Some test devices installed on the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel updated to version 2606 and now show Monthly Enterprise Channel in Account and About. I thought the channel change applied to new installations, not existing clients.
The update also appears to have refreshed the x64 and x86 C++ redistributables, breaking some applications. Are others seeing this, and what should I check?
The channel label and the update content may not tell the same story. One interpretation of the channel unification is that existing Semi-Annual Enterprise devices remain assigned to that channel while receiving the same content as Monthly Enterprise. That does not explain a device showing a different channel by itself, though.
I'd check the assigned channel and update management settings on an affected machine, then compare them with a machine that stayed put. Also check whether a policy or separate channel-switch deployment could have reached it. The label alone isn't enough to establish that the July patch changed the assignment.
Check cloud update as well as Configuration Manager. A small number of devices have reportedly changed channels and enrolled in cloud update despite being managed through Configuration Manager, including devices excluded from cloud update by group. The cause wasn't established, so I wouldn't assume the scheduled update deployment did it.
The broken applications deserve a separate look from the channel question. Compare the x64 and x86 redistributable versions before and after the update, and test the affected applications against that change. That should help establish whether the redistributables are actually responsible before widening the rollout.
Answers are reviewed before publication.
~briskly!unfiled_4:
The affected devices aren't in the collection used for our channel-switch deployment. The test collection only has the regular semiannual updates deployed to it.