Millions of PCs Running Windows 10’s October Update Haven’t Received Critical Fixes

Microsoft has spent that last month frantically fixing bugs in Windows 10’s October 2018 Update. But, if you’re one of the millions of people who installed the update when it was available, you haven’t actually been getting those bug-fix updates!

Update: With the re-release of the October 2018 Update on November 13, early adopters can now get these fixes through Windows Update. Just head to Settings > Update & Security > Check for Updates. Your Windows 10 PC will automatically download and install them, too.

Windows 10’s October 2018 Update had quite a few important bugs that needed fixing, even after the original file deletion bug. The .zip file data loss bug was pretty bad, but it’s not all. The Task Manager shows incorrect CPU usage details. And the October 2018 Update has compatibility issues with device drivers, antivirus software, and virtualization tools that can cause your PC to blue screen.

But Microsoft has been fixing them, right? Well, yes, kind of—but millions of PCs haven’t received those fixes yet. Here’s what Ed Bott says over at ZDNet, in a piece about Microsoft’s refusal to communicate with its customers:

Microsoft says all of those issues were fixed in cumulative updates that were released on October 16 and October 20, respectively. But if you were one of the enthusiastic souls who downloaded and installed version 1809 in the first week that it was available, you have not received those updates. To get the fixes for what are undeniably serious bugs in a version of Windows 10 that was released through public channels, you have to add your device to the Windows Insider Program and choose the Slow or Release Preview Ring.

That’s not right. Customers who are running an officially released version of Windows should not have to sign up as beta testers to get critical fixes.

Millions of Windows PCs installed the October 2018 Update and haven’t received those fixes. You’d have to sign up as a Windows Insider to get them. Beta testers have a more stable operating system than millions of early adopters. And Microsoft isn’t communicating with its customers, so no one knows this.

It isn’t just Windows geeks who installed these builds—anyone who clicked the “Check for Updates” button in Windows before Microsoft pulled the October 2018 Update received it. No wonder millions of people installed it!

These bug-fix updates are so critical that Microsoft won’t release Windows 10’s October 2018 Update without them. So why won’t Microsoft actually offer them to existing users?

Microsoft needs to start communicating with its customers and fix its broken Windows development process. It’s now holding the entire PC industry back, and the recent file association bug and Windows activation problem just make Microsoft look even worse.

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