Microsoft quietly installs Windows 10 update urging upgrade to Windows 11—again
Brief:
Microsoft is once again silently pushing updates to Windows 10 and Windows 11 users, making sure they're aware of the end-of-support timeline and nudging them towards upgrading. This new update, KB5001716, brings with it more frequent notifications about system security and the need for an upgrade.
- The Push for Upgrades
- A Stealthy Update with a History
- What This Means for Your Device
The Push for Upgrades
Windows 10 users – and those running an out-of-date version of Windows 11 – are getting an update stealthily pushed to their PCs that will allow Microsoft to force a future update to the OS (to keep it in support), and also to nag users about support running out, too.
Neowin spotted the deployment of patch KB5001716, which the site notes has been quietly installed on Windows 10 PCs following the release of the October cumulative update. (It was also pushed to Windows 11 version 21H2 devices, which ran out of support over a year ago).
The patch is an update for Windows Update, essentially, and Microsoft notes: “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.”
Microsoft also observes: “After this update is installed, 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.”
A Stealthy Update with a History
What Microsoft is doing here is trying to keep your device secure, so in some ways, it’s a perfectly understandable measure. As you may recall, Windows 10 has less than a year of support left now.
However, there are problems with the approach here: namely the stealthy way in which the update turns up on PCs. After checking for updates, this one seemingly just lands on your system – boom – without any warning.
What’s also odd is that if you search for KB5001716 on the web, you’ll find that there’s a history of this update mysteriously appearing on PCs. As reported on various forums such as Reddit, KB5001716 turned up in April 2024, and was piped to PCs before that in October 2023 as well.
What This Means for Your Device
We should clarify that this won’t force a Windows 11 upgrade on a Windows 10 PC which isn’t compatible with the stricter requirements for the newest OS – but it’ll likely continue to nag you about upgrading (for your own good, Microsoft would obviously argue).
Indeed, we’d be surprised if it fired up any upgrade for Windows 11 automatically, even if the PC in question was compatible – but, we guess, perhaps this could happen. Normally forced upgrades are for feature updates, though, meaning new versions of your current operating system, like 24H2 which recently arrived as this year’s annual update for Windows 11. Migrating to a whole new OS, like jumping from Windows 10 to 11, is a much bigger move.
For the full report by Techradar, you can read the original article here: