Allow us to introduce you to Windows Server Updates Services (WSUS) Offline Update tool, or WSUS Offline. This tool has been created by an individual third-party and is not officially supported by Microsoft. WSUSOffline can be used to download and package the updates available on a computer with an internet connection for Windows 10 (32 and 64 bit – up to version 1909 only), Windows 8.1, Server 2012, Server 2012 R2, Office 2010, Office 2013, and Office 2016, and then be installed on the respective product computer. Unfortunately, it cannot be used to update other Windows, Server, and Office products, as they are not supported at this time. Today, we will show you how to use this tool and install updates on computers without internet connection. Before that, let us tell you how this tool works.
How WSUS Offline Tool Functions
As you can see from the image above, you must select the operating system or product you want to download the updates for. WSUS Offline then uses the Windows Update Agent (WUA), which in turn uses Microsoft’s update catalog file wsusscn2.cab to dynamically determine the required updates. That said, the mentioned file only obtains information on critical and security updates, and not important or optional ones. This is a drawback of using the WSUS Offline tool, but is still useful nonetheless. For this reason, you may never install all the pending updates for the Microsoft product. This is how the tool then downloads the required patches and then creates an offline update package that you can use to install those updates. The tool can also create an ISO file instead of just a package, or directly create a bootable USB drive. Let us now move on to showing you how to use the tool.
How to Install Windows Updates Offline
The guide below illustrates how to use the WSUS Offline tool to download Windows updates on a computer with an internet connection, and then install them on a PC with no internet. This process has been divided into 3 parts:
Download and run WSUS OfflineDownload Windows updates using WSUS Offline toolInstall updates on target PC
Download and Install WSUS Offline
Follow the steps below to download and run the WSUS Offline tool: Note: This needs to be performed on a computer with an active internet connection. The WSUS Offline tool will now be launched. Continue to the next section to learn how to use it to download and package Windows updates.
How to Create an Offline Update Package
Once the tool is open, perform these steps to download and put together the required updates in a package for the selected Microsoft product: Note: This process can take significant time to download the required updates, depending upon the number and size of those updates. Now that the update package/ISO file is ready, let us use it on the target PC to install the updates.
How to Install Windows Updates using WSUS Offline
Once the updates are downloaded, you will have an ISO image (if selected) and a folder where the updates are packaged through the WSUS Offline tool. You will find the folders labeled ISO and Client inside the folder where WSUS Offline was extracted.Client and ISO folders The ISO folder contains the ISO file containing the Windows updates, while the Client folder has then packaged updates. Both of them can be shifted to the target computer to install the updates. To install an update using the ISO image, all you need to do is mount it and then follow the below-given instructions. In case of packaged updates, the instructions given below are also valid. The update will now be successfully installed on your target computer.
Closing Words
WSUS Offline was last updated in the first quarter of 2020 and has since never seen a newer version. This is probably why the latest versions of Windows, Servers and Microsoft Office are currently not supported by the tool. Nevertheless, the tool is still useful, especially if you are running older versions of a Microsoft product on bulk computers without an internet connection. Also see:
How To Create ISO From Folder Using Command Line In WindowsHow to Add Language Packs to Windows 11/10 ISO Image (Offline)How to Install Windows Updates from MSU and CAB files4 Ways to Install Windows Optional Features Without Internet (Offline)How to Install/Update Root Certificates in Windows 11
