Microsoft continues its aggressive Windows 10 forced update campaign, according to a surging number of dismayed users.
The company refutes claims that Windows 10 auto-downloads and installs itself on PCs without asking for the users' permission.
"Customers continue to be fully in control of their devices, and can choose to not install the Windows 10 upgrade or remove the upgrade from Windows Update (WU) by changing the WU settings," Microsoft tells The Inquirer.
Microsoft previously announced that starting in 2016, Windows 10 will appear as a "Recommended Update." This means that your Windows Update settings may allow the update to take place automatically.
The company explains that even if users upgrade to Windows 10, they still have 31 days at their disposal to test the new OS. In case you "don't love" the experience, rolling back to the previous Windows version is possible.
However, repeated reports show that users feel that the updating process is controlling them. For example, the "Upgrade Now" and "Upgrade Tonight" options lack a straightforward opt out feature.
A Reddit thread scoring nearly 3,000 comments and counting shows that Windows 7 Professional started updating sans user approval.
"I needed to set up my department's bronchoscopy cart quickly for someone with some sick lungs. I shit you not, when I turned on the computer it had to do a Windows update," Reddit user points out.
It appears that the issue affects multiple business sectors, aside from medical care. According to the Reddit thread, IT support was summoned after the automatic update by dental practices, roofing companies and B&B locations and more who were caught off-guard.
Problems that come with the Windows 10 update vary from the system asking for a long forgotten password to blocking access to shared folders and even completely bricking unlucky PCs. The best case scenario was when the user was simply dumbfounded by the OS changes.
On the bright side, the Reddit thread offers a solution to the problem. By deselecting the update named "KB 3035583" some users were able to avoid the nuisance of being force-fed the latest Windows OS.
It is puzzling to see Windows Professional customers getting the same treatment as Personal edition users, who had their fair share of update hassling last year. Some users say that rolling back to a previous version of Windows did not help that much, as they keep getting peppered with suggestions to move up to Windows 10.
From Microsoft's point of view, upgrading to its present OS is paramount for its business, as the company's target is to see 1 billion machines running Windows 10 by 2017.
First of all, Windows 10 is a gateway for enterprise and entertainment software built by the company, such as subscription services Office 365 and Xbox Live. Secondly, the company is confident that Windows 10 comes packed with security features, and the U.S. government seems to trust it with its national security.
The U.S. Department of Defense recently announced that it plans to load Windows 10 on its 4 million devices, both PCs and tablets.
Microsoft has yet to officially comment on the auto-update issues, but we will keep you posted when that happens.
