14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has recently acknowledged a new bug in Windows 10, and the company says that the only to fix it is to just go back to the previous version of the operating system.
More specifically, the Redmond-based software giant says that certificates might not be present after updating to a newer version of Windows 10.
And by the looks of things, everything is caused by the latest cumulative updates shipped by the company. The ones to blame are the September 2020 and newer updates, so devices could end up without system and user certificates if they update the operating system with these cumulative updates included.
“System and user certificates might be lost when updating a device from Windows 10, version 1809 or later to a later version of Windows 10,” the company explains.
“Devices will only be impacted if they have already installed any Latest cumulative update (LCU) released September 16, 2020 or later and then proceed to update to a later version of Windows 10 from media or an installation source which does not have an LCU released October 13, 2020 or later integrated. This primarily happens when managed devices are updated using outdated bundles or media through an update management tool such as Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) or Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager. This might also happen when using outdated physical media or ISO images that do not have the latest updates integrated.”
Interestingly enough, not everybody is affected, and Microsoft says that devices that connect directly to Windows Update or those that use Windows Update for Business won’t see this bug, simply because they are always getting the latest cumulative update that also includes the most recent fixes.
The issue affects all versions of Windows 10 released after the October 2018 Update, as it follows:
- Windows 10 version 1903
- Windows 10 version 1909
- Windows 10 version 2004
- Windows 10 version 20H2
- Windows Server version 1903
- Windows Server version 1909
- Windows Server version 2004
- Windows Server version 20H2
Interestingly enough, Microsoft says it is already working on a fix, but in the meantime, the only way to avoid the bug is to just downgrade to the previous version of Windows 10 that you were using before the update. Obviously, if this option is still available, as the downgrade is only allowed in the first 10 or 30 days after installing a new feature update, based on your settings. For consumers, for example, the standard deadline is 10 days after installing a new feature update, as long as the previous OS files haven’t been removed from the device.
“If you have already encountered this issue on your device, you can mitigate it within the uninstall window by going back to your previous version of Windows using the instructions here. The uninstall window might be 10 or 30 days depending on the configuration of your environment and the version you’re updating to,” Microsoft says.
“You will then need to update to the later version of Windows 10 after the issue is resolved in your environment. Note Within the uninstall window, you can increase the number of days you have to go back to your previous version of Windows 10 by using the DISM command /Set-OSUninstallWindow. You must make this change before the default uninstall window has lapsed.”
The software giant says it has already started the work on fixing this bug, and once a patch is available, the company will publish new media to allow users to install new Windows 10 versions without the risk of losing their certificates.