Microsoft: Forced update to Windows 10 was ‘a mistake’

The fact that Microsoft has forced some users of Windows 7 and 8.1 to update to Windows 10 in recent days was “a mistake,” the company says. Microsoft says it will stop the forced installation of its new operating system.

According to Microsoft, the flaw was in a recent update to Windows 8.1 and Windows 7, which checked that Windows 10 changed from a voluntary update to a forced update, the company said in a statement to Venturebeat. As a result, Windows 10 temporarily behaved like an update that users had to install, including a countdown to when they rebooted to install Windows 10.

To prevent that, Windows 10 will no longer appear in Windows Update for people who have not “reserved” a copy of the operating system via the earlier notification in the taskbar. For those who have, the new operating system will continue to appear as a voluntary update, which can be installed at any time.

It is unknown how many people have involuntarily updated to Windows 10 due to the error. Those who want to can return to Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 within a month via the Recovery options in Windows 10.