14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8.1 Update was officially launched last week and Microsoft is urging everyone to install it as soon as possible in order to make sure that they meet the May 13 deadline when computers not running it won’t receive any other patches via Windows Update.
It appears, however, that many consumers running Windows 8.1 and using a metered connection believe that Windows 8.1 Update will install automatically, so their computers could remain unprotected if they do not deploy the new OS version in time.
Microsoft warned that Windows 8.1 Update won’t be installed automatically in case you are using Windows 8.1 on a metered network. Your best choice is to either get the update manually and install it on your computer or connect to a public Wi-Fi network and download it via Windows Update.
“The Windows 8.1 Update will not install automatically for customers on metered networks. Customers with Automatic Update turned on in regions with metered networks will receive the below notification over the coming weeks alerting them to go to Windows Update and manually install. Our recommendation is for customers to connect to an un-metered connection or public Wi-Fi connection to install the update,” the company said in a blog post.
The problem with Windows 8.1 Update is that some users are still having trouble installing it, no matter if they’re trying the default Windows Update setting or the manual download links.
According to posts that have been published on Microsoft’s Community forums in the last few days, Windows 8.1 Update installation fails to a bunch of errors which cannot be fixed for the time being.
Microsoft has already acknowledged one of the errors and released a fix, but again, not all computers appear to be able to install Windows 8.1 Update successfully after deploying Redmond’s patch.
This basically means that users who cannot install Windows 8.1 Update by May 13, no matter if this happens due to technical reasons or simply because they do not want to deploy it, will no longer receive patches via Windows Update, so their computers could become vulnerable to attacks due to unfixed software vulnerabilities.
“The Windows 8.1 Update is a required update to keep Windows 8.1 devices current. It will need to be installed to receive new updates from Windows Update starting on May 13th. Customers who have Automatic Update turned on don’t need to be concerned because the update will be installed for them automatically prior to May 13th,” Microsoft said.
Windows 8.1 Update is obviously free of charge and you have basically no reason to refuse to install it, as it brings plenty of improvements and new options for PC users.