Microsoft Update Decision—Alarming News For Millions Of Windows Users
by Zak Doffman · ForbesA busy few weeks for Microsoft users continues, especially for the 850 million Windows 10 holdouts, who can’t, won’t or at least haven’t yet made the move to Windows 11. We finally have confirmation of extended support for home users—to add to enterprise options, albeit that will cost $30 and is for one year only. But there’s also an alarming hint that a Windows 11 upgrade could be taken out of your hands.
In confirming the deployment of patch KB5001716 to Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs, Microsoft warns that “when this update is installed, Windows may attempt to download and install feature updates to your device if it is approaching or has reached the end of support for your currently installed Windows version. Feature updates offer new functionality and help keep your device secure.”
It’s entirely possible that today’s auto-installed feature update may become tomorrow's auto-installed upgrade—in the interests of security. At least not yet—but Microsoft does warn in its advisory that post this update, “Windows may periodically display a notification informing you of problems that may prevent Windows Update from keeping your device up-to-date and protected against current threats.”
According to Neowin, “[Microsoft] has been quietly installing this update on both Windows 11 and 10 systems after the Patch Tuesday of October 2024.”
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A specific note within the advisory aimed at Windows 10 users gets to the heart of the upgrade lethargy—hardware requirements, “you may see a notification informing you that your device is currently running a version of Windows that has reached the end of its support lifecycle,” Microsoft says, “or that your device does not meet the minimum hardware requirements for the currently installed version of Windows.”
The prospect of the Windows 11 upgrade decision being taken put of users hands where they have compatible hardware may become more real as we approach the single year of extended support and the delayed cliff-edge approaches. “Given the first point Microsoft notes, TechRadar says, “the [Windows 11] update may also be forced on your PC (eventually), as we see happening when any given version of Windows 10 or 11 runs out of road and is no longer supported for further upgrades.”
Clearly bad news for those users wanting to hold out on Windows 10 beyond 2025 and 2026, or who have opted for the third-party support extensions that have started to appear and which will gain momentum over the next year. As I’ve warned before, whatever you do, don’t allow your PC to come off support. This week’s Patch Tuesday with two further zero days shows the very real dangers in that.