How to pause, roll back or release an agent update
Stop a bad agent update before it hits clients. Pause a ring, roll it back, and free a Held version.
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How to do it
Open RMM, then Agent updates, and read the Rollout rings card.
The card has one row each for Canary, Early and Stable. The columns are Ring, Target version, Status, Build coverage, Last change and Actions. Status reads Automatic or Stopped. Under the table, one line tells you the state. It reads Stable is on a version and nothing is waiting, or Stable moves to a version on a date, or Advancement is halted. It can also say Stable has no target version yet, or that it is waiting on the platform verdict.
Choose which fleet goes first under Which fleet goes first.
Pick Update this fleet immediately, or Wait 24 hours after other fleets report clean. The choice saves as soon as you pick it, and a toast reads Update lane saved. It decides when Stable gets a new build.
Press Pause on a ring to freeze it.
Pause is in the Actions column of that ring. The Status reads Stopped and the ring offers nothing new. Press Resume when you want automatic updates back. The next check points the ring at the current version again. To stop every ring at once, press Pause all in the card header and confirm Pause all updates. Press Resume all to undo it.
Note: Pause all does not stop a device that is mid-update.Open the ring's Actions menu and choose Roll back.
The box is titled Roll back this ring? Confirm it with Roll back. The ring drops its target version and is paused, so automatic updating cannot set it again by itself. Devices that already run that version stay on it. Press Resume when you are ready.
Read the Version health card to see why a version is Held.
The card lists each version as Clean or Held. A version is Held when a device downloaded it and then went quiet. The default wait is 60 minutes, and you can set it from 15 to 1440. It is also Held when a device went back to its old build and said so. The row names the devices, such as Held: 1 device went silent after downloading it. The Rollout rings card names the Held version too, and ends with See Version health. While a version is Held, Stable will not move to it, even on the fastest lane.
Open the Held row's Actions menu and choose Mark clean.
Check the named devices first. A box asks What did you check?, and a reason is required. Type it and confirm. The row then reads Clean, followed by Cleared by, your name, the date and your reason. The mark is saved in the audit log. Stable can then move to that version on the next daily check, unless the card says Waiting on the platform verdict. A clean mark from you does not clear that.
Warning: Only press Mark clean once you know why those devices went quiet.
What you will have
- See which agent version each ring is on.
- Pause one ring, or every ring, so devices get nothing new.
- Roll a ring back so it stops offering a bad version.
- Choose whether this fleet gets new builds first or waits.
- Find out why a version is Held and release it with a written reason.
Why it works this way: How to pause, roll back or release an agent update
Agent updates run by themselves. You do not approve each build. The controls on this page only steer or stop that flow.
Pause and Roll back never move a device back down. An agent will not install an older build. They only stop the ring from offering the version to more devices.
A Held version stays off Stable on its own. You can still change a ring by hand.
If it did not work: How to pause, roll back or release an agent update
- A version you marked clean reads Held again: Mark clean only forgives what had already happened. Another device went quiet or fell back later. The row starts with Held again since and a time. Press Mark clean again once you know why. Your new mark replaces the old one.
- Mark clean says Version data incomplete; contact support: the download log is too big to judge, so every version stays held. Nothing was changed. Tell support which version you tried to clear.
- A device that fell back off a version keeps it Held until someone presses Mark clean.
- A version held for quiet devices clears on its own when they check in again. The one exception is a download log too big to judge.
- You see a dash where Pause, Resume and Roll back should be: your account can read this page but not change it.
- There is no Mark clean on a row: only a Held row has it.
Questions this page answers
How do I stop an agent update that is going wrong?
Open RMM, then Agent updates. Press Pause on a ring, or Pause all for every ring. Roll back, in the ring's Actions menu, stops it offering that version.
Does Roll back move devices to the old agent version?
No. An agent will not install an older build. Roll back only clears the ring's target and pauses it, so no more devices get that version.
What does Held mean on the Version health card?
A device got that version and then went quiet for 60 minutes, or a device went back to its old build. Stable will not move to a Held version.
How do I release a Held agent version?
Open the version's Actions menu on the Version health card, choose Mark clean, and type what you checked. Stable can then move to it on the next daily check.
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