Once I did that, my test Notes 8.0.2 Basic client stopped prompting me for an upgrade. Manual upgrade (Tools -> Notes Smart Upgrade) still worked. After extensive searching, I found this technote:

LO52910: SMART UPGRADE: NO AUTOMATIC SMART UPGRADE PROMPT WHEN ASSIGNED BY POLICY FROM ALLCLIENT&NOTESCLIENT

It says that when you upgrade from R7 and R6 clients to 8.5.1 FP3 using a Smart Upgrade policy with a deadline, the upgrade prompt does not work. The problem will be fixed in the next release (I assume, Domino 8.5.2). There is a local fix: don't use policies for Smart Upgrade.

I'd like to add a few points to the technote. First, I got the same behavior on 8.0.2 Basic client, so the issue is not limited to R7/6.

Second, you don't have to remove all Smart Upgrade entries from your desktop policy setting. You can keep tracking options, as shown in Figure A.

FIGURE A


Keep all your tracking options. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Finally, chained upgrade still works fine without specifying "Deploy version" in the policy.

Vladimir Tankhimovich is Postmaster at Columbia Law School. Born in Siberia, he came to US in 1995 and has been a Notes/Domino administrator since 1997. Learn more about him at http://www.linkedin.com/in/tankhimovich.