Microsoft starts force-upgrading users on Windows 10 1903 to 1909

[Karlston]

Microsoft starts force-upgrading users on Windows 10 1903 to 1909

 

Microsoft's Windows 10 May 2019 Update has been around for 17 months, and as usual for a spring release, that means that support is going to end in December. Specifically, it gets its last update on Patch Tuesday, which is December 8.

 

That means that it's time for automatic updates, something that frankly should have started a while ago. The way Windows 10 feature updates is that Microsoft only automatically updates your machine if you're on a version that's nearing the end of support, and typically that automatic upgrade period starts about six months out.

 

It didn't for version 1903, and you can probably thank the COVID-19 pandemic for that. Back in April, Microsoft announced that it was extending support for Windows 10 version 1809 until November, and then in June, that automatic upgrade period started for users on that version of Windows. Since 1809 and 1903 end-of-life is now a month apart, one would think that automatic upgrades would have started for 1903 users in July.

 

They did not. In fact, when the Windows 10 October 2020 Update shipped, Microsoft said that it would be available to "seekers" on version 1903 or higher, meaning anyone who manually sought out the update can get it.

 

That's changing today. Microsoft is finally starting to automatically upgrading those on version 1903 to a newer version, but strangely, not the newest one. Microsoft is going to start upgrading version 1903 to version 1909, so it should be a quick and easy upgrade that you probably won't even notice. This also means, of course, that you'll get another force upgrade within a few months, since end-of-life for version 1909 isn't far off either, at least for consumer customers.

 

 

Microsoft starts force-upgrading users on Windows 10 1903 to 1909

 

[Ryrynz]

Can you imagine this post if it updated people to 20H1.. even though 20H2 is already out and there are no major issues with either.. LOL.

 

I agree though people should be updated to 20H2 now ideally but I think 19H2 is the logical choice, will be interesting to see if they continue this and

do force updates always to the H2 release.

 

[UberGeek]

Not a big fan of their Windows Update policy but man am I happy with my 2004.

 

BTW, the upgrade from 1903 to 1909 was not as big a step-up as the 1909 to 2004 (for me.)

[Ryrynz]

2 hours ago, UberGeek said:

BTW, the upgrade from 1903 to 1909 was not as big a step-up as the 1909 to 2004 (for me.)

 

Same goes for everyone, this is how they're kinda doing things now.. the updates for H2 or 09 or whatever are already installed to your system via previous updates, the download is just an enablement 

package that turns the features on which is why it's so quick to install. H1/03 etc are the bigger feature updates.

[steven36]

Microsoft finally begins pushing users on Windows 10 version 1903 up to version 1909.

 

 

With support for Windows 10 version 1903 coming to an end on December 8, Microsoft has started pushing 1903 users to Windows 10 version 1909. 

 

As reported by Neowin, Microsoft is taking the unusual step of automatically upgrading users on version 1903 to 1909, rather than to the latest version of Windows 10, the October 2020 Update (20H2), or even its predecessor, Windows 10 2004. 

 

Versions 1909 was a minor feature update to version 1903 and has been designed to be a quick and painless process. However, support for Windows 10 version 1909, the November 2019 Update, ends for consumers next May for Windows 10 Home and Pro users.

 

Historically, Microsoft has started force-upgrading users on older versions of Windows 10 around six months before a version reaches the end of support. However, for version 1903 it didn't initiate upgrades on behalf of users in that six-month timeframe, probably because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

In April, also due to the pandemic, Microsoft extended support for Windows 10 version 1809 from May 12, 2020 to November 10, 2020.      

 

On Friday, Microsoft published a reminder about Windows 10 version 1903's end of support on December 8. 

 

"All editions of Windows 10, version 1903 and Windows 10 Server, version 1903 will reach end of service on December 8, 2020," it said. 

 

"After this date, devices running these editions of Windows will no longer receive security updates. We recommend that you update these devices to a supported version as soon as possible to continue to receive monthly quality updates with security and non-security fixes."

 

When last month it released Windows 10 20H2, also known as the Windows 10 October 2020 Update, Microsoft made it available to 'seekers' on Windows 10 version 1903 or later.  

 

But assuming Microsoft resumes automatic upgrades six months ahead of end of service, users on version 1909 could expect to see a forced upgrade again in the not too distant future given that version 1909 reaches end of support in May next year.

 

Source

[Karlston]

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