14 DAY TRIAL // May 13 is the day when Microsoft officially rolls out this month's Patch Tuesday updates, but at the same time, it's also the controversial moment when the company cuts off patches for Windows 8.1.
The company announced approximately 3 weeks ago that Windows 8.1 users had 30 days to install Windows 8.1 Update on their computers. Otherwise, their systems would no longer get patched, Microsoft warned, as 8.1 Update is considered a mandatory installation for everyone running Windows 8.1.
The reason was as simple as it could be. Microsoft explained that all future improvements would be based on Windows 8.1 Update, so without deploying this new OS version, it's practically impossible to get upcoming patches.
But, ever since it officially introduced Windows 8.1 Update, a lot of users permanently struggled to deploy it on their PCs due to a number of errors showing up during installation. Microsoft indeed provided several workarounds, but some made absolutely no difference, so many consumers are still stuck on Windows 8.1 even though they really want to install Windows 8.1 Update.
That's why the May 13 deadline isn't quite the best news for them. Microsoft's original announcement remains unchanged, which means that the company is really keen on cutting off Windows 8.1 patches next week.
“Since Microsoft wants to ensure that customers benefit from the best support and servicing experience and to coordinate and simplify servicing across both Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8.1 RT and Windows 8.1, this update will be considered a new servicing/support baseline,” the original announcement published on Technet reads.
“What this means is those users who have elected to install updates manually will have 30 days to install Windows 8.1 Update on Windows 8.1 devices; after this 30-day window -- and beginning with the May Patch Tuesday, Windows 8.1 users' devices without the update installed will no longer receive security updates.”
Users are obviously disappointed with Microsoft's decision and call for the company to first deal with the issues and only then pull the plug on Windows 8.1 updates. Those who do not install 8.1 update in time will only be provided with a single patch in Windows Update that would allow them to deploy the new OS version regardless of the device they're using. Once they switch to Windows 8.1 Update, their computers could get the rest of the fixes released by Microsoft as part of the Patch Tuesday rollouts.