You can upgrade and patch your instance by request, as described below, or be automatically upgraded or patched by ServiceNow. For additional information about the ServiceNow Patching Program, see ServiceNow Patching Program FAQs.

Partners can request an upgrade for associated customers. However, both the partner and the associated customer must have the version entitlement in order for the partner to submit an upgrade request on behalf of the associated customer.

See the following sites for the latest upgrade documentation:

• Upgrade to London
• Upgrade to Madrid
• Upgrade to New York
• Upgrade to Orlando

Note: If the desired version is not available yet, it will require the "Early Release" program.

Table of Contents:

1. Upgrade Wizard
2. Manual Upgrades
   1. Viewing the instance upgrade and patch information
   2. Scheduling an upgrade for a production or non-production instance
   3. Modifying a scheduled upgrade or patch
   4. Modifying Target Version
   5. Canceling an upgrade

Upgrade Wizard:

Upgrade Wizard is a step-by-step guide to help customers reduce the time to upgrade by using easy-to-follow navigation. Additionally, customers will have quick access to a centralized repository of key upgrade resources through the new wizard. 

Customers can access the Upgrade Wizard in two ways:

1. Within the Manage Instances page, customers can click on the “Actions” dropdown next to any of their instances and select “Upgrade Wizard.”
2. Alternatively, if they are nearing End of Life or there is a new family available, a banner will appear in the Manage Instances page that will direct the them directly to the HI Upgrade Wizard.

For a step-by-step guide on using upgrade wizard please click here.

Manual Upgrades:

Viewing the instance upgrade and patch information

1. 1. 1. Access the Now Support (HI) portal with your customer credentials.
      2. Navigate to Instances > Manage Instances.
         
         
      3. If you are a partner and manage other company instances, use the Company Switcher below your user name to specify a different company.
         
         

Following is a description of the various dashboard elements.

Scheduling an upgrade for a production or non-production instance

1. Access the Now Support (HI) portal with your customer credentials.
2. Navigate to Instances > Manage Instances .
3. [Partners only] From the user menu, use the Switch Company feature to select a company.
4. Select the instance that you want to upgrade or patch.
5. In the Actions menu, click Manual Upgrades.
6. Upgrade an Instance service catalog item opens up pre-populated with the instance name and available versions to which you can upgrade/patch the instance.
   
   
   
   
7. Specify a date and time for the upgrade or patch either by:
   1. Using the  icon, which is placed under Select Upgrade Date and Time field
   2. By clicking anywhere on ‘Select Upgrade Date and Time’ field.
      
      
8. Select Upgrade Date and Time dialog opens up with time slots available for an instance patch or upgrade.
   • Note: Upgrade or patch available time-slots gets populated for the current week. If no time-slots are available in the current week, the next available week is populated with available time-slots. Time-slots will be available on 30 minutes interval.
     
     1. Switch between weeks using the  icon. 
     2. Click on the Select Upgrade Date and Time (calendar icon) dialog to switch to a different month.
     3. Select a time slot. Validate change start date and time on time slot selection. Start date and time is shown as per users timezone in HI.
        
        
        
        
        • Note: Selecting the time-slot for an upgrade or patch is important. Select the upgrade or patch to start 10–15 minutes before the Upgrade scheduled job runs. This setting allows enough time for the upgrade or patch request to update HI's records about which release version your instance should be on before the Upgrade scheduled job runs.
9. Click Submit.
   • A confirmation message appears.
10. Click Confirm.

Modifying a scheduled upgrade or patch

1. Navigate to the Now Support (HI) portal.
2. Navigate to Instances > Manage Instances.
3. [Partners only] From the user menu, use the Switch Company feature to select a company.
4. Find the instance with the scheduled upgrade/patch that you want to modify and click CHG # under Record.
   
   
   
   The change request form for the upgrade/patch opens.
   
   
   1. You can modify the date and time of an upgrade or patch by clicking on Reschedule Upgrade button.
   2. Reschedule upgrade dialog opens up with time slots available for an instance patch or upgrade. 
   3. Select a time slot. Validate change start date and time on time slot selection. Start date and time is shown as per users timezone in HI.
5. Validate Planned start date gets updated as per time slot selection on change form.

Modifying Target Version

1. Navigate to the Now Support (HI) portal.
2. Navigate to Instances > Manage Instances.
3. Find the instance with the scheduled upgrade/patch that you want to modify and click CHG # under Record.
   
   
   
   The change request form for the upgrade/patch opens.
   
   
   1. You can modify the target version of an upgrade/patch by clicking on Target Version field dropdown.
   2. Select the desired version and click Save. 
4. Validate updated Target Version gets updated on change form.

• Note: Target version can only be updated up to 2 hours prior to change request planned start date/time. Please reschedule your change if Target Version needs to be updated within 2 hours of change request planned start date/time.

Canceling an upgrade

A Self-scheduled request can be canceled. For information about rescheduling a patch, see ServiceNow Patching Program FAQs.

To cancel a self-scheduled upgrade or patch:

1. Navigate to the Now Support (HI) portal.
2. Navigate to Instances > Manage Instances .
3. [Partners only] From the user menu, use the Switch Company feature to select a company.
4. Find the instance with the scheduled upgrade or patch that you want to modify and click CHG # under Record.
5. The Change request opens. Click Cancel Upgrade at the top of the change.
   
   

KB0815260 - Patching and Upgrade Timing Advice