14 DAY TRIAL // The upcoming Windows 10 version 2004 comes with plenty of new features, which makes total sense given the previous release, also known as the November 2019 Update, was mostly focused on improvements under the hood.
One of the new goodies that are part of version 2004 concerns the way apps are automatically restarted after signing in to Windows following a system reboot.
As long-time Windows 10 users probably know already, similar capabilities were already available in Windows 10, allowing Win32 software to automatically relaunch when resuming after a computer restart.
In other words, this feature was supposed to restart your apps automatically to recover your working session after the machine rebooted either to install an update or for a different reason. This made the reboot itself more seamless, making resuming work more convenient for everyone.
In the previous versions of Windows 10, however, this feature was only available for Win32 programs, without support for modern apps. This is changing with the release of the spring 2020 update, with Microsoft also moving the option to a new location. The company says this is all happening thank to user feedback in this regard.
“As some of you already know, apps have the ability to register for restart, which helps in a few situations, including enabling you to get back to what you were doing if you need to restart your PC. Previously this option was tied to the “Use my sign-in info to automatically finish setting up my device” option under Sign-in options in accounts settings. We’ve heard feedback that some of you would prefer more explicit control over when Windows automatically restarts apps that were open when you restart your PC, and with 20H1 we’re bringing that option to you,” the company says.
So beginning with Windows 10 version 2004, there’s an option that controls both Microsoft Store apps and Win32 programs, enabling them to auto-restart after logging back to Windows following a system reboot.
The option is located at:
Windows 10 > Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Restart apps
Automatically save my restartable apps when I sign out and restart them after I sign in
By default, this option is turned off in Windows 10 version 2004, so you must enable it manually if you want the apps to automatically restart after a reboot.
“Windows now puts you in control with a new app restart setting. When turned on, Windows automatically saves your restartable apps when signing out, restarting, or shutting down Windows, and restarts them next time you sign in,” Microsoft says.
Rumor has it that Windows 10 version 2004 has already been finalized in December, so right now, Microsoft is only giving the update the last-minute polishing to make sure everything is running as smoothly as possible. The public rollout should kick off in April or May, with the whole thing to happen in stages in order to give Microsoft more time to track down potential issues and prevent them from hitting a bigger number of devices.
Microsoft is yet to announce the official launch date of this new feature update, but it’s expected to be signed off in the coming weeks, with insiders to receive the RTM build any day now.