Windows 10 is now a recommended download in Windows Update

Feb 2, 2016 05:11 GMT  ·  By

Windows 10 is offered as a free upgrade to users of Windows 7 and 8.1 and to make sure that everyone is aware of that, Microsoft is making a big change in the way the new software is shipped to these systems.

Starting today, Windows 10 is pushed as a recommended download in Windows Update, so it is enabled by default to download all necessary files.

A Microsoft spokesperson told us that this new change is supposed to make the upgrade experience easier for those who are eligible for the free Windows 10 offer.

“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,” he said in a mailed statement.

You’ll still be prompted to install

Even though Windows 10 will be automatically downloaded, Microsoft guarantees that you’ll still be prompted to start the install, so there’s no way you could end up with the new OS on your computer without specifically choosing so.

“Depending upon your Windows Update settings, this may cause the upgrade process to automatically initiate on your device. Before the upgrade changes the OS of your device, you will be clearly prompted to choose whether or not to continue. And of course, if you choose to upgrade (our recommendation!), then you will have 31 days to roll back to your previous Windows version if you don’t love it,” Windows boss Terry Myerson said in October.

Certainly, this should increase the number of PCs running Windows 10, but it can also be a double-edged sword for the software giant: while many people might actually be pleased to see the new OS being offered on their PCs, others might be very angry with the company trying to move them from their current install in such an aggressive manner.