Separate Software & Hardware updates - Add column to show only Driver Updates
It would be very helpful to either be able to hide Hardware Driver Updates from showing in the available updates count OR create a separate column only listing Hardware Driver Updates. The two are completely separate and each have their own importance. It's confusing after a patch automation run to see a number showing as if you still have missing patches on a device. Then you click in to the device to see it's all hardware driver stuff. I would like to see software and hardware separated into different columns / categories as it relates to patching. Thank you for considering my request.
Jeff Thompson
shared this idea
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Hello everyone - thanks for the nudge and for spelling out the driver-vs-OS need so clearly. Good news: you can achieve this separation in Atera today.
TL;DR: You can hide/suppress hardware driver updates from your working view, report OS-only compliance, and bulk-act on drivers separately using Advanced Filters and the Patch Management Dashboard.
Method #1: do it in Advanced Filters (Devices page / Devices tab in the Site/Customer section):
- Open Filters, at the bottom select Advanced Filters
- In advanced Filters, set Available Patch Class = Hardware driver updates to count just the driver-related updates or exclude them.
- Save as a View for one-click OS-only (no drivers) or Drivers-only triage.
- Run actions from the filtered list -OR- use the the Patching Dashboard / "Patch Search & Deploy" Operational report to force install them (if that is needed)Method #2: Patch Management Dashboard:
- Overview tab: use the Update Type selector to show only Hardware driver updates or everything except drivers to see your true OS patch posture. Pro tip: OS Patching status with all classes checked might display an inaccurate picture. Just 1 missing patch will consider the corresponding device as not "Fully Patched". It's recommended to go Class by Class to get more accurate data.
- OS Patches tab: isolate Hardware driver updates with a filter and perform mass install on drivers (when you purposely choose to), or work OS-only for regular servicing.Operational separation: drivers and OS appear in separate, filterable lanes, so drivers no longer inflate “missing patches” in your day-to-day OS view.
Reporting clarity: dashboards filtered to exclude drivers give accurate OS compliance numbers; you can also review Drivers-only when you need to plan onsite/controlled updates.
Control: you decide when to install/ignore drivers in bulk, independent of routine OS servicing.Notes:
If you still prefer a global “suppress drivers everywhere” toggle, we will review this internally as part of our upcoming RMM efforts; meanwhile, the workflows above deliver the practical outcome (clean OS counts + separate driver handling) today. I attached two screenshots for your reference.I hope this helps you and the group.
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Dima L
Technical Product Marketing Manager
Atera(Edited by admin) -
Paaul
commented
I want to echo the previous comments — it's been over two years since the original request and more than 18 months since the last comment, with no update or even communication from Atera.
This really should be a basic feature. Driver updates and OS patches serve completely different purposes. I — like many others — intentionally avoid pushing driver updates remotely, especially on machines that rely on touch input, external displays, or have firmware that shouldn't be touched without being onsite.
We already disable driver updates via Group Policy in Windows, and I find it odd that Atera doesn’t offer a similar option. Right now, driver updates inflate the “missing patches” count and clutter the patch list, leading to confusion, inaccurate reporting, and unnecessary follow-up.
In the Patch Management and IT Automation section, I’ve added some drivers manually, but I can’t add the entire category of “Hardware driver updates,” and the “Excluded Patches” list apparently tops out at 50 total items. Maybe the simple solution here is to allow us to select an entire category.
At the very least, we need a toggle to hide or suppress driver updates, a separate column or category in the patch list, and the ability to exclude them from patch automation jobs.
This feels like a small change that would make a big difference in day-to-day patch management — and it's surprising it's still not addressed after all this time.
We've been using Atera since late 2020 and have been very impressed overall with its capabilities and progress. That’s why it’s surprising and a bit disappointing that something as fundamental as separating or suppressing driver updates — a feature Microsoft has long supported — still isn’t available.
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Chris Keuk
commented
It would be nice to have a filter for the Patching Status widget. It seems like the patch status looks for all patches (OS, hardware ,etc) which skew the result. My team would just like to see how many devices that are fully patched but only OS patches.
Updated for clarity.
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Serverbeheer HisQ
commented
Yeah I agree. I don't want to see hardware updates in my patches window. They are completely seperate to me. I'm not doing hardware updates when i'm nowhere near my servers and the number of 'available patches' is confusing and annoying. Also it messes up reports of agents being up-to-date.
