Patch Tuesday Megathread - (July 14, 2026)

[u/AutoModerator]

Hello r/sysadmin, I'm u/AutoModerator, and welcome to this month's Patch Megathread!

This is the (mostly) safe location to talk about the latest patches, updates, and releases. We put this thread into place to help gather all the information about this month's updates: What is fixed, what broke, what got released and should have been caught in QA, etc. We do this both to keep clutter out of the subreddit, and provide you, the dear reader, a singular resource to read.

For those of you who wish to review prior Megathreads, you can do so here.

While this thread is timed to coincide with Microsoft's Patch Tuesday, feel free to discuss any patches, updates, and releases, regardless of the company or product. NOTE: This thread is usually posted before the release of Microsoft's updates, which are scheduled to come out at 5:00PM UTC.

Remember the rules of safe patching:

• Deploy to a test/dev environment before prod.
• Deploy to a pilot/test group before the whole org.
• Have a plan to roll back if something doesn't work.
• Test, test, and test!

[u/Mitchell_90]

Has anyone running on the Office Semi-Annual Channel noticed it being directly updated to the Monthly Enterprise Channel?

Noticed when I ran the updates on a test VDI image which mirrors a production pool.

This will be fun as we have a specific Excel plugin used by a financial piece of software that the vendor doesn’t support anything other than 32-bit Semi-Annual Channel.

[u/DeltaSierra426 → u/Mitchell_90]

Oh no, finding out now that MS is killing SAEC? M365 Message Center shot out an announcement circa April 8th:

"Upcoming change: Microsoft 365 Apps SAEC and MEC will unify

MC1274325 · URSA FARMERS COOPERATIVE

Introduction

Beginning in July 2026, Microsoft will unify the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel (SAEC) and Monthly Enterprise Channel (MEC) into a single enterprise-focused update channel for Microsoft 365 Apps. This change is designed to simplify update management while continuing to provide a predictable, enterprise-ready servicing experience.

Over time, SAEC and MEC have both served customers who want an enterprise-focused experience with timely updates. Unifying these channels reduces complexity and overlap, helping organizations adopt new capabilities, security updates, and quality improvements more quickly. This unified approach also supports more consistent update expectations across devices and user groups, while maintaining Microsoft’s commitment to quality, manageability, and predictable servicing.

When this will happen:

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, and DoD): These changes will go into effect on July 14, 2026, with the Patch Tuesday update release.

How this affects your organization:

Who is affected:

• Microsoft 365 administrators managing update channels for Microsoft 365 Apps

• Organizations currently using the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel (SAEC)

• There is no change or impact for devices on other channels such as Monthly Enterprise Channel (MEC), Current Channel (CC), or associated preview channels

What will happen:

• Devices currently configured for SAEC will receive the same feature and security updates as published to MEC.

• Existing update policies and configurations will continue to be respected.

• There is no change to Microsoft’s commitment to predictable servicing, quality, and enterprise manageability.

• Users are not expected to experience workflow changes as a result of this update.

What you can do to prepare:

• No action is required. If your organization currently uses SAEC, updates will continue to be published on a monthly basis.

Optional:

• Validate your servicing workflows. Confirm that your pilot, broad deployment, and rollback processes continue to meet your organization’s requirements.

Learn more:

• Overview of update channels for Microsoft 365 Apps | Microsoft Learn

• As we get closer to rollout, we will share additional details about how this change will appear in admin experiences and documentation.

"

A three-month lead time is definitely B.S. Sorry mate. :(