AEM Cloud maintenance updates appear out of nowhere, why?

Hi ​@MarekStryjenski 

I understand this concern, as we are facing similar challenges. To manage this, we have opted for the “Pause Automatic Maintenance Updates” option. This feature is currently in beta, and we can request access by emailing aemcs-update-free@adobe.com.

Recent unexpected maintenance releases have had a significant impact on our deliverables, so we have currently paused maintenance updates during our working hours.

Quiet Hours: Blocks automatic maintenance during set times each day. This is useful for protecting working hours, nightly runs, or morning cutovers.

Update-Free Period: Blocks automatic maintenance for a full week. This can be used for launches, promotions, or yearly freezes.

https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/experience-manager-cloud-service/content/release-notes/release-notes/2025/release-notes-2025-12-0#foundation-early-adopter

The only limitations we see are:

• Quiet Hours can be configured for only 8 hours per day.
• Update-Free Periods are limited to 3 per year.

Thanks

Veena

​

Hi ​@MarekStryjenski ,

You’re right that we’re seeing more frequent AEMaaCS maintenance updates – that’s intentional: AEM as a Cloud Service runs on a continuous update model so security fixes and bug patches can go out quickly, and notifications are typically only 1–2 hours before the window rather than weeks in advance. This is described in the maintenance notification article and is not a regression in behavior, but a design choice for “always current / always secure” platforms.

To reduce impact on your deployments, Adobe has introduced Pause Automatic Maintenance Updates with two self‑service options in Cloud Manager:

• Quiet Hours – a recurring daily window (up to 8 hours) where automatic maintenance will not run; ideal to protect working hours or regular pipeline windows.
• Update‑Free Periods – up to three 7‑day blocks per 12‑month period where automatic maintenance is fully paused; meant for go‑lives, peak seasons, freezes, etc.

These are configured per program under Cloud Manager -> Activities -> Automatic Updates -> Update Options for customers onboarded to Automatic Maintenance Updates. If you do not see the options yet, your org can request activation of “Pause Automatic Maintenance Updates” via the address documented in the release notes.

If your pipelines are regularly failing or stalling when a maintenance update runs, that’s not expected: capture the pipeline execution ID plus the maintenance release ID and open an Adobe Support ticket so engineering can correlate your failures with the update and fix the underlying issue.