Microsoft releases new cumulative update to insiders

Oct 13, 2020 15:49 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has officially released Windows 10 cumulative update KB4586238 to users enrolled in the Dev channel, and contrary to what you may expect from such a patch, no big change is included.

Instead, the Redmond-based software giant itself explains that this update doesn’t bring anything new for Windows 10 but is only supposed to help the company testing the servicing pipeline.

So in other words, it’s just a testing update that users in the Dev channel and running Windows 10 build 20231 are getting to help Microsoft test the way updates are shipped on Windows Update. If you want to determine if KB4586238 is already on your device, just check the OS build number.

If it’s installed, then the new OS build number is 20231.1005 – click the Start menu, type winver, and that’s it.

“We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 20231.1005 (KB4586238). You may not see this update right away, but it’s rolling out into this evening. This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline. We identified and fixed the bug that caused the previous Cumulative Update to not install as reported by Windows Insiders last month,” Microsoft said.

Other than that, Windows 10 build 20231 is pretty much unchanged, so you still get the same changes that were announced on October 7.

The most important of them is the new OOBE experience which provides users with multiple options when setting up a new Windows 10 device. These options make it possible to customize the PC for a specific purpose, such as gaming, business, or entertainment, with Windows 10 to then suggest a series of settings that would better optimize the OS for the activity you’re interested in.

However, this screen is pretty much the only thing you’re getting as part of this build, as Microsoft says that the feature is still in its early days and it could take a while until it’s ready for full testing.

“This is the initial wave of work for this feature, and Insiders may notice different options presented in OOBE depending on what they select, however at this time Insiders will not notice any other configuration differences after exiting OOBE. We look forward to sharing future improvements in this space,” Microsoft explains.

“This feature is rolling out to a subset of Insiders in the Dev Channel at first, to help us quickly identify issues that may impact performance and reliability. Rest assured they will be gradually rolled out to everyone in the Dev Channel. NOTE: You will see this feature if you choose to reset your PC and when you do a clean install of Windows.”

Windows 10 improvements that are shipped as part of the Dev channel don’t have a specific ETA, as Microsoft says that it just wants to test new features and then ship them to users when they are ready. In other words, the aforementioned OOBE screen doesn’t have a launch date, which means that it obviously won’t be part of the next feature update expected to ship this month.

The new Windows 10 feature release is the October 2020 Update, also known as version 20H2, and according to Microsoft itself, the RTM build has already been finalized and shipped to insiders in the Release Preview ring. The official rollout kickoff is supposed to be announced any day now, with Microsoft to offer the update to version 20H2 in stages, just like before.

Windows 10 October 2020 Update, however, won’t be a major release, but only something similar to a service pack, with the focus mostly on under the hood improvements.