How to Disable a Microsoft 365 Apps Servicing Profile
Question details
The user needs to stop or disable a Microsoft 365 Apps servicing profile to prevent it from managing Office update settings for their organization.
- Product
- Microsoft 365 Admin Center
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- An IT administrator wants to stop an active servicing profile from managing Office update configurations across their organization.
- Observed behavior
- Microsoft currently lacks a documented method or a built-in option to permanently remove or disable an active servicing profile.
Ensure you have global admin or Office apps admin permissions in the Microsoft 365 admin center before attempting to modify your organization's servicing profile settings.
Pause and Zero-Out the Servicing Profile
Since permanent deletion isn't directly supported by Microsoft, pausing the profile and removing all assigned devices serves as a highly effective workaround.
By pausing the profile and configuring its device target to zero, you essentially neutralize its ability to push update settings to the organization's devices. This allows other management tools to take over without conflict.
Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center using your administrator credentials.
Locate and select the 'Servicing' section under your organizational deployment settings.
Select the active servicing profile that you want to disable and click the option to 'Pause' it.
Uncheck all update channels in the settings, leaving only the 'Monthly Enterprise Channel' selected (as at least one must remain selected).
Change the number of selected devices managed by this profile to zero, and then save your changes.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn't there a delete button for Microsoft 365 Servicing Profiles?
Microsoft currently does not provide a documented feature or button to permanently delete servicing profiles once they are created. Administrators must rely on the pausing and device-removal workaround to effectively disable them.
Will pausing the servicing profile immediately stop all ongoing Office updates?
Pausing the profile prevents it from deploying future updates to the assigned devices. However, any devices that are already in the process of downloading or installing updates may still complete their current cycle.
Can I use Group Policy instead of servicing profiles after doing this?
Yes. Once the servicing profile is paused and the target devices are removed (set to zero), it stops managing those devices. You can then revert to using Group Policy, Microsoft Intune, or other tools to manage your Office update settings.
What happens if I leave the Monthly Enterprise Channel checked?
The Microsoft 365 admin center requires you to leave at least one channel checked in order to save the modified profile settings. Leaving the Monthly Enterprise Channel checked while simultaneously zeroing out the assigned devices ensures the profile remains dormant without throwing an error.
