Windows 10 Users Now Allowed to Postpone Updates - for a Little While
Relief is coming for Windows 10 users who have been experiencing the haphazardness of "forced updates" that occur when Windows begins installing updates without notice, often at inconvenient times.
Microsoft has announced significant changes in the Windows update process which will put users in more control, in a posting by Mike Fortin (Corp. VP, Windows) on April 4th.
Windows 10 update installations up until now have been initiated automatically on all computers that Microsoft determined by its algorithms to be compatible.
Starting with an upcoming Windows 10 May 2019 Update, users will have more control over when these updates happen.
Microsoft will provide notification that an update is available and recommended, based on its algorithms and data, but it will be largely up to the user to initiate when the update occurs.
Customers will now have the ability to choose more explicitly when they want to update their device, or may elect to pause updates for up to 35 days.
Most conspicuous among changes involved will be the appearance of a new “Download and install now” option in Windows Update settings. Users can still “Check for updates” to get monthly quality and security updates.
Another feature to be added will be the addition of "intelligent active hours", permitting the user to set a manually configured time range for installing updates and rebooting. Alternately, users may opt for Windows to adjust active hours using a more sophisticated algorithm factoring in device-specific usage patterns.
Broad availability of this change will reach most customers starting in late May. (Availability of the Windows 10 May 2019 Update will become available as early as this week though for customers in the Windows Insider Program.)
Users' ability to pause both feature and monthly updates will be available for all editions of Windows 10, including the Home edition. Up until now, Pro edition users had certain controls that Home edition users did not.
All Windows 10 devices with a "supported version" will continue to automatically receive monthly features and security updates. Specifically, it will be available for Windows 10 versions 1803 and 1809. Most Windows 10 users currently have version 1803. You can check which version you have by typing and selecting the "winver" command in the Cortana search box visible on most Windows 10 desktops.
Keep in mind that update schedules between now and the May rollout will continue automatically as they have been since Windows 10 first hit the market.
It would not be a bad idea in the meantime to create a fresh backup of your computer files and to schedule a good clean-up in advance of these changes.
Hopefully Microsoft's new "leniency" will result in fewer situations when computers seem nonresponsive on start-up. This has been the main difficulty for most people using Windows 10. When Windows initiates an update "on shutdown", the other end of the update process takes place with the next start-up and frequently takes a long period of time during which the monitor screen remains dark.
If the new policy works as this news insinuates, there should be fewer occasions for Windows users to be left "in the dark" wondering what it going on with their machine.
Microsoft's announcement is posted at https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2019/04/04/improving-the-windows-10-update-experience-with-control-quality-and-transparency/
An informative article detailing these changes also is available at https://www.howtogeek.com/410183/microsoft-abandons-windows-10s-forced-updates/
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