Don’t Click “Check For Updates”
As Microsoft revealed, only people who clicked “Check for Updates” got bitten by Windows 10’s recent file deletion bug. When you click the “Check for Updates” button, Microsoft gives you updates early, skipping a normal part of the testing process.
Don’t take our word for it. Here’s how Microsoft defended its performance after Windows 10’s October 2018 Update was found deleting some people’s files:
“We intentionally start each feature update rollout slowly, closely monitoring feedback before offering the update more broadly. In this case the update was only available to those who manually clicked on “check for updates” in Windows settings.”
In other words, Microsoft intentionally rolls out big updates like this slowly to Windows 10 users, checking for problems to ensure you’ll be safe. But, if you ever head to Settings > Windows Update and click “Check for Updates,” Microsoft throws that careful process out the window and installs the latest update on your PC without any further testing.
Here’s how Microsoft put it back when the April 2018 Update was released:
“While we encourage you to wait until the update is offered to your device, if you’re an advanced user on an actively serviced version of Windows 10 and would like to install the Windows 10 April 2018 update now, you can do so by manually checking for updates.”
Microsoft basically said, “We encourage you not to click ‘Check for Updates’ unless you’re an advanced user who wants the update early.”
“Check for updates” Makes You A Tester
Effectively, clicking “Check for updates” makes you a tester.
Here’s how the Windows 10 update process is supposed to work:
- First, the update goes through the “fast” and “slow” rings of the Windows Insider testing process. Willing users beta test it throughout the development process and give feedback. (The bug reports about file deletion were not noticed by Microsoft, which is why the Feedback Hub is now getting “severity” ratings so testers can better flag major problems.)
- Second, the update goes through the final “Release Preview” testing ring before it’s made available as a stable release. (Microsoft skipped this step so the October 2018 Update could be announced and released during a press event.)
- Third, once the update is marked as stable, only people who manually opt into the update will get it. Microsoft lets these people function as another line of beta testers. They, they use Windows 10’s telemetry to monitor how the update is going. (The October 2018 Update was halted during this phase.)
- Fourth, Microsoft slowly rolls the update out to average Windows users, ensuring it’s compatible with their system’s hardware and software before releasing it.
It mostly worked, too. Only people who manually opted into the update received it, and Microsoft pulled the update before the general rollout.
(Image Source: iCLIPART)
