Just when we thought Microsoft has started getting a sanity potion for its Windows 10 OS, here we are again with the "similar" news of last year. After a month's hiatus of Microsoft introducing any new aggressive tactics to its Windows 10 upgrade policy, a new blog post reveals today that Microsoft has stepped up again to further push Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users to upgrade to Windows 10.
Windows 10 becomes a recommended update - not yet required:
In its attempts to make it harder for users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 to avoid installing Windows 10, the latest attempt coming from Redmond is making Windows 10 a recommended update, instead of an optional one. While it's yet to hit the "mandatory" status, the move is another step towards getting to that goal of 1 billion users by 2017. We shared with you earlier today that the latest operating system is going stronger than ever, replacing Windows XP as the second most-used OS in the world.
Currently running on over 200 million devices worldwide, Microsoft becomes more aggressive with its free upgrade strategy which is due to expire in July this year. Still 6 months to go, the company has to make sure to get as many users by then as possible since persuading users to buy the new OS would be even harder for Microsoft. Earlier today, Microsoft's spokesperson said,
As we shared in late October on the Windows Blog, we are committed to making it easy for our Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers to upgrade to Windows 10. We updated the upgrade experience today to help our customers, who previously reserved their upgrade, schedule a time for their upgrade to take place.
While Microsoft says it's making it easy for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users to upgrade to Windows 10, what it actually is doing is making it difficult to avoid the upgrade for those users not yet happy with the new OS. According to ZDNet, the recommended push will be a "phased one" for those who are using Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 consumers and have enabled Automatic Updates. Users having turned on "Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates" will have the update process started for them.
Previously, Microsoft's Windows 10 free upgrade policy was hit by a lot of complaints when reports revealed that the company was downloading bits of Windows 10 without users' permission. While the new operating system wasn't completely installed unless users gave the permission, many took this proactive attempt a little too aggressive. Microsoft apparently has continued to do so even after the complaints.
It's still not a required update and would need your explicit permission, however, it will become a tad more difficult to avoid it. For those of you interested in the new operating system and are using a Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 device, you can get it for free until July 29.
