Complete the following steps to allow Update Service to check for updates automatically:

  1. Select the File»Preferences menu item to launch the Update Service Preferences dialog box.
    Note Depending on your version of Microsoft Windows, Update Service may close and reopen to request permission to run with administrator privileges. If prompted for administrator privileges, click Yes to launch Update Service and display the Preferences dialog box.
  2. Check Enable Periodic Checking to enable checking for updates. Update Service does not download or install updates without your permission.
  3. Select a day and time to check for updates. Update Service checks for updates within the hour after the time you select.
  4. Select the kinds of updates you want Update Service to alert you about. You can select to check for all updates or only urgent updates.
    Note
    • Urgent updates and patches resolve issues such as crashes, computational errors, math errors, or problems that could result in inaccurate data. NI strongly recommends that you install these updates. For more information about the types of updates supported by Update Service, refer to Update Categories.
    • If you select Tell me about urgent updates only, NI might periodically notify you if a large number of updates are available.
  5. Click OK to save the settings and exit the dialog box.

If Update Service cannot connect to NI servers during a periodic check, it continues checking for 7 days. After that period, Update Service alerts you to check your Internet connection or to contact NI support at ni.com/support if the problem persists.