Friday, April 5th 2019
Microsoft Reconsiders: No More Forced Updates in Windows 10
One of the big no-nos for some users looking to upgrade do Windows 10 was the fact that Microsoft enforced constant, 6-month update cycles independent of whether users wanted them or not. This move was done to streamline the update process and keep all users at parity when it comes to important security and feature updates that Microsoft considered relevant. However, it seems Microsoft is now abandoning this practice, which means that users that like to know exactly what is being changed in their systems - and at a time of their convenience - now have one less reason to not upgrade.
Not only will Windows no longer push updates inadvertently, now home users will also have the ability to not only pause updates, but also remove them. There's a caveat, though - you won't be able to postpone feature updates forever. As it stands, Microsoft has an 18 month "end of life" period for major Windows 10 versions, which means that after your 18 months of postponing updates are up (and all of the kinks have been ironed out), you PC will still update to the latest version. There are some other details, which I will transcribe from the Microsoft blog post for your perusal.
Sources:
Microsoft Blog, Reddit
Not only will Windows no longer push updates inadvertently, now home users will also have the ability to not only pause updates, but also remove them. There's a caveat, though - you won't be able to postpone feature updates forever. As it stands, Microsoft has an 18 month "end of life" period for major Windows 10 versions, which means that after your 18 months of postponing updates are up (and all of the kinks have been ironed out), you PC will still update to the latest version. There are some other details, which I will transcribe from the Microsoft blog post for your perusal.
Download and install now option provides users a separate control to initiate the installation of a feature update on eligible devices with no known key blocking compatibility issues. Users can still "Check for updates" to get monthly quality and security updates. Windows will automatically initiate a new feature update if the version of Windows 10 is nearing end of support. We may notify you when a feature update is available and ready for your machine. All Windows 10 devices with a supported version will continue to automatically receive the monthly updates. This new "download and install" option will also be available for our most popular versions of Windows 10, versions 1803 and 1809, by late May.
Additional improvements to put users more in control of updates that are being introduced with the May 2019 Update include:
- Extended ability to pause updates for both feature and monthly updates. This extension ability is for all editions of Windows 10, including Home. Based on user feedback we know that any update can come at an inconvenient time, such as when a PC is needed for a big presentation. So, we're making it possible for all users to pause both feature and monthly updates for up to 35 days (seven days at a time, up to five times). Once the 35-day pause period is reached, users will need to update their device before pausing again.
- Intelligent active hours to avoid disruptive update restarts. The active hours feature, introduced in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, relies on a manually configured time range to avoid automatically installing updates and rebooting. Many users leave the active hours setting at its 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. default. To further enhance active hours, users will now have the option to let Windows Update intelligently adjust active hours based on their device-specific usage patterns.
- Improved update orchestration to improve system responsiveness. This feature will improve system performance by intelligently coordinating Windows updates and Microsoft Store updates, so they occur when users are away from their devices to minimize disruptions.
149 Comments on Microsoft Reconsiders: No More Forced Updates in Windows 10
Its a change but it's not retrograde.
I no longer loose audio devices.
I can go online without my browser freezing up.
I no longer get that "A device has failed to respond" error that caused my GFX to hang.
I no longer have random lockups.
My PC is fast again.
Even the thought of an update makes me vomit in my mouth a little...
I guess this good news for home users.
Problem is is the last time I removed an update it completely fucked the install....so I had to start over anyways...not sure if in the end this will be useful at all.
I have "My Computer" pinned to the taskbar.
Win10 standard.
Yea sure, you dont get fancy stuff, but you get Win 10 that actually works.
Seriously, if people would embrace the "Right Click On Start " method, they'd get around a lot better in Windows 10. Heck, now that I'm used to it, I don't even need or really even want OpenShell.
BTW note it says "Reconsidering", not that anything has actually changed yet and I can promise you the means of gathering telemetry will change - They didn't invest all the effort into creating Cortana and such only to abandon it later.
That's what Alexia is for - WELL KNOWN over the years to be spyware yet now it's been touted as the "In" thing to have and use for all your home and smart devices. It's probrably in enough places now they can snoop at will wherever, even in places that doesn't have Alexia directly such as a neighbor with some smart devices but none of the Alexia controlled crap.
Smart devices CAN communicate wirelessly, I mean WHY for example would your refriderator even need web access?
Alot of the newer models are capable right along with other things of a similar nature - Think about how many devices are now bluetooth/wireless capable yet it really doesn't make sense for them to be.... Like the fridge.
Call it what you will and agree or not, personally I'm not buying it guys.
And hey, W10 already just works. But feel free to convince me otherwise that all those hundreds of millions of computers do not and all their users suffer.
It's like that circle in BR games that slowly get's smaller for them.
Just set updates to delay for 1-2 days for security patches, and 5-30 days for feature patches. Wallah, no more broken updates.
I have annoyances with Windows 10, and most honest people would have something they'd like improved as well, but most of your whinges are so petty it's sad. If you've had a stability issue, you blame the company or OS as the root cause... with anecdotal 'evidence' at best. The rose coloured glasses for Windows 7 reminds me of the Windows XP army who said the same thing about Windows 7 when it released.
Same stuff, 4 years later.
And my time has already come - That's what Linux is for.