How control Office 2016 C2R Updating?

[anonymous]

New computer with Windows 10 Pro x64  build 1709 and just finally getting my arms around which settings to utilize to keep Windows from updating itself without my involvement.

So I buy a Keycard for Office 2016 Home and Business at retail and install.  All goes OK, then while exploring way to control its automatic updates, I find out it is Click to Run which is not controlled by the Windows Updater (and therefore my delayed update group settings) or the Advanced Option of “Give me updates for other Microsoft products when I update Windows”.

I also read it doesn’t provide history of installed updates, and not even sure there is  a way to uninstall any updates that went in? Is there?

I currently have updates turned OFF but will eventually have to turn of to perform a manual update.

So how do I/we handle this Office 2016 updating situation?

Thanks

[Susan BradleyAskWoody MVP]

Click to run is all in the background your windows update history won’t show a thing.

I would recommend flipping to the slower release.

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/odsupport/2017/05/10/how-to-switch-channels-for-office-2016-proplus/

1. Identify the channel which you would like to switch to. Features and updates by channel are documented here.
2. Launch Command Prompt as an administrator.
3. Navigate to “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun>”
4. Run the following command to change the desired channel, let’s say Monthly Channel “OfficeC2RClient.exe /changesetting Channel=Current”

(I would go with deferred)

To start the switch Channel process, run “OfficeC2RClient.exe /update user” from the cmd prompt path ‘C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun>” This should be followed by a series of windows which will take you through the process of downloading and installing updates for the new channel that you have switch to.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady

[MrBrianAskWoody_MVP]

How to revert to an earlier version of Office 2013 or Office 2016 Click-to-Run

[anonymous]

Susan thank you, but this is gobbly goop to me.  What is this doing? Setting instructions to Microsoft or changing some command lines in an area on my computer?

Can you decipher Channels into common language?  How many lines of commands are there to enter?  Is this all one, or?

Anyway to just show me/us what to enter and where for the most appropriate channel?

Then the computer will show some read outs and automatically download and install whatever updates are appropriate?

And how to set it back to default just in case.

Also after this, do I set the  updates within Office 2016 to automatic?

Thank You very much

 

[anonymous]

All you are doing is telling Microsoft that you don’t want to be on the monthly feature update schedule and instead be on the slower feature update schedule. You will still get security updates. Launch a command prompt as an administrator (run as admin)

then change your directory by typing in cd\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun

Type in OfficeC2RClient.exe /changesetting Channel=Deferred

Hit enter

Type in OfficeC2RClient.exe /update user

Hit enter.

If you’ve done it right the Office installer window will pop up and flip Office from the fast feature update to the slow feature update.

Here is a listing of the monthly channel releases – https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Version-and-build-numbers-of-update-channel-releases-ae942449-1fca-4484-898b-a933ea23def7 which you can see are more than once a month.

[anonymous]

OP here:

Thanks for the further clarifications.  Coming from Win 7 never had to spend so much time learning how to defend my computer from MS.

Some of the links refer to 365 and “Pro”.  I have neither, so instructions still apply?

Also per previous poster reply, this delays Features, but not security updates.

Arent security updates the bulk of what Susan’s monthly KB patch list is showing as respects the different components of Office (Word, Outlook, etc)?

If so – we have to accept all those even if there are concerns if we have automatic updates on?  Unlike Group Policy for Windows there is no notify and hold or anything?

[Author]

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