PATCH MY PC FAQ’s

Frequently Asked Questions

We’ve put together a list of commonly asked questions

FAQs: Questions and Answers for Enterprise Customers

Patch My PC FAQsOur FAQs will help answer many of the most common questions we get related to our enterprise product for Microsoft SCCM and Intune.

If you don’t find the answer you are looking for, please email us using our contact form.

Getting Started with Patch My PC

If you are looking into Patch My PC for the first time, we recommend performing the followings steps.

Step 1️⃣: Schedule a Live Demo

If you're researching Patch My PC, we recommend scheduling a free live demo with an engineer from our team. Live demos are technical and will be a complete walkthrough of the installation and configuration of our product, and you can ask any questions during the session.

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Step 2️⃣: Request a Free Trial

If you like what you saw in the live demo and you're ready to take our product for a spin, you can request a free full-access 30-day trial.

Step 3️⃣: Install the Publisher

Once you have the trial license, you're ready to start the installation of our Publisher to automate your third-party application management! You can schedule a free setup call with an engineer, or we have our step-by-step docs if you want to install it yourself.

Step 4️⃣: Install Advanced Insights

If you use ConfigMgr, you can download and install our Advanced Insights product by following our step-by-step documentation. The Advanced Insights dashboard empowers you with a myriad of tools to drill through so you can make use of the enriched ConfigMgr data.

Step 5️⃣: Request Pricing

You can request a quote if you think our product is a good fit. In addition, there are a variety of payments options for purchasing.

Step 6️⃣: Purchase Your Subscription

After receiving a quote, you can purchase using any of the following methods.

Step 7️⃣: Enjoy ROI

Lastly, don't forget to enjoy the return on investment (ROI) you get when using our product!

Does Patch My PC Have A Cost Justification or Return on Investment (ROI) Summary?

We do, you can find an article the covers the ROI of our product at Patch My PC Cost Justification and Return on Investment (ROI)

Does Patch My PC have a Data Sheet / White Paper?
Yes, you can download our data sheet (pdf) to learn more about our product features and pricing.
Is There a Trial Catalog Available for Proof of Concept?

Yes, we have two options you can use for evaluation purposes.

Option 1: 30-Day Full Access Trial

The most common evaluation option is a full-access 30-day trial that can be requested at Request a Free Trial: Patch My PC for Microsoft SCCM or Intune. The full trial is valid for 30-days and is not feature or product limited. A 30-day full trial can automatically convert into a paid subscription if you decide to purchase.

Option 2: Limited Trial Mode

The limited trial mode can be enabled using the checkbox in the General tab of the Publisher. The limited trial only contains a subset of supported products, including:

- Amazon Corretto 8 (x86)
- Amazon Corretto 8 (x64)
- Mozilla Firefox (x86 en-US)
- Mozilla Firefox (x64 en-US)
- Remote Desktop Manager
- Microsoft Power BI Desktop (x86)
- Microsoft Power BI Desktop (x64)
- VLC Media Player (EXE-x86)
- VLC Media Player (EXE-x64)
- VLC Media Player (MSI-x86)
- VLC Media Player (MSI-x64)
- Zoom Meetings (User-x64)
- Zoom Meetings (MSI-x64)
- Zoom Meetings (MSI-x86)

If you want to try the limited trial catalog using the ConfigMgr in-console publishing, enter this URL in the add custom catalog https://patchmypc.com/trial-catalog-download

What are the Support Options, Hours and Cost?

Support is included in your catalog subscription cost. Please see the details below for support options and availability.

Support Options and Hours:

  • Email and Live Chat Support:
    • Monday - Friday | 2:00 AM - 9:00 PM (Eastern Time / UTC -5)
    • Monday - Friday | 12:00 AM - 7:00 PM (Mountain Time / UTC -7)
    • Monday - Friday | 6:00 AM - 1:00 AM (GMT Standard Time / GMT)
  • Phone Support (+1-800-250-2334, #2):
    • Monday - Friday | 3:00 AM - 9:00 PM (Eastern Time / UTC -5)
    • Monday - Friday | 1:00 AM - 7:00 PM (Mountain Time / UTC -7)
    • Monday - Friday | 7:00 AM - 1:00 AM (GMT Standard Time / GMT)
  • Critical Situation Support (+1-800-250-2334)
    • 24/7, choose to be transferred to the on-call engineer

Options to Contact Support:

We're a small team, but we think that will benefit your support experience. Our support engineers are dedicated to one specific product. You won't be transferred multiple times to get the answers you need. Don't take my word for it. You can search the word "support" on our customer reviews page to see what our customers are saying. - Justin Chalfant, Founder

    What's the Difference Between the Enterprise Patch, Enterprise Plus, and Enterprise Premium Subscriptions?

    Please see the pricing chart below for a basic comparison of our subscriptions. If you want a detailed feature-by-feature comparison, please see the features-by-plan page.

    Enterprise
    Patch

    For companies that need to deploy third-party updates via Microsoft Windows Server Updates Services (WSUS)

    $2/device/year

    $1,499 minimum starting price when purchasing

    Patch helps you stay more secure by...
    N

    Automate third-party updates in WSUS and ConfigMgr

    N

    Top ranked support in our category included at no additional cost

    N
    Advanced customization options for third-party updates when needed
    N
    Basic SSRS Reports for ConfigMgr software updates compliance
    Enterprise
    Plus

    For companies that need to deploy third-party updates and automate application packaging in Configuration Manager or Microsoft Intune

    $3.5/device/year

    $2,499 Minimum starting price when purchasing

    Everything in Enterprise Patch and...
    N
    Automate third-party updates in WSUS, ConfigMgr, and Intune
    N
    Automate packaging of third-party applications in ConfigMgr and Intune
    N
    Advanced customization options for third-party application packages when needed
    N
    Advanced Intune deployment features with filters and dynamic assignments
    Enterprise
    Premium

    For companies that need the functionality of Enterprise Plus with Advanced Reporting and Analytics for Configuration Manager

    $5/device/year

    $3,499 Minimum starting price when purchasing

    Everything in Enterprise Plus and...
    N
    Advanced reporting and analytics for ConfigMgr
    N
    View vulnerabilities and CVE scores in ConfigMgr with threat analytics
    N
    Perform real-time actions against ConfigMgr clients
    N
    Easily see battery health, disk-health, user rights, local group membership, and much more for ConfigMgr clients

    If you have any questions not addressed in the pricing chart above or on the features by plan page, please get in touch with us, and we will be happy to help.

    For details about our legacy subscriptions Basic and Intune Essentials, please see the following page: Basic and Intune Essentials Subscription.

    The Account Management Portal is a way for our customers to view their account information such as license ID, telemetry data, expiration dates, billing information, and contact information. If you haven't received a login link, please send an email to [email protected], and we will send you your unique link.

    Are Discounts Available for Education, Non-Profit, Multi-Year, and Large Volume?

    Education Discounts

    We offer a standard 15% discount for education customers. Please let us know in the comments on the quote request form if you are an educational institution.

    Non-Profit Discounts

    We offer a standard 15% discount for non-profit organizations. Please let us know in the comments on the quote request form if your organization is non-profit.

    Volume Discounts

    For large purchases, volume discounts may be available based on the purchase price. Adding a multi-year subscription will generally allow you to receive a larger discount.

    Are Multi-Year Subscriptions Offered?

    Yes, we offer the following subscription lengths.

    • 1-year
    • 2-year
    • 3-year
    Can I Exceed the Purchased Client Count Within a Subscription Period?

    We try to reduce friction for our customers wherever possible. We allow up to 10% client growth within a subscription term from the initially purchased device count. We determined 10% growth will cover normal device fluctuations within a subscription period.

    If you are in a scenario where the growth has exceeded 10%, please use our contact form or email [email protected] to determine if a true-up for the current subscription period would be required.

    Can I Exclude Devices that I Won't Deploy Third-Party Updates to from My Licensed Device Count?

    Yes, you can exclude devices. If you have a scenario where you know you won't deploy third-party updates to certain devices, departments, divisions, etc. those endpoints can be excluded from your licensed device count.

    We ask that you calculate your device count based on the devices that will receive third party updates to the best of your ability.

    A few examples of excluding devices could be:

    • Excluding servers, if they will not receive third third-party software updates or application from our service.
    • Mission-critical devices that can't receive third-party updates or applications.
    • Excluding departments that aren't applicable 
    • Mac devices
    • Linux devices
    Does Patch My PC Have Any Competitor Comparison Details?

    Patch My PC Doesn't Offer Competitor Comparison and Here's Why

    We don't offer a direct comparison that we create. As a company, we don't think spending time researching, comparing, or copying competitors makes sense when we have over 6,350 customers using our product and providing fantastic feedback daily on our UserVoice. We use this feedback directly when adding new features to our product Public Roadmap. We build our product based on customer feedback. This philosophy is how our customers differentiate us when they switch to our product from our competitors.

    If you want a comparison, I would recommend starting with a live demo and full-access free trial and compare the experience. If you have any specific questions, feel free to book a 30-minute call with me! - Justin Chalfant, Founder/CEO

    You can read Customer Reviews on Gartner, G2, and Capterra 

    You can review our Gartner, G2 and Capterra customer reviews and competitor comparisons:

    You can also Check Discussions on Reddit r/SCCM

    Read Patch My PC reviews on G2

    Can I Upgrade My Existing Subscription During the Middle of the Subscription Term?

    Yes, you can always upgrade your subscription to a higher subscription-level. The cost would be pro-rated based on the length remaining on your existing subscription.

    We do not offer a refund if you ever wanted to downgrade for an existing subscription term.

    Can I Use the Same Catalog Subscription in Multiple Environments?
    Yes, you can use the same catalog subscription in multiple locations or environments within the same organization as long as the client count for all sites is factored into the initial purchase.

    For example, you could use the same catalog subscription in:

    • Development environment
    • Quality assurance environments
    • Production environments
    • Environments to separate servers and workstations
    • Multiple subsidiaries under the same parent company
    • Multiple environments, Azure tenants, or domains in the same company

    If you are a consultant managing multiple different customer environments, you need to purchase a separate subscription for each customer environment.

    How are Notifications Sent Out for Subscription Renewal Reminders?

    We will send our renewal and expiration notifications out to the primary contact(s) on the subscription at the following intervals:

    • 90 Days Before Expiration
    • 75 Days Before Expiration
    • 60 Days Before Expiration
    • 45 Days Before Expiration
    • 30 Days Before Expiration
    • 15 Days Before Expiration
    • 5 Days Before Expiration
    • 1 Day Before Expiration
    • 1 Day After Expiration - Expiration Notification

    If you aren't sure the contacts associated with your account or need to add additional employees for the renewal notifications, please use our Contact Us Form.

    How is Device Count to Purchase Determined?

    You know your environment better than us. We use the honor system for allowing you to determine your managed device count when requesting a quote.

    If you plan to deploy third-party updates to all managed devices, using the All Desktop and Server Clients member count would be a good option for ConfigMgr customers. For Intune Customers, we recommend the Windows Intune enrolled devices table from the Devices Overview page.

    Patch My PC device count all desktop and server clients     Windows Intune Enrolled Devices List

    You can exclude machines where third-party updates will not be deployed, such as Mac OS devices and other machines you want to exclude from your third-party update deployment collections. For more details about excluding please see Can I exclude devices?

    Is There a Money-Back Guarantee with a Full Refund?

    Absolutely, if you don't love the experience, we offer a full money-back guarantee for up to 180-days after purchasing.

    What are the Available Purchase and Payment Methods?

    Purchasing Directly Online:

    • Bank Transfer (ACH transfer)
    • American Express
    • Discover
    • MasterCard
    • Visa

    Purchasing Using Purchase Order:

    • Bank Check
    • Bank Transfer - (Wire/ACH transfer)
    • American Express
    • Discover
    • MasterCard
    • Visa

    Payment Terms?

    We use net-30 terms for any invoices unless otherwise agreed upon prior to receiving a purchase order.

    Why Do Subscriptions Have a Minimum Starting Price?

    All subscription levels have a yearly minimum price, as shown below:

    • Minimum Yearly Price (Enterprise Premium) = $3,499
    • Minimum Yearly Price (Enterprise Plus) = $2,499
    • Minimum Yearly Price (Enterprise Patch) = $1,499

    We price our software subscription per-device cost very competitively, and we believe our minimum starting price is priced appropriately for the value and time savings. Please see Why is There a Minimum Price for Companies with Low Device Counts? for a more detailed look.


    Here is a quick breakdown of everything that comes with the minimum pricing:

    Average Savings of More than 5000 Hours

    Regardless of device count, an average customer publishes 1,329 updates and applications per year. It takes about 4.5 hours to package, test, and deploy an application manually (Twitter survey). The base pricing ensures both small and large companies get maximum time-saving.

    Unlimited Support

    No need to sign up for premium support upgrades. The minimum pricing includes unlimited, in-house support from our top-tier engineers based in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. This helps us provide seamless experiences for all customers.

    One-on-One Live Demo with an Engineer

    Whether you want to see our product in action or you have questions about our process, an engineer will present a live demo for you. In this demo, you can learn about product installation, creating third-part applications, publishing and deploying updates, reviewing dashboards, and troubleshooting.

    One-on-One Setup Calls with an Engineer

    Our engineering team will help you with the initial setup. This includes product installation, publishing and deploying third-party updates, creating and deploying applications, Microsoft Intune integration, and install compliance reports

    One-on-One Environment Review and Q&A Calls

    For the existing setup, our team will review your setup and answer all your questions. This service includes a review of installation and customization. They will help you with Automatic Deployment Rule creation and install compliance reports.

    Are Subscriptions Auto-Renewal?

    We do not have an option for auto-renewal at this time. Once a subscription has been purchased, you will begin to receive renewal notifications 90 days prior to expiration providing you with an option to easily request a renewal quote.

    Are Resellers Subject to State Sales Tax?

    If your organization is sales tax-exempt (USA) and you wish to purchase and not pay sales tax, we will need a copy of your organization's sales tax-exempt document for your state.

    We require all reseller organizations to provide a document stating that the organization is authorized to resale software in your state.

    All resellers not providing these documents will be subject to sales tax where applicable.

    How Will the Product be Delivered for Reseller Purchases?

    When purchasing for a client as a reseller, you will need to enter primary end-users information when requesting a reseller quote.

    The license details for the catalog subscription will be sent directly to the reseller, to send to their customer. Our licenses are assigned to the end user, but live under the reseller in our system for billing purposes.

    Resellers — Quotes, Terms, Discounts, and Distribution?

    Do You Have Reseller Discounts?

    We offer reseller discounts adjusted based on the purchase price to help compensate for the time spent purchasing on behalf of your customer.

    How Do I Become a Reseller?

    All you need to do is request a quote and purchase on behalf of your client (a contract is not required).

    On the quote request form, choose "Yes, I'm purchasing for another customer" on the following question:

    are you a reseller purchasing our sccm update catalog for a client

    You will be required to enter the end user's company name, primary contact name, and primary contact email. We need the end-user contact details for subscription delivery, expiration notifications, and significant service updates.

    You will need to ensure you know the number of devices in your client's environment for the quote for the following question.

    minimum client count required for sccm third-party update catalog

    Payment Terms?

    We use Net 30 terms for any invoices unless otherwise agreed upon before receiving a purchase order.

    Why Does Patch My PC Require a End-User Contact from a Reseller?

    When a reseller purchases on behalf of another company (the end-user), we will require at least one direct contact for the end-users company before sending the reseller the license details.

    The end-user contact(s) will be opted out of billing emails, but we require an end-user contact for the following reasons:

    • For any important status updates related to service uptime or our service-level agreement
    • Email notifications that may occur if the customer is experiencing any known service errors
    • Expiration notices, the end-user will be included on any email expiration notices in addition to any reseller contacts
    • A personalized welcome video that includes the setup process and is unique to the end-user company and contact(s)
    Does Patch My PC Work with Managed Service Providers (MSPs)?
    We do work with Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to help you use our product for your customers. You view more information regarding our MSP License and submit an interest request here.
    Are User Based Applications Supported?

    Yes! We do support user-based installs but only for ConfigMgr Apps, and Intune Apps and Updates.

    It is not possible to patch apps in the user's context with WSUS/SCCM software updates as those processes (the Windows Update Agent) executes in the system context only. Whereas ConfigMgr Applications and Intune Win32 Apps can hook in to both user/system contexts.

    We denote whether the user-based version of the app is in our catalogue by including "User" in the product name. See our complete list of Supported Products.

    For example:

    • 1Password (User)
    • Obsidian (User-x64)
    • Postman (User-x64)
    • Zoom Meetings (User-x64)
    Are Driver Updates for Dell, Fujitsu, HP, and Lenovo Supported?

    No, because Dell, Fujitsu, HP, and Lenovo each already provide free catalogs for their drivers within Configuration Manager. Additionally, there is no driver support in Intune provided by Patch My PC. 

    For Dell, FujitsuHP, and Lenovo, you can subscribe and publish the catalog directly in the SCCM 1806+ console under the Third-Party Software Update Catalogs node. Some of the catalogs are already shown in the console, others will need to be added with the 'Add Custom Catalog' option.

    Dell HP and Lenovo Third-Party Driver Catalogs for SCCM

     

    We also have a step-by-step video guide covering how to use the in-console publishing feature for drivers, or you can review the Microsoft Docs: Enable third-party updates.

    Can I Receive Free Assistance when Installing and Configuring the Product?

    Yes, we do offer free assistance for installing and configuring our product. To schedule a setup session for installations and configuration, please use the link below. ?

    Schedule a Free Setup Session ?

    Can I Request A New Product Be Added to the Third-Party Software Update Catalog?

    Absolutely! We love adding new products that provide value to our customer base! A list of requested and approved products are available on our application request page. You can request a new application on our Customer UserVoice.

    For an overview of how we evaluate new requests, please see What Criteria Does Patch My PC Use to Prioritize New Applications and Features?

    Can I Use the Third-Party Software Update Catalog with Standalone WSUS without SCCM?

    Yes, our publisher has the capability in the advanced tab to make third-party software updates visible directly in the WSUS console so you can deploy third-party software updates without requiring Microsoft SCCM.

    For more details about configuration WSUS Standalone mode, please see our KB Article Configuring Standalone WSUS Mode

    Can Patch My PC Work in an Air-Gapped Environment with No Internet Connection?

    Yes, our product can work in an offline or air-gapped environment. For the setup in a disconnected environment please see the following KB article: How to Use Patch My PC in a Disconnected Environment without Internet 

    Creating Automatic Deployment Rules (ADRs) in SCCM for Patch My PC Updates

    Creating ADRs for Patch My PC specific updates is simple. You can review the following knowledge base articles:

    How Are Updates in the Catalog Tested for Installation Success, and Against What Operating Systems?
    We test update logic (Installable and Installed) against multiple operating system and architectures. We ensure all updates are detected and installed correctly in two separate test labs. Our labs contain the following OS platforms:

    • Windows XP (x86) - No longer tested as of 01/01/2018
    • Windows 7 SP1 (x86)
    • Windows 7 SP1 (x64)
    • Windows 8.1 (x86)
    • Windows 8.1 (x64)
    • Windows 10 (x86)
    • Windows 10 (x64)
    • Windows 11 (x64)
    • Windows Server 2008 R2 (x64)
    • Windows Server 2012 R2 (x64)
    • Windows Server 2016 R2 (x64)
    • Windows Server 2019 (x64)
    How do I Remove Published Updates from WSUS and SCCM?

    We have a dedicated knowledge base article that describes removing third-party updates from WSUS and SCCM. Please review the following article: How to Remove Third-Party Updates from WSUS and SCCM

    Are Mac, Linux, Unix, or Mobile Operating Systems Supported?

    No, our third-party software updates are supported on Windows Operating Systems only.

    We make use of the existing Configuration Manager and Windows update agents, as well as Win32 packages in Intune, so no extra client agents or scanning is required.

    Is There a Public Roadmap and customer Feedback Portal Available?

    Yes, we have a public roadmap available to show what features is are currently developing based on our UserVoice portal.

    If you have any feedback or features you would like to see, please visit our customer UserVoice , and submit any feedback or new product request.

    Viewing or Collecting Log Files for Support?

    We have a variety of logs files that help you know what's happening within our services. The log files also help our support team when working with you.

    Please see the article Collecting Log Files to Send to Support for SCCM and Intune

    When, Why, and How to Republish Update(s)

    There are a few scenarios where you may need to use the 'Republish update(s)' right-click option in our publishing service on product(s).

    These are detailed in this KB article. It covers what republishing is, the alerts associated with it, why you would need to republish an update, and how to do it.

    Does Patch My PC Collect Any Telemetry Data?

    We will collect basic telemetry data when our Publisher software is used to improve our products and services.

    To learn about the specific data that is collected, please see the KB article: Telemetry Data that Patch My PC Collects when Using the Publisher.

    How are Update Binaries in our Catalog Tested for Malware?

    For a detailed process of our malware testing, please review Deep Dive Into Security Validation of Updates and Applications

    We upload all vendor installers (.EXE, .MSI, .MSP Files) to VirusTotal to ensure installers for third-party products are free of malware. VirusTotal scans each installer through over 70 different anti-virus engines. 

    How Quickly Does Patch My PC Release Updates After a Vendor Releases an Update?

    Our goal is to release updates the same day the vendor releases the update. We generally release our catalog between 1:00 - 5:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time). You can review a full list of past catalog releases at catalog release history.

    If a security update is released later in the afternoon, we often release two catalogs in a scenario where the update is a high-security risk. More minor non-security updates released later in the afternoon will be updated the following business day.

    For us to release an update to production, it needs to pass our security validation and installation validation checks.

    Is There a Service Level Agreement (SLA) Available?

    Yes, we do provide a service level agreement with conditions and credits defined in our terms of service.

    Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

    Our software usage is governed by our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.