We reached out to Microsoft asking why users were being forced to install Windows 10, and the company replied that the issue came down to an optional update in Windows Update being checked by default. From overblown stories about privacy violations to reports of sapping bandwidth with unwanted upgrade processes, Windows 10 continues to fight an uphill battle for public appeal.
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What’s interesting is that it appears that a few third-party apps that could previously block the Get Windows 10 app and delay the upgrade to the new OS forever no longer work, but it’s not yet clear if Microsoft blocked them on goal or a recently-delivered update makes them ineffective. Instead, a message says that the “upgrade to Windows 10 is ready”, and prompts users to “restart your PC to begin the installation”.
For one year, Microsoft is offering free Windows 10 upgrades to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users – one of many strategies the company is employing to achieve its goal of 1 billion devices running Windows 10 “in two to three years.” The process, to paraphrase Microsoft, was done to quicken the upgrade experience for Windows users who would eventually move on to Windows 10.
This system has already generated a few complaints, as Windows Update will download the sizeable operating system installer even if you don’t intend to upgrade any time soon, but, over the last couple of days, the situation seems to have become a little more aggressive.
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Fortunately, the installer can’t kick itself into upgrade gear alone. If anyone has encountered the aforementioned Windows Update boxes, it means that Microsoft “has pushed your PC into a state that GWX Control Panel now is not able to reverse”. This has been an option since earlier builds of Windows 10 but, so far as we know, it hasn’t been active. This is an intuitive and trusted place people go to find Recommended and Optional updates to Windows.
