Introduction
See every pending update across all your devices, install updates on specific devices or in bulk, and review install logs and history without touching individual device pages. The Updates global view gives you a cross-device picture of patch status and lets you act on it from one place.
The view adapts to each device's operating system:
Windows — Windows Updates across all categories (Definition, Security, Feature, etc.)
macOS — macOS system and application updates from Apple Software Update
Linux — package manager updates on apt, yum, and pacman distributions
This is the global version of the per-device Updates tab. For patch status on a single device, see Devices → Device Details → Updates.
Global Updates
Select Updates from the main sidebar. The page opens to the Available tab by default.
Filtering by Device Group
The left panel lists all your device groups. Selecting a group scopes the entire view to devices in that group — all three tabs (Available, Logs, History) update accordingly. Select All devices at the top to return to the unfiltered view.
This is the fastest way to focus on a specific segment of your environment. Select your Servers group to see only pending updates on server devices, or drill into a sub-group to narrow further.
ℹ️ NOTE: Group selection persists across tabs. If you switch from Available to Logs while a group is selected, the Logs tab stays scoped to that group.
Available Updates
The Available tab has three views. Use the view selector above the table to choose how updates are organized:
By summary groups matching available updates and shows how many devices need each update.
By update lists each available update for each device separately.
By device groups available updates by device and shows each device's update state and counts.
By summary
Each row shows an update and the number of devices where Level detected it. The badge on the Updates sidebar item and on the tab shows the total count.
Columns visible by default: Update, Platform, Category, Devices, Status. You can show Version from the Columns menu.
Update — the update name. Select it to open a panel listing the matching devices.
Platform and Category — the operating system and update category.
Devices — the number of matching devices represented by the summary row.
Status — the next action or the highest-priority active state shown for the summary: Installing..., Pending restarts, Error, or Download and install. Installing and restart states include the affected device count. An error includes View details.
Use the row checkboxes to select summaries. The Actions menu can Download and install, Restart pending reboots, or Retry failed installs for the devices represented by the selected summaries. The header checkbox supports selecting all matching summary rows.
By device
Use By device when you want to see which devices need attention before choosing the updates to install. Each row represents one device and includes:
Device — the device name and group path. Select the device name to open its available-updates panel.
Available — the number of available updates. Select the count to open the device's available-updates panel.
Pending restart — the number of updates waiting for a restart.
Failed — the number of failed update installs.
Last activity — the device's most recent update activity.
Status — the highest-priority current state: Installing..., Pending restarts, Error, or Download and install.
The optional Installing column shows how many updates are currently installing. Use Columns to show it.
Select one or more device rows, then open Actions to:
Download and install all pending updates on the selected devices.
Restart pending reboots on the selected devices.
Retry failed installs on the selected devices.
The header checkbox selects all matching devices, not only the current page. You can clear individual devices before starting the action.
For Download and install and Retry failed installs, confirm whether to continue with a restart or without restarting. The confirmation shows up to three selected devices, the number of updates or failed installs represented, and how many additional devices are selected.
After you submit an install request, installation should begin within the next few minutes. The table refreshes as update activity changes. A device leaves this view when it no longer has any available, installing, failed, or pending-restart updates.
Searching and Filtering
Use the Search bar to filter by update name, KB number, or device name. Results narrow in real time.
Click Filters to open the filter panel. Available filters:
Category — e.g., Definition Updates, Security Updates, Feature Updates
Device operating system
Device platform
💡 TIP: Use the Device operating system filter to focus on a single platform's updates. Useful when you want to bulk-install Linux security patches across your Ubuntu and RHEL devices without picking through Windows updates in the same list.
Click Reset filters to clear all active filters at once.
Customizing Columns
Click Columns to show or hide fields in the table. Available columns depend on the selected view.
In By summary:
Update
Platform
Category
Version
Devices
Status
In By device:
Device
Available
Pending restart
Failed
Installing
Last activity
Status
Installing Updates
Installs work the same way regardless of OS. Level routes each install through the appropriate update mechanism on the target device: Windows Update on Windows, Software Update on macOS, and the system package manager (apt, yum, or pacman) on Linux.
Installing a Single Update
To install an update without selecting it first, click Download and install in that row's Status column. You can also open the row's context menu (the three-dot icon at the far right) and select Download and install.
Installing Multiple Updates
Use the checkboxes to select the update summaries you want to install. Check the box in the column header to select all matching summary rows.
Open Actions, then select Download and install.
A counter at the bottom of the page shows how many update summaries are selected. Toggle Show only selected to narrow the table to your current selection before confirming.
💡 TIP: Filter or search first, then use the header checkbox to select all matching results. This is faster than selecting devices one by one when you're targeting a specific update type across a group.
Logs
The Logs tab records every update install session Level has initiated across all your devices, whether triggered by an automation or installed manually.
Each row shows:
Source — the automation name, or "Manual Install"
Install date — when the session ran
Size — total data downloaded
Device — which device the session ran on, with group path
Status — Success or an error count badge
Click the expand arrow on any row to see the raw install log, including download progress and per-update install results. Log content reflects the underlying update mechanism: Windows Update output on Windows devices, softwareupdate output on macOS, and package manager output (apt, yum, or pacman) on Linux.
You can copy the log text or download it using the icons on the expanded row.
💡 TIP: If a session shows an error, expand the row and read through the log output for the failed update. On Windows, look for install-ended lines, which usually include the KB number and an error code. On Linux, the package manager surfaces the failed package name and a stderr message you can use to diagnose the issue.
History
The History tab shows the full Windows Update history across all your devices, including updates installed outside of Level.
🖥️ PLATFORM NOTE:
Windows: Pulls from Windows Update history. Reflects everything installed on the device regardless of source (Level, Windows Update, WSUS, Intune, etc.).
macOS: Pulls from the macOS software update log.
Linux: Pulls from the device's package manager history (
apt,yum, orpacman).
Use Filters and Columns to narrow or adjust the view. Search by update name or KB number using the search bar.
FAQ
Which Available view should I use? Use By summary to act on the same update across many devices, By update to review each device-update record separately, or By device to compare device update health and install all pending updates on selected devices.
How is this different from the Updates tab on a device's detail page? The device-level Updates tab is scoped to a single device. This view summarizes updates across your entire device inventory (or a selected device group) and lets you act on multiple devices at once.
How does this work across operating systems? The view adapts to each device. Windows devices show Windows updates, macOS devices show macOS updates, and Linux devices show updates from their package manager (apt, yum, or pacman). You can act on all three in the same view, or use the Device operating system filter to focus on one platform.
Which Linux distributions are covered? Anything running apt, yum/dnf, or pacman. That covers Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Raspbian, RHEL, CentOS, Rocky, AlmaLinux, Fedora, and Arch. See Supported Platforms for the full list.
Who can install updates from the global view? Any technician with permissions for a device's group can install updates on that device. The view only shows devices the signed-in technician has access to, so the list may differ between technicians.
Why do some updates show up multiple times? Summary rows distinguish updates by their identifying details, such as platform and version. Open the update name to review the devices represented by a row.
What does "Managed by" mean in the Available tab? Open an update summary to see its matching devices. The device panel includes Managed by, which shows the automation responsible for installing that update on each device. Updates without an assigned automation show blank.
Can I filter the view to a specific device group? Yes. Select any group from the left panel to scope all three tabs to devices in that group. You can drill into sub-groups too. Select All devices at the top of the panel to go back to the unfiltered view.