14 DAY TRIAL // It’s a big week for Windows 10, not only because Microsoft is now giving the finishing touches to version 21H1, the next feature update to go live for the operating system, but also because the company is rolling out new security patches as part of its monthly Patch Tuesday cycle.
The May 2021 rollout, however, is the last one for Windows 10 version 1909, also known as November 2019 Update, with Microsoft to then discontinue this particular release and require users to update their devices to a newer version.
Microsoft has already warned on several occasions that devices running Windows 10 version 1909 would no longer receive new updates after the May 2021 Patch Tuesday, explaining that the following SKUs would be retired and will therefore be considered unsupported:
- Windows 10 Home, version 1909
- Windows 10 Pro, version 1909
- Windows 10 Pro Education, version 1909
- Windows 10 Pro for Workstations, version 1909
Too many devices still running Windows 10 version 1909
The bad news for everybody, including Microsoft too, is that Windows 10 version 1909 is still a widely-used operating system. According to data provided by AdDuplex for the month of April 2021, Windows 10 November 2019 Update was running on 11.1 percent of all Windows 10 devices out there, which means it was the third most popular version of the OS.
For comparison, Windows 10 version 2004 was the top choice with 40.6 percent, while Windows 10 version 20H2 was the runner-up with 40.1 percent. Windows 10 November 2019 Update is therefore still running on more than 1 in 10 Windows 10 computers out there, which means all these devices would no longer receive security updates and therefore remain vulnerable to any exploits that would be discovered in the coming weeks and months.