Windows 11: how to configure an auto-patch decline in N‑central

Note: As of November 17, 2022, we have published an update to this blog that also covers how to prevent Windows 11 update using the Registry and Powershell. Click here to read the new blog.

Oh, happy days—it’s October 5 and Windows 11 release day! We have tested remote control, agents and probes, and monitoring and management functions, which all appear to be working seamlessly. However, there are still many good reasons for your MSP customers to wait to upgrade from Windows 10.

To make sure you keep control of the upgrade, let’s start by removing any current feature upgrades (FUs) you may already have set up. Under the Service Organization Level > Configuration > Patch Management, click into automatic approvals. Review all of your current auto approvals and pull out both feature packs and upgrades. Though we don’t anticipate it will be classified as a feature pack, it’s better to err on the side of caution.

This is what it should look like after you update your automatic approvals:

Image 1: Update your automatic approvals

If you are currently auto-approving upgrades, there is a chance some computers could get one.

Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to auto-decline Windows 11 in N‑central^®:

Create an auto-decline rule. Yes, I know it’s called automatic patch approval rule, but it does both.

• Select Feature Packs + Upgrades and select all relevant Microsoft > Windows products
• Ensure under selected (new products will be selected), “The Following Keywords” “Contains” “Windows 11”
• Under the target tab, select all your patch management rules (you can opt to not target server-specific patch rules)
• On Adv. Configuration > Apply approvals immediately with a zero-day delay (immediate)

Image 2: Selected (new products will be selected)

Image 3:  Ensure that “The Following Keywords” contains “Windows11”

Image 4: Select all your patch management rules

Image 5: Apply approvals immediately with a zero-day delay

And there you have it—you have prevented N‑central from accidentally upgrading your customers’ endpoints to Windows 11.

Please note we have an awesome automation policy you can use on all of your customer workstations and laptops to detect if your customer endpoints are ready for Windows 11. This should give you plenty of time to focus on upgrading your customer devices to the next version through your sales process.

Download it here: https://me.n-able.com/s/article/Windows-11-Compatibility-Checker-NC

Jason Murphy is the N‑central Automation Nerd at N‑able. You can follow him on reddit on r/nable or Twitter at @ncentral_nerd.