14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has confirmed that its Windows 7 wallpaper bugfix would be shipped to all users, not just to those paying for extended support.
Windows 7 reached the end of support on January 14 this year, so theoretically, it’s already out of support, which means it shouldn’t be receiving any other updates and bug fixes.
However, shortly after the final update shipped, some discovered that the desktop wallpaper feature was broken down, and the culprit appeared to be exactly this final update. Removing the update corrected the problem but instead left computers without the last security updates that Windows 7 received.
Fix on its way
The bug caused the Windows 7 desktop wallpaper to switch to black when the Stretch mode was used. It took only a few days for Microsoft to acknowledge the problem, and in an update published a few days ago, the company explained that it was already working on a fix. Its wording, however, suggested only those paying for custom support (available after the January 14 end of support) would be provided with this fix.
Now Microsoft says the fix would be released to everyone still running Windows 7, which kind of makes sense given that an update is what causes the problem. The company, however, hasn’t provided any specifics as to when this patch could go live, but there’s a chance it would get the go-ahead the next Patch Tuesday which takes place on February 11.
Microsoft releasing an update for an unsupported Windows version isn’t necessarily unusual. Back in 2017, Microsoft issued an emergency security update for Windows XP in order to secure the operating system against the WannaCry ransomware that wreaked havoc worldwide. Windows XP officially reached the end of support on April 8, 2014, but Microsoft decided to patch it anyway given the security threat.