Over the years it has not been abnormal for Windows Updates to cause issues for users. Third party software could potentially function different or not at all after updates. Your printer may stop working. You could lose a shortcut.
While inconvenient, it isn’t Microsoft intentionally causing you grief. To simplify it as much as possible, Microsoft makes changes they find necessary. Sometimes, those changes cause already installed software (and potentially any future installed software) to stop working.
These issues seem to be more prevalent in Windows 10 and there are more than a few I would classify as large scale issues. Microsoft attempts to fix issues that are reported, based on how impactful they are and how many users they affect. If a common sound driver isn’t working for 50% of Windows users, that would be a priority fix.
So where do these issues come from?
Windows has different types of updates. The large updates with major changes to the system are called Feature Updates. These updates have been rolling out twice a year and in the opinion of many, this is where the issues originate.
Twice a year, your system has a good chance of having something not work correctly for an unspecified amount of time. Not a great user experience. Feature updates are intended to create a better user experience, make needed changes, or improve functionality. The broken software, drivers, or even data loss are just free bonuses.
Additionally, Microsoft has two groups for how updates are sent out. If you are a Windows Insider, you get the upgrade first and act as a live tester to eliminate the worst of these issues. Then, once Microsoft determines they are ready to deploy to the second group of users, the feature updates push all of the changes all at once, for better or worse.
Good news ahead
I have been hard on the updates because of the level of frustration caused by them for consumers and professionals alike. Thankfully, Microsoft recently announced that next year it will start a new model for its update cycles. Instead of two major feature updates every year, there will be one major and one minor feature updates per year. The schedule will include major upgrades in the spring and minor upgrades in the fall.
There are more changes to the way updates work coming as well, and I believe they will help prevent many of the problems that the updates the last two years have caused.
There are changes to the deployment model coming as well. The Insiders will still receive the updates first, but the rest of the Windows users will catch a big break here.
Instead of the major feature update coming all at once, the feature changes and upgrades will be released slowly. As Microsoft’s John Wilcox notes, “we are using a controlled feature rollout (CFR) to gain better feedback on overall build quality, [so Slow Ring subscribers] may not see the new 19H2 features right away.”
These last two years haven’t been easy, but the new process will almost certainly save us a lot of time, alleviate a few headaches, and make for a better user experience.
Basically, what they were supposed to be doing all along.