Microsoft released Windows 10 on Tuesday, 10909, a feature update that has few new features.
Also known as “Windows 10 November 2019 Update” – the 1909 moniker wrote down its year and month, even though the version was actually 1911 – the upgrade was immediately available to those looking for it.
(On an unmanaged PC, select Settings> Update & security> Windows Update, choose Check for updates then choose Download and install now.)
On consumer PCs running Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro systems not supervised by IT, 1909 will be installed only when the user chooses “Download and install now”. However, as the current release approaches the expiration of its support, Microsoft will support and initiate an upgrade. Computer world has predicted that Microsoft will not start force-feeding 1909 to users until the end of January, when it starts upgrading machines running Windows 10 1809. (On Windows 10 Home and Pro, 1809 drops support on May 12, 2020. ) Most Windows 10 Home PCs running 1803 were required to be upgraded by Microsoft around 1903 in the four months before the first one retired using this mechanism.
Tuesday, business customers were also asked to launch their 1909 tests. “IT administrators should begin targeted deployments to validate that the applications, devices, and infrastructure used by their organizations are working as expected with the new version and new features, “wrote John Cable, director of program management, in a November 12 article in a corporate blog.
Service Packs are coming to Windows 10
For those who keep the score, Windows 10 1909 is remarkable for what it is not: it is not a feature upgrade because Microsoft defined the term for Windows 10. Instead, 1909 does will be little more than a 1903 May recovery, including all the fixes Microsoft has made to this version since its inception, and a very small number of new features. (How small? Check the list here.)
The composition and content of the November update (or lack thereof) had an impact on how it will be delivered, which Microsoft spent time Tuesday describing here and here.
“Devices running Windows 10, version 1903 can take advantage of a new way of repair that uses the same maintenance technology as that used to provide quality monthly updates to obtain the new features and capabilities available in the 1909 version, ”wrote John Wilcox, Alec Oot and Will. Patton, who is part of the Windows maintenance and delivery team, in a blog post yesterday.
(On the other hand, devices running Windows 10 1803 and earlier versions handle 1909 in the now standard manner.)
Because 1909 is a retread from 1903 – although with a handful of minor new features – the code for the last cumulative update of the latter and the code for the first is identical. (In fact, Microsoft incorporated the functionality of 1909 into the October 1903 cumulative update, the one released on October 8.) All you need to go from 1903 to 1909 is to install what Microsoft calls a “Activation package”, a small download that activates the new features.
(The activation package – described in more detail in this support document – comes with Windows 1909 when users update from a version other than 1903.)
Even after its release, questions remained about 1909. Several Computer world Asked in September, for example, still has no answers, including whether the 1909 model is unique or will become the norm for all fall “upgrades”.
In addition to the release of Windows 10 1909, November 12 also marked the end of support for Windows 10 1803, the update also known as “April 2018 Update”, for Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Professional. However, Windows 10 Enterprise 1803 and Windows 10 Education 1803 will be supported until November 10, 2020. (When Microsoft has extended Enterprise and Education support to 30 months for each fall upgrade, the developer from Redmond, Washington has also granted to the previous four upgrades, including 1803, 30 months to “provide additional flexibility to customers who need more time. “)
Yes, it is confusing. It’s Microsoft.
Withdrawal of support for Windows 10 1909 was set by Microsoft on May 11, 2021 for Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Professional, and May 10, 2022 for Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education.
For more information on Windows 10 1909 for business, click here.
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