What to do if the May update isn’t working as expected

Jun 5, 2020 05:56 GMT  ·  By

Windows 10 May 2020 Update is finally here, and it goes without saying that so many rush to install it in order to see what Microsoft has been working on for so long.

And this isn’t necessarily surprising, as the May update lands after the November 2019 Update, or version 1909, which was often described as “a little more than a service pack” because it brought few new features and was mostly focused on under-the-hood improvements.

So the May 2020 Update is here, though only for some users (Microsoft is offering it as a manual download via Windows Update for those who run Windows 10 version 1903 and 1909 – this means you need to manually check for updates to be offered the update if your device is eligible).

But out of those who rush to install the update, some find out the May 2020 Update isn’t running as smoothly as they expected it to run, and because it’ll take time for Microsoft to resolve everything, they want to go back to the previous version of the operating system.

There are basically two different ways to do this:

  • the hard way
  • the easy way

The hard way is the one that allows you to start from scratch on your previous Windows 10 version, only that in this case, you’re going to lose all your files and installed apps.

If any backups were created before updating to version 2004, you could restore them after going back to your original OS installation, but if they weren’t, then you have no other option here.

The method involves using the dedicated ISO images or creating bootable media using the Media Creation Tool and essentially clean-install Windows 10 with the version that you were running prior to the update. As said, this isn’t the most convenient approach, but if you already created backups or you don’t care about your files, it’s one pretty fast way to deal with the whole thing.

Just make sure that you download the right version of the Media Creation Tool – Microsoft has released different builds for each version of Windows 10.

Downgrading to the previous Windows 10 version

The easy way is only available if you installed Windows 10 May 2020 Update less than 10 days ago. Given the update was published last week, you can still use it, but if you wait for a few more days, this method will expire.

The whole thing relies on a downgrading option that comes bundled with Windows 10 and which takes care of everything for you. To find the option, go to:

Windows 10 > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Go back to the previous version of Windows 10 Once you press the Get started button, Windows 10 should guide you throughout the whole process, as it has all been designed as a wizard that only requires a few steps before kicking off the recovery task.

What you need to know, however, is that the downgrade takes much more time than a clean-install, and this is because all your data and apps must be migrated to the previous OS installation.

However, this is obviously the more convenient way to go because it just requires a few clicks on your side. As a recommendation, you can start the process late in the evening just before going to bed, so when you wake up, your computer should be running the previous Windows 10 version with all your data just where it’s supposed to be.

Keep in mind, however, that this method is only available for 10 days after installing the May 2020 Update, as the OS then removes the files that are required for the downgrade.

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Downgrading to the previous Windows 10 version
Downgrading to the previous Windows 10 version
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