Java 7 Auto-Update and Java 6

Java 6 Auto-Update to Java 7

General Information and FAQ

About the Java 6 Auto-Update to Java 7

Oracle will start auto-updating Windows 32-bit, Java Runtime Environment (JRE) users from JRE 6 to JRE 7 in December 2012.

The Java auto-update mechanism is designed to keep Java users up-to-date with the latest security fixes. To achieve this goal Windows users that rely on Java’s auto-update mechanism will have their JRE 6 replaced with JRE 7.

In December 2012 Oracle will start to auto-update a sample of users from JRE 6 to JRE 7 to evaluate the auto-update mechanism, user experience and seamless migration. Oracle will then start auto-updating all Windows 32-bit users from JRE 6 to JRE 7 with the update release of Java, Java SE 7 Update 15 (Java SE 7u15), due in February 2013.

  • JRE 7 has been the default version on Java.com since April 2012 and is now being used by millions of users.
  • As we did when JRE 5 was replaced by JRE 6, we will auto-update users of the older release to the newer version of Java.
  • As always, all users are encouraged to update to the most recent Java versions available for public download.
  • In February 2011 Oracle announced the End of Public Updates for their Java SE 6 products for July 2012. In February 2012 Oracle extended the End of Public Updates for 4 months, to November 2012. See:
    • Oracle Java SE Support Roadmap
  • Oracle is now extending the End of Public Updates again for 4 additional months to provide developers and users with additional time to migrate to Java 7. The last publicly available release of Java 6 will be in February of 2013 with the release of Java SE 6 Update 41 (Java SE 6u41).