Microsoft's Windows 11 KB5044284 update was mistakenly deployed to Windows Server 2019 and Server 2022 systems. Heimdal, a third-party application management provider, criticized Microsoft for this error. Microsoft later confirmed the deployment as an optional update for these server versions. The confusion may have stemmed from misclassifying the client OS update as a server update.
Microsoft clarified that future feature updates would be labeled as "optional" instead of "recommended." The Windows Server 2025 feature update was released as an Optional update, and some devices upgraded automatically due to third-party update management tools. This issue has been mitigated. Additionally, a banner message was displayed for organizations wishing to perform an in-place upgrade, which has also been resolved.
Microsoft is taking steps to prevent similar issues by working with third-party AMMs and introducing a new group policy "hold" setting for selecting feature update versions. The Windows Server 2025 feature update became generally available on November 1, 2024, under the same KB number as Windows 11, version 24H2. Future updates for both will share KB numbers but will have different release note sites.