Windows 10 Install Surprising Users

Microsoft's push to get Windows 10 onto computers seems to be going a step further than anticipated. Even tech-savvy users are complaining their machines updated to the new system without their express consent.

The last big change to the Windows 10 upgrade process took place last month, but seems to be working more aggressively than expected. The change involved Windows 10 being reclassified as a "Recommended" update in the automatic update program.

That was hugely significant as the default setting for most Windows PCs is to install all recommended updates automatically. It would affect all computers except those where the user had intentionally and manually changed the setting to only install the most urgent security patches, or to have nothing downloaded automatically.

Notifications Not Clear Enough

The newly discovered problem is that the change is not working as expected. The idea was that even if Windows 10 downloaded automatically, there'd be an additional, one-off extra confirmation screen before the installation started.

Instead users are getting a somewhat unclear notification to say Windows 10 will be coming to their computer in three or four days. Closing this notification screen or clicking the large "OK" button is taken as a sign to go ahead. Only if the user clicks the word "here" in a line of text reading "Click here to change upgrade schedule or cancel scheduled upgrade" does Microsoft abandon the upgrade at this time. (Source: zdnet.com)

The same notification will then appear a few days later but this time is only giving an hour's notice. To make things worse, if users don't respond to the notification at all, the installation goes ahead after an hour anyway. The big problem there is that many users leave their computers on but unattended so could easily never see this notification.

Even Geeks Getting Surprises

Once the installation completes, the user does have to make an active choice, which is whether to agree the End User License Agreement. If they click no at this point, the computer will roll back to the previous system (such as Windows 7), though this will tie the machine up for some time. If they click yes, they'll have the now standard 31 days to return to their previous system without losing files or settings.

A clear sign this is causing problems comes from a thread on the discussion board Reddit, which tends to be used by people who are much more likely than average to be well-informed and confident about operating systems. However, many users on the thread report Windows 10 being installed against their expectations and wishes. (Source: reddit.com)

What's Your Opinion?

Is the notification and agreement process Microsoft is now using adequate? Has the company now gone too far in failing to seek positive and active confirmation before proceeding with an upgrade? Or is the onus on users to pay closer attention?