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• Where do we stand with Feature Update deferrals in Win 10 Pro v1903?

  Posted on July 31, 2019 at 09:28 CDT by PKCano • Comment in the Forums

  What has happened to Feature Update deferrals in Win10 Pro v1903?

  Everyone has been lauding the “Pause update” feature added to Windows Update in v1903 Home Edition since Microsoft sacked SAC Targeted (pun intended). But there has been no documentation (that I am aware of) about the changes to Win10 Pro v1903.

  I have upgraded one of my v1809 Pro to v1903 Pro in the last few days (by the hardest). The full adventure is in these four posts: #1889088, #1891639, #1896176, and #1896177.
  Under Windows Update, the Advanced options screen has changed. There is no longer the SAC/SAC(Targeted) pulldown (MS did away with the “Targeted”). The Feature Deferral pulldown, which was set to 365 days in v1809 prior to the upgrade, has also disappeared. I have posted more detailed observations about some of the changes on the Lounge, but here are the points these changes have raised:

  Point #1
  The Feature deferral setting/value that existed in the Advanced options GUI (pulldown) at the time of upgrade 1809 -> 1903 (365 days) is still set at that value (0000016d) in the same place in the Registry after the upgrade.
  Point #2
  The Settings represented by the pulldowns in the GUI (and their respective settings in the Registry) ARE NOT THE SAME as the settings in the Group Policy “Windows Update for Business” (and their respective settings in different place in the Registry). The locations in the Registry are different and their values do not necessarily correspond.
  Point #3
  Although the settings did not change with the 1809 -> 1903 upgrade, it is unclear if the settings in the Registry (related to what the the GUI pulldowns were) will still be respected by MS if the GUI settings (pulldowns) do not exist. (in the same way MS doesn’t respect the “no drivers in the updates” setting).
  Point #4
  It is not clear if the Group Policy settings have any effect on Pro versions. They may be exclusive to Ent/Edu? They are a completely different thing than those set by the GUI were.
  Windows 10 Win10 1903, Windows 10 update deferrals