[German]Brief information for users of older Windows 10 versions. Support for Windows 10 Version 1703 has expired. Windows 10 shows an upgrade hint for older Windows 10 versions up to version 1803. And there are reports that the first Windows 10 version 1803 systems are forced to update to Windows 10 May 2019 Update.
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Owners of older Windows 10 installations can now feel what Windows as a Service means. According to Microsoft's Windows 10 End of Life sheet shows that older Windows 10 builds will reach the End of Life in October and November, respectively (see table below).
(Source: Microsoft)
Windows 10 Version 1803 Home and Pro will reach the end of 18 months of support on November 12, 2019 according to the table above. Then there will be the last security updates for this Windows version. Only the Enterprise versions will receive one year longer support. Older Windows 10 versions have already dropped out of support in the home/pro version.
Windows 10 Version 1703 reached EOL
The lifecycle table above also shows that Windows 10 Version 1703 in the Enterprise version reached the End of Life (EOL) on October 8, 2019. The last security updates for this version were released on this date.
This makes version 1703 the second Windows 10 version that after version 1511 has reached EOL – and will definitely not receive any further updates. The above table is a bit misleading regarding the EOL. For Windows 10 (RTM, V1507) as well as for Windows 10 version 1607, Microsoft continues to provide updates, even if these have allegedly reached the end of support. Because for both variants there are LTSC versions with 10 years of support.
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EOL notifications up to Windows 10 V1803
As support for older versions of Windows 10 has already ended and for version 1803 will end on November 12, 2019 at the latest, Microsoft will begin notifying users of the end of support (End of Life, EOL) with appropriate notifications. Users of older Windows 10 versions up to and including Windows 10 version 1803 Home and Pro will receive the following notification, which indicates the end of support.
(Source: Microsoft)
Microsoft has announced this in this support article. Site Techdows mentioned this in this post. The update KB4023814 is responsible for the notification.
Windows 10 V1803: Forced update
Microsoft had granted Windows 10 Version 1903 the possibility that allow users explicitly to trigger downloading and installing a feature update (see the screenshot below). That allow users to delay a feature upgrade for months.
(Feature updates need to bee triggered on Windows 10 V1903, click to zoom)
Also for Windows 10 version 1803 and 1809 this possibility was retrofitted by updates. Specifically, this took place with the special updates to 20/21 May 2019 (see Windows 10 Updates KB4497934, KB4499183 (May 21, 2019)). I had reported in the blog post Windows 10 up to V1803: Details for Upgrade to V1903 – Part 2.
However, Microsoft had also announced that it will force installation for feature updates shortly before support expires for a current Windows 10 build. When this happens, however, remained unclear. But that seems for version 1803 to be the case now. Woody Leonhard reports on Twitter that there are reports of forced updates on Windows 10 Version 1903.
Lots of reports of Win10 1803 customers getting pushed to version 1903. After five security patches in the past six weeks, 1903 may not be your cup of tea. You have easy-to-use official options — all you need is the secret sauce. https://t.co/a247vPsLw6
— Woody Leonhard (@AskWoody) October 21, 2019
For example, user Terry Muench reported that he had been forced to update to Windows 10 V1903:
Thank you Microsoft for force-feeding me W10 v1903. I have been blocking it (first v1809) for months using WUShowHide. On Sat 10/19/2019 I got the DREADED (We're here to help you) UpdateAssistant popup giving me a few minutes to save my work before starting the Upgrade. Fortunately I was able to Cancel. I checked the #4 UpdateAssistant Tasks in Task Scheduler — which I had Disabled — and Microsoft had re-Enabled them. I Disabled them AGAIN and thought I was set.
No such luck. Later in the day I got the popup again, and cancelled again. Yet later I was remoting to another machine to backup an Oracle VBox VMDK (virtual drive) and forgot about UpdateAssistant. When I checked back on the Desktop it was too late — the Upgrade was underway. I think KB4023814 was responsible for UpdateAssistant running amok.
Woody Leonhard has published this ComputerWorld article about that topic. Final question: Anyone else forced to upgrade from older Windows 10 builds to Windows 10 V1903? In addition, Clover Trail systems with Windows 10 V1607 will continue to receive updates at 2023 due to the lack of upgrade capability (see Windows 10 support for Clover Trail machines till 2023).
Similar articles:
Windows 10 V1803 threatens a forced update as of July 2019
Windows 10 V1803: Force update to V1903 – Part 1
Windows 10 up to V1803: Details for Upgrade to V1903 – Part 2
Windows 10 V1803 will be updated to Version 1903
so far the "forced" 1803 to 1903 upgrades seem to be happening to home & pro users.
I have not experienced this behavior with enterprise & education editions of 1803, at least not yet (maybe because those editions are still supported until Nov. 2020 and one of my PCs is running 1803 enterprise).
"The above table is a bit misleading regarding the EOL. For Windows 10 (RTM, V1507) as well as for Windows 10 version 1607, Microsoft continues to provide updates, even if these have allegedly reached the end of support. Because for both variants there are LTSC versions with 10 years of support."
They have not allegedly reached end of support; you chose not to include the separate table for LTSB/LTSC from that Windows lifecycle fact sheet.