Questions about the new ability to schedule autodesk updates.

[jeff_howard1]

I have several questions about the new options to schedule updates.

1. How dose the system handle missed updates?
2. Does the user need to be actively signed into there user profile for updates to install?
3. Are updates installed at Sign-in or Sing-out, if not can an option be created?
4. Can you force missed updates somehow if they are older then say 30 or 60 days?

Thanks

[Ric_Weber · Accepted solution]

Having been a user since the beta days, I'll answer what I can.  

1. If a scheduled update does not run it will continue to try for three more days at the same time the item was scheduled for in the first place.   After that it will roll to the scheduled date (the next week or the next month).  
   1. After they have been scheduled, the user can manually install them at any point if they wish. 
2. User needs to be signed into an Autodesk account for it to work and the system has to be logged in and NOT in sleep mode.  
3. Updates are ran at a pre-scheduled date/day and time.  e.g. Tuesdays at 11:00pm or some other scenario.
4. There is no way to force the install at this time (it's on the wish list), but the user can manually install those items that are scheduled.  Anything not scheduled still requires admin rights if that is required on your users systems by IT.  (This is the only answer I'm not positive about, seems they may have changed that, but I'm not sure).

Hope that helps!  

[jeff_howard1]

Thanks.  So this is more like a light nudge for the user instead of forcing it down the users throat.  😁

[Ric_Weber]

It will send them a notification that there are items scheduled to go sometime during the day of the day and I think the day before so they can remember to not log off of their machine, and then the machine has to be set up to not fall asleep and they have to just leave the machine of if your policy requires, they can Lock the system as long as they don't log off.  

So gentle nudge, yea, I guess you could say that.  I try to remind everyone each week we have that scheduled, but most of my folks at least I think remember to only lock their systems on the nights of the updates, so they get auto updated.  They like the auto updates, so they don't complain too much.  

[jeff_howard1]

We already push out updates on a weekly basis at night, I will just need to coordinate the schedules so the Autodesk update can load when the user is still logged into the computer.

[mmermel]

If you don't mind, our IT manager has questions about the scheduled updates. Typically updates require the software be closed:

Will scheduled updates save & close an open product that is to be updated?

Will scheduled updates force a restart if one is required before or after running an update?

[Ric_Weber]

The software that is being updated typically will need to be closed, that is correct.  I recommend that the users close everything except Access.  They would be logged into Access that way.  Scheduled updates will not save and close an open product, it will just fail the install and report that failure.  Scheduled updates will not force a restart as none of the updates ever need a restart of the system that I have encountered.  I could be wrong on that point though.  I would just always recommend that they have everything closed except Access and then it should run just fine, but the computer cannot be logged off and it cannot be asleep.  If IT can send a wake up call to the computers just before the scheduled time of the updates, that should work.  

[Ric_Weber]

Jeff, 

Do you require the users to log out of the computer every night?  Would you be OK, if they locked the computer, but did not log out of it for those update nights?  

Also, as most of us are on laptops, I had to set our devices to not fall asleep ever while plugged in.  That way the system would not be asleep.  

Hope those tips might help.  

[jeff_howard1]

90% of our staff work in a hybrid environment.  When they work from the office they will always log out and shutdown there computer and take it with them.  The users that leave there computers in the office will reboot at the end of every day.  We also have Automated many other updates that will force a reboot in the middle of the night.  What I would love to see is two access levels built into the Autodesk access app. 

Admin level - Autodesk Account admin signs into access under either a local admin account or Domain admin account and stays logged in. This account would have the ability to schedule updates regardless of account login status.  It would be great if This schedule could be enforced after given number of days and won't allow the software to run until the update is compleated.

User Level - Similar to the current setup of Autodesk access that give the signed in user the ability to install updates as needed or on a scheduled.

[danny.polkinhorn]

Thanks Ric for your spot-on replies. 😀

Two additional comments:
Forcing updates

If you schedule your updates to start early in the morning, say 7am, they will attempt to run for 4 hours, until 11am.  If a user boots up their device at 8am, as soon as the Access services have started they will try to start installing updates, possibly before the user starts the product.  So, this is one way to help ensure updates run while the user is logged in and the products aren't running.  It will obviously be slightly disruptive if they try to immediately open their products and are blocked because the update is in progress.  While we appreciate some admins strong desire to force users to get updates, we are starting with a slightly less-strict approach and could adjust this over time.  Your feedback is definitely appreciated.

Admin level
In theory, you could set up a service account that could be signed into Access, and schedule updates for that service account.  This would be difficult to enforce across many devices, and would prevent user-based licensing assignments.  The ability to assign update policies to real people allows some flexibility in the number of policies and specific controls, i.e. SMEs vs production staff, default policies vs project-specific requirements, or bleeding edge users vs those less tolerant of changes.  

Finally, Autodesk's scheduled updates is not a 1:1 replacement of other deployment tools like SCCM/Endpoint Manager/Intune.  These systems are more robust, have forcing functions, can wake devices, and fully customizable targeting.  Scheduled updates does not require the expense, expertise, or IT access that those systems do, and it knows everything about Autodesk installations.  We wanted to provide a choice for Autodesk SMEs.

Hope that helps!

[jeff_howard1]

I appreciate the transparency around the design intent and where Scheduled Updates is (and isn’t) positioned today.

To clarify my original suggestion, the goal isn’t necessarily to force updates indiscriminately, but to better support the realities of highly hybrid environments like ours. In our case, most users shut down nightly, devices move between home and office, and update windows often only succeed when someone happens to be signed in at the right time. That makes consistency hard to achieve, even when reboot discipline is good and other tools are already enforcing maintenance cycles.

The “admin‑level Access sign‑in” idea was less about bypassing user‑based licensing and more about establishing a device‑level maintenance context that could:

• Ensure updates eventually install after a defined grace period
• Reduce dependence on end‑user behavior
• Allow firms to opt into stricter enforcement per policy, not globally

I completely agree that Scheduled Updates shouldn’t try to replace SCCM / Intune / Endpoint Manager. That said, many firms already using those tools would still benefit from Autodesk‑native awareness (installed products, dependencies, versions) combined with optional enforcement controls for production environments.

The current early‑morning scheduling model is a solid step forward, and I appreciate that Autodesk is intentionally starting with a lighter‑touch approach. My hope is that over time this evolves into a spectrum of enforcement options — from flexible to strict — that admins can choose from based on workflow maturity and project risk.

Thanks again for engaging on this. It’s encouraging to see Autodesk actively incorporating admin feedback into the roadmap.

[danny.polkinhorn]

Hi Jeff, I really appreciate the good feedback about the gaps you see and the value you need.

We did consider device-based policies early on, and we're fully aware of this capability in other deployment tools.  We don't currently have infrastructure around tracking devices though. We do have users and groups in Account for product assignments, and we took advantage of that existing infrastructure while keeping the user-management experience consistent for admins.  We'll keep taking feedback on this, and consider it for the future.

Thanks again!

[robthenry0]

We've started testing the scheduled updates feature, and it seems like a useful addition for smaller teams. One improvement I'd still like to see is more flexibility around missed update windows, especially for hybrid users who regularly shut down or move between different work locations. Better reporting and optional enforcement policies would also help IT teams keep devices up to date without relying on manual follow-ups.