Last week, we reported on how Microsoft had silently removed deferral options from the Settings app, something that was not announced by the company and was only discovered hidden in the documentation for IT professionals. Since this option is used to prevent a new Windows 10 feature update until it is stable enough, the change was not good for many users.
In the document, Microsoft had mentioned that it was making this policy change “to avoid confusion.” Since the user fuss, the Windows maker has clarified exactly how this policy change actually manages to avoid confusion, at least to some extent.
“In Windows 10, version 2004, we removed two advanced Windows Update configuration options that allowed it to defer feature updates and / or quality updates for a specific number of days,” the company said in a recent announcement. “This change allows those running premium editions of Windows 10 (eg Pro, Enterprise, Education) to remain on a given version of Windows 10 for a longer period of time.”
How exactly does the deferral options removal allow you to stay in a Windows 10 update any longer?
It appears that some business users inadvertently upgraded to new versions as a result of this option in the Settings app. In a blog post released earlier this week, Microsoft’s Aria Carley explains that, unless your device is nearing the end of the service, you don’t really need to configure any settings as Microsoft won’t automatically install a new update for Windows 10 features on your device.
The option to defer a new update for 365 days may appear to be safe from receiving a new feature update for one year, but given that Microsoft offers two feature updates each year, every six months some version meets these criteria. 365 days. This meant that the devices were updated every six months instead of the planned 365 days.
While Microsoft wouldn’t have bothered him for about a year until his device was nearing the end of service, his deferral setting was actually messing up this policy of “letting users stay on until their current version of Windows 10 complies with the end of service “, updating to new releases every six months.
“The ability to stay in its current version until you choose to download and install the latest feature update or until end of service approaches only possible when deferrals are not established for the device. “
This is where the confusion talk comes in. Carley writes that the configuration change “allows you to stay on any version for a longer period, taking a feature update about once a year or less, depending on which edition of Windows 10 your device is running on.” This effectively means that as long as you don’t set any defer option, it won’t be upgraded to a new version for about a year anyway.
He added that deferrals “can be a great way to roll out updates in waves for a set of devices in an organization,” however, for end users this was causing confusion and surprise updates, or what Microsoft calls “some unintended consequences. “
To help “avoid these unintended consequences and allow you to stay with a certain version of Windows 10 for as long as possible, starting with Windows 10, version 2004, we no longer show deferment options on the Windows Update Settings page in Advanced Options ” The company writes.
“This ensures that you have control and visibility over exactly when to install the latest Windows 10 feature update until you are near the end of the service. The ability to set deferrals has not been removed, it is simply no longer displayed on the Configuration Page” .
The above is important; As we mentioned in our previous coverage on this, deferrals can still be set using the Local Group Policy through Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows components > Windows update > Windows Update for Business > “Select when preview releases and feature updates are received” or “Select when quality updates are received” that you can use to defer monthly and feature updates.
Windows Update Settings for Business in the Local Group Policy Editor | Microsoft
This clarification does not make everyone happy, as many call it a poor design decision and lack of confidence in the ability of Pro users to control and manage their devices. One user commented:
Let me clarify this by removing the option and forcing it into the Group Policy Editor, something that only Windows 10 Pro and higher have (without modifying the operating system), is giving users control over when to install the latest feature update for Windows 10?
This contradicts itself like crazy. This is also a move that Apple would make.
Microsoft is now telling its users that they are too dumb to control when updates can be installed on their systems. Given recent issues with feature updates this will only cause major issues.
Congratulations, you made me compare you to Apple and it’s actually BAD.
While it may help to avoid confusion over Windows 10 feature updates, Microsoft has not yet clarified why it decided to remove deferral options for monthly quality updates from the Settings app. Perhaps another change is expected?
As for IT administrators, Microsoft insists that this change does not affect them if they “use Mobile Device Management (MDM) tools or Group Policy Management tools to set deferrals to validate and deploy feature updates in planned waves across your organization. “
