Microsoft has issued a reminder that the end of service for Windows 10 version 1903 is set for December 8, 2020. However, instead of pushing the latest version of the operating system, Windows 10 October 2020 Update, the Windows maker is instead force upgrading the devices nearing the end of service to version 1909.
Reminder: End of service for Windows 10, version 1903 - December 8, 2020
On December 8, 2020, all editions of Windows 10, version 1903 and Windows 10 Server, version 1903 will reach end of service. After that date, devices running these editions will no longer receive monthly security and quality updates. To keep you protected and productive, we will soon begin updating devices running Windows 10, version 1903 to Windows 10, version 1909. This update will install like a monthly update, resulting in a far faster update experience.As always, we recommend that you update your devices to the latest version of Windows 10 as soon as possible to ensure that you can take advantage of the latest features and advanced protections from the latest security threats.
Windows 10 version 1909 was the company's first service pack-like feature update, which was a minor release with an incredibly fast update experience for those running version 1903. Folks at Neowin report that Microsoft began the automatic upgrade process for devices running Windows 10 version 1903 earlier in November. But, that upgrade is from version 1903 to 1909.
Since version 1909 itself will stop getting support next year in May, this means that the same set of devices will have to upgrade to a newer version within the next few months. For what it's worth, the update to 1909 is incremental, which means it will feel like a monthly cumulative update and not like a full-fledged feature update.
But with this move, the company is bypassing 2020's two feature updates, version 2004 and version 20H2, casting doubts on Microsoft's confidence in the two recent versions of the operating system. The company has been extremely slow with the rollout process, with many users still waiting for an update notification for the May 2020 Update (version 2004), let alone the latest October 2020 Update (version 20H2). At the moment, it is unclear what Microsoft is planning or when it will broadly deploy any of this year's two feature updates.
