14 DAY TRIAL // The Windows 10 November Update was introduced with much fanfare by Microsoft, as it brought a plethora of improvements to PCs and tablets across the world, but it also made some changes that a number of users are only now discovering.
A long discussion on reddit that has nearly 5,000 upvotes at the time of writing this article reveals that, on some computers, Windows 10 November Update (or Threshold 2, as many people call it) enabled the data collection features that users turned off with third-party apps, such as DisableWinTracking.
In other words, if you previously used an app that disabled telemetry in Windows 10, you might want to check if those settings are still off because Threshold 2 might have automatically re-enabled them all.
November Update re-installs Windows 10
One of the users whose computers got impacted by this unexpected change explains the reason for getting settings reset and says that it's all because the November Update basically re-installs the full operating system from scratch.
“The November (Fall) Update literally reinstalls the entire operating system, which is why program defaults and a lot more end up reverting and disabled things may come back. I honestly hope they improve this upgrade system for the next big update because this has seriously caused a lot of people some trouble,” Puremin0rez posted.
And that's indeed true. As you probably heard, Windows 10 November Update also removed some apps that were installed on users' computers, all because they weren't fully compatible with the new version and could have led to system stability and reliability issues.
It's not surprising that users are accusing Microsoft of silently re-enabling data collection services on their PCs, no matter if this was necessary or not, but this happens for a reason. The company hasn't publicly announced that such a change is possible, so when you do it without letting people know about it, there's always a risk of getting caught and accused of unfair practices.