Updating the Agent
Help Center Team
With each new Agent release, the ActivTrak Agent is optimized to ensure the best experience. Most Agents will auto-update (AU) without any action needed from an account Admin, as long as they can reach ActivTrak servers and are running compatible Agent versions. Each time an Agent starts, it will check to see if there is an available update without alerting the end user. In the event that the current Agent version is significantly out of date, or if the update servers cannot be reached, it may be necessary to manually update an installed Agent.
Learn about:
- Auto-Update requirements
- Auto-Update process
- Auto-Update Settings
- Updating the Agent manually
- Additional resources and help
Auto-Update requirements
Windows: Agent version 7.0.0 +
Mac: Agent version 8.2.11 +
Agent versions can be checked by going to Settings > Users & Groups > Computer Agents. Here you can view every computer Agent that has reported back so far, their last report date, and which operating system and Agent version they are running.
Security software can also interfere with AU. As specified in our whitelisting guide, the following links must be allowed in any security software on the tracked computer (including the built-in Microsoft Defender for Windows). If not added as an exclusion, the AU may fail and a manual Agent update may be necessary.
- Windows: https://storage.googleapis.com/activtrak-windowsbuild-images/master/auto_update/version.txt
- Mac: https://storage.googleapis.com/activtrak-macbuild-images/main/*
(Note: the * wildcard is needed because the rest of the link will change with each version.)
Auto-Update process
When a new Agent version is released, AU gets paused for all accounts. Each new version first becomes available as an explicit download for those who may wish to update manually. AU is then turned on in waves to push out the new version to all accounts over a period of time. If you have an open support ticket for an issue that a new version specifically fixes, your support representative will work to ensure that your account receives the new Agent as early as possible in the schedule.
Auto-Update settings
The Auto-Update Settings section is visible to Admins under Settings > Account Configuration and shows which Agent versions your devices are targeting and how many are currently updated to these versions.
The status will appear as a colored circle which you can hover over with your mouse to see a tooltip with the status' corresponding meaning.
Green: Auto-update is active for the account and the Agent Count shows how many Agents have successfully updated to the version listed.
Yellow: Auto-update is paused for the account, usually because ActivTrak is in the process of rolling out a new version (see Auto-Update process).
Red: Auto-update is disabled for the account, usually because the account has requested to "pin" a specific Agent version or has asked not to AU.
Example: Below, AU is paused (yellow) for the 8.2.16 version, but 2 of the 23 Agents have already been updated manually. Once AU is turned on for the account, the Status indicator will turn green and the Agent Count will start increasing until all 23 are updated, assuming they meet the minimum version requirement, are in communication with our servers, and are not being blocked by a firewall.
Many organizations reuse work devices, especially as employees leave and new hires are onboarded. A computer may be idle during this time, without online access to auto-update its ActivTrak Agent. Admins have the ability to filter the 'Auto-Update Settings' view to highlight only those computers active in the past 7, 30, or 90 days (or to continue viewing all devices), so they can isolate those devices expected to auto-update.
Note: While this view displays only the total number of devices on the latest Agent version, Admins can also visit Settings > Users & Groups > Computer Agents to view the full list of devices. Clicking the filter icon in the right search bar exposes advanced filters like Agent Version and Operating System to assist in identifying specific computers.
Updating the Agent manually
There are several options to update the Agent manually, depending on access to the device and to the account.
1) The direct link method allows Admins to generate a secure link under Settings > Account Configuration to share the Agent installer with employees so they may perform the update directly on their device. The same link can be sent to multiple users, however, it expires after 72 hours. Users should be instructed not to rename the file.
2) Admins (as well as non-Admins, if allowed via the toggle on Settings > Account Configuration) can download the Agent from the blue button on their Home page. This button is contextual, so it will download whichever ActivTrak version matches the OS you are downloading from. If you need a different version (for example, the Admin is running Windows but the User is on macOS), click the down arrow on the right side of the button to select the version you need. Then use one of the methods in our Agent Deployment Guide.
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