14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has officially resumed the rollout of Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809), but this time the company is using a more cautious approach and is only offering the revised build to insiders.
The original Windows 10 October 2018 Update version was publicly launched without any testing as part of the Release Preview ring, but the updated image is now pushed to both the Slow and the Release Preview rings.
Users in the Fast and Skip Ahead rings are already on Windows 10 19H1, so Microsoft is using the other two rings to test this new OS image.
There’s no ETA as to when the October update could re-become available for everyone, but Microsoft says that it first wants to run a series of tests and only then decide whether it should be released to all users or not.
“We take the next step towards the re-release of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update by providing the updated version to our Windows Insider community. We will carefully study the results, feedback, and diagnostic data from our Insiders before taking additional steps towards re-releasing more broadly,” Microsoft says.
Public rollout still on hold
In the meantime, Windows 10 October 2018 Update remains blocked for production devices, so you won’t be able to get it from the official channels. ISO images have been pulled too, and Microsoft will re-release them when the rollout resumes.
“We have fully investigated all reports of data loss, identified and fixed all known issues in the update, and conducted internal validation. Also, Microsoft Support and our retail stores customer service personnel are available at no charge to help customers,” the company says.
Since this is still testing in progress, there’s no ETA as to when the rollout could begin for production devices. However, it’s worth noting that the cause of the bug has already been discovered and a fix is part of the latest Insider builds, so it shouldn’t take too long before it reaches public availability stage.