If you thought Microsoft's Windows 10 upgrade notifications were annoying so far, think again. Those upgrade prompts are now going full-screen to make sure you can't ignore them.
Microsoft has been aggressive with its Windows 10 upgrade notifications for a good while, but its final push is taking things to a whole new level. After interrupting a live weather forecast, annoying Windows 7 and 8 users who felt they were being harassed to upgrade, losing a $10,000 lawsuit and more controversial cases that sparked criticism, Microsoft is now escalating to take up your entire screen.
With free upgrades coming to an end, Microsoft wants to make sure that all users of older Windows versions are aware that it's their last chance to upgrade free of charge. Microsoft confirmed that it will display full-screen Windows 10 upgrade notifications until the end of the month.
The full-screen notification will pop up for users on Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1), informing them of the July 29 deadline for the free upgrade to Windows 10.
The message further notes that Windows 10 is the most secure version that Microsoft has ever built and more than 300 million people have already upgraded. Upon receiving the full-screen notifications, users have four options: upgrade then and there, straight from the notification; select the "remind me later" procrastination; choose to be notified three more times; dismiss the notification for good with the "do not notify me again" option.
The "upgrade now" and "remind me later" options are the most visible ones, while the options to get additional reminders or dismiss the notification permanently are listed at the bottom left, less obvious but still visible.
The upgrade message will appear when users unlock their older version of Windows, and will continue to appear until the free upgrade offer expires. Those who choose the "remind me later" option will see the message resurface after three days.
The notification will no longer appear if you dismiss it for good, if you have installed a recent version of the "Get Windows 10" app, if you have previously upgraded and uninstalled Windows 10, if your device is not compatible with Windows 10, if the upgrade installation failed and the OS rolled back, if you've hidden the notifications from the "Get Windows 10" app, or if you've disabled the Windows 10 upgrade or disabled the offer screen through registry key settings.
This time, Microsoft's campaign is out in the open, with a special support page confirming the full-screen notifications and detailing the process. Once this period expires, it will be interesting to see what else Microsoft comes up with to get users to pay for the upgrade. Judging by the campaigns so far, it's unlikely that Microsoft will stop aggressively promoting Windows 10 even if it will no longer be free after this month.
If you've resisted upgrading to Windows 10 so far, hang on for this one final push from Microsoft. Did you get the full-screen notification yet? If so, did it convince you to upgrade? Let us know in the comments section below.
