Update Forwarder
Update the Windows forwarder from the web app, or out of band with your own tooling. Includes the upgrade paths for older builds that cannot go straight to current.
Updating the Windows forwarder is normally a right-click in the web app. The exceptions are old builds -- anything before 1.5.0 -- which need a stepping stone or a clean uninstall first.
Whichever route you take, stay with the installer type you originally used. Mixing an MSI install with a bundled-installer upgrade works, but leaves two entries in Windows Control Panel. That is cosmetic, not functional, and it confuses whoever inventories software next quarter.
From the web app
This works for every version from 1.5.0 onward, and it is the route to prefer: the platform records what version each asset is running, so upgrades stay visible in the same place as the rest of your fleet state.
- Sign in at app.stairwell.com/assets.
- Choose your environment, top right.
- Select the assets you want to update.
- Right-click, or use the ellipsis (...) in the top right.
- Choose Update.
- Pick the version, Next, then Update.
The web app always installs the bundled installer, which carries the .NET runtime current at the time of that forwarder release. If you deliberately manage .NET separately and install the standalone build, upgrading through the web app will switch that host to the bundled build.
Out of band
If SCCM, Tanium, or your own scripting owns the forwarder, the rule depends on where you are starting:
- 1.5.x or later: install the new version over the top. No uninstall needed.
- Earlier than 1.5.x: uninstall first, then install. The architecture changed enough that an in-place upgrade is not safe across that boundary.
The manual path is three steps: uninstall, install 1.7.0 or later, then confirm the asset shows as active in the web app. That last step is the one people skip; an upgrade that silently failed looks exactly like an upgrade that worked until you go looking for the check-in.
Where you can go from where you are
| Installed version | What it is | Upgrade to | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| pre-1.3.6 | Early builds, still alive in a few places | Uninstall, then install current | Do not attempt a chain of in-place upgrades from here |
| 1.3.6 | Stable baseline, but no diagnostic uploads and no sleep/wake handling | Uninstall, then install current | |
| 1.4.x | Anti-tamper protection blocks self-upgrade | 1.5.1 first, then 1.7.0 or later | The 1.5.1 hop is required, not advisory. See Anti-Tamper for the equivalent behavior on macOS |
| 1.5.x | Maintenance release based on 1.3.6 | 1.7.0 or later, directly | No restrictions |
1.4.x is the awkward one. Its anti-tamper protection is doing its job -- refusing to let a process on the host replace the forwarder -- and 1.5.1 is the build that knows how to hand off cleanly.
What should I read next?
- Forwarder Downloads, for the current builds and release notes.
- Uninstall the Windows Forwarder, if you are taking the clean route.
- Windows Troubleshooting, if an asset stops checking in after an update.
Updated 8 days ago