Microsoft recently released its Windows 10 November Update only to abruptly pull it from download servers shortly after.
The company now made the update available again and explained its previous decision. According to Microsoft, the update that rolled out on Nov. 12 inadvertently messed up the privacy settings preferences of some customers. Microsoft said the issue affected only a small number of users who had Windows 10 installed and applied the latest update before it was pulled.
"Once these customers installed the November update, a few of their settings preferences may have inadvertently not been retained," Microsoft explained.
Such an update is supposed to transfer all user settings to the new build, but some consumers saw four settings reset to their default values. Those settings refer to allowing apps use one's advertising ID, turning on SmartScreen Filter for web content, allowing apps to run in the background, and syncing with devices. Regardless of their previous settings, affected users saw these four settings turned on by default with the update to build 10586.
All of these four settings fall under privacy settings, which refueled the Windows 10 privacy concerns that previously got Microsoft under fire. This, in turn, prompted the company to pull the update.
The company now apologized for this new mishap and added that it will restore affected customers' settings in the following days.
"We worked to resolve the issue as quickly as possible - it will not impact future installs of the November update, which is available today," added the company.
Windows users can rely on the Windows 10 media creation tool to download installation files for both clean installs and upgrades. Customers are now again able to get the latest Windows version, which comes as build 10586, as a full installation package that includes the November Update.
One of the highlights of the latest installation files is that it enables users to activate Windows 10 using a product key from an older version of the OS, such as Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1. This notably facilitates the activation process.
A freshly-released cumulative update, meanwhile, became available on Nov. 24 and aims to restore the settings for Windows users who previously upgraded.
