Windows 11 can now automatically install updates for some customers during OOBE

Last week, Microsoft detailed every update that Windows Insiders receive, which includes feature, quality, driver, security, and servicing updates. Now, the Redmond tech firm has announced that it will offer one of the aforementioned categories of updates out-of-the-box to commercial customers.

What this means is that under certain conditions, enterprise customers (more specifically, IT admins) will have the option to control if quality updates should be installed during the out-of-the-box experience (OOBE). Quality updates are designed to improve the general stability and performance of the system through bug fixes.

In order to meet this criteria, the device should be running Windows 11, version 22H2 or later on an Enterprise, Pro, Education, or SE SKU. It should be Entra-joined or Entra hybrid-joined, configured with Microsoft Intune, and have a Windows Autopilot Enrollment Status Page (ESP) profile. Finally, the machine should have either received the August 2025 OOBE zero-day patch update, or be imaged with the June 2025 Windows non-security update, at the very least.

The ability to control the installation of quality updates during OOBE can be configured through the Intune admin center via Devices > Enrollment > Enrollment Status Page. Locate the relevant ESP profile, and set Install Windows quality updates (might restart the device) to Yes. Microsoft has cautioned that existing ESP profiles will have the default toggle set to No, while new ESP profiles will have them defaulted to Yes.

The benefit of this approach is that quality updates will begin installing at the last OOBE view, and when a user logs in to the device for the first time, they will have necessary updates already installed.

Microsoft has noted that while its guide is geared more towards Intune, other non-Microsoft mobile device management (MDM) solutions which have ESP profiles may support the capability too. You can find out more details here, especially if you're an IT admin who wants September 2025's quality updates to be installed automatically during OOBE.

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Posted Tuesday 26 August 2025 at 6:47 pm AEST (my time).

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