin Center. In the notification in question, the Show Details option is to be clicked. Then a Leave my devices on current configuration button should be selectable for the opt-out. Below I have also pulled out the text of the notification.

Our records show that some devices in your organization with Microsoft 365 Apps are receiving feature updates only once every six months. Customers on a monthly feature update cadence, such as those on Monthly Enterprise Channel, have reported higher satisfaction than those receiving semi-annual feature updates. In addition to receiving the latest features and fixes, having all devices on the same update frequency helps enable better collaboration experiences for users in your organization. Monthly Enterprise Channel also provides admins with predictability, since updates are released once a month, on the second Tuesday of the month.

Therefore, beginning in late May, to improve the experience for your users, we'll automatically change all devices with Microsoft 365 Apps over to Monthly Enterprise Channel. If you don't want this change to take place, you can opt out and keep devices on the channel of your choice by following the instructions at the end of this message.

Key Points:

• Timing: We will begin rolling this out in late May and expect to complete rollout early June.
• Action: Review and assess if you want to opt out prior to May 20.
• Control: Admin control via Microsoft 365 Apps admin center

How this will affect your organization:

This change affects all existing installations of Office in your organization that are on update channels other than Monthly Enterprise Channel. For example, this change affects installations that are on Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel. If you don't opt out before 5/20/2022, we'll automatically configure those existing installations to begin receiving feature updates from Monthly Enterprise Channel instead of from their existing update channel. Any new installations of Office will also receive feature updates from Monthly Enterprise Channel.

In addition, Office will be configured to get updates automatically from Microsoft directly from the internet, which is our recommendation. This should help reduce your administrative workload when it comes to keeping Office up to date each month. It should also help ensure that the majority of your devices are updated in a timely manner after an update is released, as long as the devices are connected to the internet on a regular basis.

What you need to do to prepare:

If you don't want your Office installations to be switched to Monthly Enterprise Channel, in the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center, choose 'View details' on the notification (top right bell icon), and then choose Keep my devices on current configuration before May 20th.

After you choose Keep my devices on current configuration, you will be prompted to provide feedback and you can leave your reasons for opting out. You can also provide your email address, so that we can contact you to discuss your choice to opt out.

The change to Monthly Enterprise Channel will mostly happen in the background while your users are using their Office apps. The next time they close all their Office apps, the change to Monthly Enterprise Channel will be completed. If they keep their Office apps open all the time, after 3 days they'll receive a message letting them know that they need to close Office to apply updates, which will then finish their change over to Monthly Enterprise Channel.

For more information, see the following resources:

• Overview of update channels for Microsoft 365 Apps
• Update history for Microsoft 365 Apps
• Microsoft 365 Apps will be updated to Monthly Enterprise Channel on all your Office devices