> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.reclaimtime.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Updates

> How the client checks for a new version, what an update channel is, and what the Versions page statuses mean.

The client updates itself. Nobody has to visit a download page, and an employee does not need administrator rights for an update to install, because the update runs through the same elevated task that starts the client.

## How the check works

The client reads a small text file over HTTPS that contains one version number, and compares it with the version it is running. If the published number is higher, it downloads the installer for its channel from our download host and runs it silently. The client stops, the files are replaced, and it starts again signed in as before.

| Channel          | Version file                                           | Who is on it                                                                |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **General**      | `reclaimtime.com/download/win/CurrentVersion.txt`      | Every organisation except those with a dedicated channel                    |
| **Dedicated**    | A channel of its own, on the same host                 | Organisations with their own release gate. We will give you the exact path. |
| **Early access** | `reclaimtime.com/download/win/fast/CurrentVersion.txt` | Pilot machines. Not available on a dedicated channel.                       |

The client checks shortly after startup, again a little later, and then on a repeating timer while it runs. There is nothing to schedule and no setting for an employee to change.

## Dedicated channels

An organisation on a dedicated channel does not receive a version until we publish it to that channel specifically. Publishing is a deliberate manual step, so a change made for another customer cannot reach corporate machines without a decision.

<Info>The trade-off is that a fleet only moves when someone moves it. If a dedicated channel has not been published to for a while, every machine on it stays where it is, however many releases have shipped elsewhere. The **Versions** page is how you see that, and the version numbers in the organisation Settings are how you tell the dashboard which version you consider current.</Info>

## Which installer an update uses

The client picks the installer that matches how it was installed, so a per-user installation stays a per-user installation across updates.

| Installed by        | Update downloads                           |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| Standard installer  | `ReclaimTimeSetup.exe` for its channel     |
| Non-admin installer | `ReclaimTime-NonAdmin.exe` for its channel |

## Tracking versions across the fleet

The **Versions** page lists every standard user with the last time they were seen and the version they were running. It reads the login history first and falls back to activity rows for anyone whose login did not report a version.

| Status         | Meaning                                                          |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Up to date** | The version is at or above the organisation's **Latest Version** |
| **Outdated**   | Below **Latest Version**, but at or above **Minimum Version**    |
| **Critical**   | Below **Minimum Version**                                        |
| **Never seen** | No login and no activity has ever been recorded for this account |

Both thresholds are set per organisation in **Settings**, so they reflect the version you have actually published to your channel rather than the newest that exists anywhere.

The list is sorted with the most urgent first: Critical, then Outdated, then Never seen, then Up to date. Clicking a status card filters to it, and **Download CSV** gives you the same list for offline work, which is the quickest way to produce a list of who is still active.

For the full page, including the update emails you can send from it, see [Versions](/admin/versions).

## When an update does not arrive

| Symptom                                     | Likely cause                                                                                                                                          |
| ------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| One machine is behind, the rest are current | The client is not running, or the machine has been off. Check the last seen date.                                                                     |
| A whole group is behind                     | Nothing has been published to that channel. Check the version file for the channel.                                                                   |
| The version reads `0.0.0.0`                 | A login was recorded before the client reported its version. The dashboard treats this as unknown and falls back to the version on the activity rows. |
| Nothing has ever been seen                  | The client is not installed, or it has never signed in. See [First login and SSO](/first-login).                                                      |

<Warning>Anti-virus or endpoint protection that blocks the download host will silently leave machines on an old version, with no error anywhere the employee can see. If a group of machines stops updating at the same time, check the allow-list before anything else. See [Domains and URLs to allow-list](/it/domains-and-urls).</Warning>

## Related tasks

* [Chase machines on old versions](/guides/chase-old-versions)

***

*Checked against ReclaimTime client 8.0.0.9 and dashboard V3 on 5 September 2026.*