14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8.1 Update was officially launched in April and Microsoft almost instantly announced that this new release is mandatory for everyone running Windows 8.1, pointing out that all updates to launch in the future will be based on this particular OS version.
The company, however, had no other option than to extend the original deadline of May 13 due to a number of issues experienced by users who were trying to install Windows 8.1 Update, deciding to give consumers 30 more days to deploy the new release on their Windows 8.1 computers.
Now we're only seven days away from this new deadline and posts on Microsoft's Community forums reveal that some are still having issues when trying to install Windows 8.1 Update, which means that despite Microsoft’s efforts, a number of computers will still remain unpatched.
“While we believe the majority of people have received the update, we recognize that not all have. Having our customers running their devices with the latest updates is super important to us. And we’re committed to helping ensure their safety,” Microsoft announced on May 12, one day before the original deadline.
“As a result, we’ve decided to extend the requirement for our consumer customers to update their devices to the Windows 8.1 Update in order to receive security updates another 30 days to June 10th.”
So, what's going to happen on June 10 when the Windows 8.1 Update installation deadline is finally reached? Basically, computers running Windows 8.1 will no longer receive updates and security patches via Windows Update, meaning that in case vulnerabilities are found in the operating system, your system might remain vulnerable to attacks.
When launching Windows Update on a Windows 8.1 machine, the 8.1 Update will be the only thing that you're going to see and users are required to first install it, reboot their computers, and then launch Windows Update once again to deploy the remaining patches.
Windows 8.1 Update shouldn't really be ignored because it does come with quite a lot of improvements, including Start screen enhancements, options to pin Metro apps to the taskbar and dedicated windows for Windows Store apps that basically allow you to close and minimize them with a single mouse click.
Windows 8.1 Update is offered free of charge to everyone running Windows 8.1 and given the approaching deadline, everyone should at least try to deploy it as soon as possible to make sure that their computers remain patched.