Purpose
PDQ Deploy reports "Update does not apply" when deploying a Windows Update package.
Resolution
The "Update does not apply" is a Windows Update installer error message, PDQ Deploy is just relaying the error to you. This means that the Windows Update installer determined that the update you are installing is not applicable to the computer.
Why is the update not applicable to the computer?
- The update is superseded by another update that's already installed.
- The update is already installed.
- The update is missing a pre-requisite update.
- The update is not valid for the edition of Windows that's installed.
To determine if the update is already installed or superseded, it's not as simple as just checking if the KB is installed, you have to look at versions of the binaries the update is supposed to replace, as those binaries may have been updated by another update. For example, if the update is for replacing a Microsoft DLL, and that DLL has already been updated\replaced by another update, such as a Cumulative Update, then the update will no longer be applicable since the DLL is already updated.
To determine if a pre-requisite update is needed, you have to look at the Microsoft KB help page, as it will list any pre-requisite that is needed. If this is a Windows Update package that we provide from the Package Library, we include any pre-requisite updates that are needed inside the package.
To determine if the update is valid for your edition of Windows, you have to check if the current edition of Windows has reached "end of service". For example, below is the Windows 10 "end of service" table from the Windows Update lifecycle fact sheet page, if you are installing the latest Windows 10 1709 Cumulative Update on a Windows 10 1709 Pro edition, it will not be applicable, since Windows 10 1709 Pro has reached "end of service", thus the update will only be applicable to Windows 10 1709 Enterprise and Education editions, you would have to upgrade to a newer Windows 10 version that has not reached "end of service" for the edition in order to maintain the computer up to date.
You cannot use a Windows Cumulative Update to upgrade Windows 10 from one version to another, you have to do a version upgrade. The Cumulative Updates are just for updating that specific version with the latest updates.
| Windows 10 version history | Date of availability | End of service for Home, Pro, Pro Education, and Pro for Workstations editions | End of service for Enterprise and Education editions |
| Windows 10, version 2004 | May 27, 2020 | December 14, 2021 | December 14, 2021 |
| Windows 10, version 1909 | November 12, 2019 | May 11, 2021 | May 10, 2022** |
| Windows 10, version 1903 | May 21, 2019 | December 8, 2020 | December 8, 2020 |
| Windows 10, version 1809 | November 13, 2018 | November 10, 2020*** | May 11, 2021** |
| Windows 10, version 1803 | April 30, 2018 | November 12, 2019 | November 10, 2020 |
| Windows 10, version 1709 | October 17, 2017 | April 9, 2019 | October 13, 2020*** |
| Windows 10, version 1703 | April 5, 2017* | October 9, 2018 | October 8, 2019 |
| Windows 10, version 1607 | August 2, 2016 | April 10, 2018 | April 9, 2019 |
| Windows 10, version 1511 | November 10, 2015 | October 10, 2017 | October 10, 2017 |
| Windows 10, released July 2015 (version 1507) | July 29, 2015 | May 9, 2017 | May 9, 2017 |
Troubleshooting the update is not applicable to your computer
If you'd like to further troubleshoot why the update is not applicable, you can look at the CBS log file on the computer and search for the KB to determine the exact reason.
"C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log"
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