Windows 10 Fall creators update – v 1709 – No optional features listed

opensshwindows-10-v1709

I'm trying to install the new OpenSSH client that ships with this version of windows 10 and is an optional feature.

To access the optional features, I click the start button, then search for "Manage optional features" and then click the "Add a feature" button.

The problem is, there are no features listed for installation – just a "No features to install" message.

What do I need to do to to be able to install? I have tried googling this but no one seems to have an answer. I definitely have the correct version of windows 10 (1709).

Best Answer

The Optional Features panel is for things like Languages and keyboards. Microsoft does not appear to have completed rolling all of the legacy management utilities into the new Metro Settings application.

What you want is Windows Features, which is still found embedded in the old Programs and Features dialog.

You can get to this by opening Settings > Apps > Apps and Features, scroll to the bottom and under Related Settings click Programs and Features. When the Programs and Features dialog opens, click Turn Windows features on or off.

You'll now see the classic dialog where you should be able to select from the available features.

UPDATE

For the OpenSSH client, installation is done through the Optional Features dialog OP attempted to use. There are several reasons why no items are visible in this list:

If the computer is a member of a domain that receives updates via WSUS, you may not see any features available to install (https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/23090805-2035-4439-8f11-2a6e84e53c0c/add-optional-features-when-domain-joined?forum=win10itprosetup)
You may need to Clean Boot in order to install Optional Features (https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-update-winpc/no-features-to-install-under-optional-features/83d8268a-26c5-4008-911a-ded2ecc30537)
If you are connected to a Metered internet connection you may not be able to install Optional Features (https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-other_settings/trouble-installing-optional-features-from-settings/27f2debd-be69-465a-af63-72a7fe3e1294)

Related Solutions

Windows – Failed to update to Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (version 1709) from ver 1703

The Microsoft stock answer is as follows.

Method 1:

You may try these steps to reset the Windows update components manually and check.
Press Win+X on the desktop screen of the computer.

Select Command Prompt (Admin)
On the open Command Prompt window copy and paste the commands :
net stop wuauserv
net stop cryptSvc
net stop bits
net stop msiserver
ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old
net start wuauserv
net start cryptSvc
net start bits
net start msiserver
Exit the command prompt and check.

Delete the renamed folders if everything is correct.

You can try the following step if the issue persists.

Method 2:

Check if the region is correct. Follow the steps mentioned.

Type "Region" on the Start screen. Click "Settings" and press Enter.

On the "Format" tab, select "English (United Kingdom)".

Click "Languages Preferences"> "Add a language" and add "your language".

Once added, select it and click "Move Up" to make it the first language. Close the Language window.

On the "Region" window, click "Additional Settings" and check if the values are same.

Click the "Location" tab and change the Home Location to "your country" and then click OK.

Windows 10 v1803: where is OpenSSH Client

Answering my own question and providing additional information for anyone else looking to figure out how to get OpenSSH installed on various versions of Windows 10.

First, to explicitly answer the questions:

I've since updated Windows to version 1803 and I no longer have OpenSSH Client installed. How do I get it back?

This should not happen. There appears to be something wrong with this Windows system or something has modified the default installation options as others have suggested. (There are a number of reasons that may prevent Optional Features from being available. See this answer for some examples.)

I've now verified this to be true after completing a fresh install of Windows 10 version 1709 and then updating to version 1803. When updating to Windows 10 version 1803 without making any changes or installing any additional packages, OpenSSH Client was installed automatically as a result of the update.

How do I install OpenSSH client on Windows 10 version 1803?

See section below for installation on Windows 10 version 1803 (April 2018).

Is there a way to simply download the installation package from Microsoft and install it?

Yes. It's possible to download OpenSSH directly from Microsoft's Win32-OpenSSH project on GitHub. See Alternate Installation Methods section below for details. This also makes it possible to install more recent releases of OpenSSH.

Windows 10 version 1709 (Fall Creators)

If running Windows 10 version 1709 (Fall Creators) there are two primary ways to install OpenSSH. If you're running a version of Windows 10 older than 1709, you will want to update to a newer version of Windows 10 via Automatic Updates. (It's also possible to use the Alternative Installation Methods listed below on older versions of Windows.)

Option 1: Update to Windows 10 version 1803 and OpenSSH Client will be automatically installed. See Windows 10 version 1803 (April 2018) section below for more details.
Option 2: OpenSSH Client (Beta) and OpenSSH Server (Beta) are available as optional features in this version of Windows. To install the OpenSSH optional features:

From Manage optional features -> Add a feature, select OpenSSH Client (Beta) and (if desired) OpenSSH Server (Beta) to install:

Microsoft's instructions for installing the OpenSSH Beta in this version of Windows, which also covers additional steps for configuring and using OpenSSH, can be found here: Using the OpenSSH Beta in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update and Windows Server 1709

Windows 10 version 1803 (April 2018)

OpenSSH Client should already be installed after updating to Windows 10 version 1803. If you've verified you're running Windows 10 Version 1803 and OpenSSH Client is not installed, see the section below for Alternative Installation Methods.

OpenSSH Client is already installed and listed as such under Manage optional features:

OpenSSH Server is available as an Optional Feature in this version of Windows. To install OpenSSH Server, from Manage optional features -> Add a feature, select OpenSSH Server to install:

Alternative Installation Methods

The alternative installation methods listed here may be used at your own risk if the above options do not work. They should also work on older versions of Windows.

These methods can also be used for installing more recent versions of OpenSSH:

Windows 10 Version 1709 (Fall Creators Update) installs OpenSSH version 7.5p1 (released as version 0.0.18.0 by Microsoft in July 2017).
Windows 10 Version 1803 (April 2018 Update) installs OpenSSH version 7.6p1 (released as v7.6.0.0p1-Beta by Microsoft in February 2018).
The most recent release of Win32-OpenSSH at the time of this writing appears to be based on version 7.7.2.

Install from Win32-OpenSSH GitHub project

Follow the instructions on the Win32-OpenSSH Wiki on Microsoft's Win32-OpenSSH GitHub Project. Pay close attention to the Wiki instructions and the version of Win32-OpenSSH as they change periodically.

Install OpenSSH via Chocolately

If you're a fan of Chocolately, a Win32 OpenSSH Chocolately package is available.

However, this method is no longer recommended by Microsoft and the Microsoft Win32-OpenSSH Wiki explicitly states that this is "deprecated" (i.e. NOT RECOMMENDED), even though recent versions of the Chocolately package are released and available.

If you go this route, be sure to read the Win32 OpenSSH Automated Install and Upgrade using Chocolatey link on the Win32-OpenSSH Wiki.