Windows 10 update history

Windows 10, version 1909 and Windows Server, version 1909

Updates for Windows 10, version 1909 and Windows Server, version 1909

Windows 10 is a service, which means it gets better through periodic software updates.

The great news is you usually don’t have to do anything! If you have enabled automatic updates, new updates will automatically download and install whenever they’re available, so you don’t have to think about it.

On the left side of this page, you’ll find a list of all the updates released for this version of Windows. You can also find more information about releases and any known issues. Installing the most recent update ensures that you also get any previous updates you might have missed, including any important security fixes.

For more information about the update and how to get it, see:

What’s new for Windows 10, version 1909 and Windows 10, version 1903 release notes

Windows 10, versions 1903 and 1909 share a common core operating system and an identical set of system files. As a result, the new features in Windows 10, version 1909 were included in the recent monthly quality update for Windows 10, version 1903 (released October 8, 2019), but are currently in a dormant state. These new features will remain dormant until they are turned on using an enablement package, which is a small, quick-to-install “master switch” that simply activates the Windows 10, version 1909 features.

To reflect this change, the release notes for Windows 10, version 1903 and Windows 10, version 1909 will share an update history page. Each release page will contain a list of addressed issues for both 1903 and 1909 versions. Note that the 1909 version will always contain the fixes for 1903; however, 1903 will not contain the fixes for 1909. This page will provide you with the build numbers for both 1909 and 1903 versions so that it will be easier for support to assist you if you encounter issues.

For more details about the enablement package and how to get the feature update, see the Windows 10, version 1909 delivery options blog.

Current status of Windows 10, version 1909 and Windows Server, version 1909

For the most up-to-date information about Known Issues for Windows and Windows Server, please go to the Windows release health dashboard.

Notes and messages

General

IMPORTANT Release notes are changing! To learn about the new URL, metadata updates, and more, see What’s next for Windows release notes.

IMPORTANT Starting in July 2020, we will resume non-security releases for Windows 10 and Windows Server, version 1809 and later. There is no change to the cumulative monthly security updates (also referred to as the «B» release or Update Tuesday release). For more information, see the blog post Resuming optional Windows 10 and Windows Server non-security monthly updates.

IMPORTANT Starting in July 2020, all Windows Updates will disable the RemoteFX vGPU feature because of a security vulnerability. For more information about the vulnerability, seeCVE-2020-1036 and KB4570006. After you install this update, attempts to start virtual machines (VM) that have RemoteFX vGPU enabled will fail, and messages such as the following will appear:

If you re-enable RemoteFX vGPU, a message similar to the following will appear:

“The virtual machine cannot be started because all the RemoteFX-capable GPUs are disabled in Hyper-V Manager.”

“The virtual machine cannot be started because the server has insufficient GPU resources.”

«We no longer support the RemoteFX 3D video adapter. If you are still using this adapter, you may become vulnerable to security risk. Learn more (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2131976)”

What’s new for Windows 10, version 1909 and Windows 10, version 1903 release notes

Windows 10, versions 1903 and 1909 share a common core operating system and an identical set of system files. As a result, the new features in Windows 10, version 1909 were included in the recent monthly quality update for Windows 10, version 1903 (released October 8, 2019), but are currently in a dormant state. These new features will remain dormant until they are turned on using an enablement package, which is a small, quick-to-install “master switch” that simply activates the Windows 10, version 1909 features.

To reflect this change, the release notes for Windows 10, version 1903 and Windows 10, version 1909 will share an update history page. Each release page will contain a list of addressed issues for both 1903 and 1909 versions. Note that the 1909 version will always contain the fixes for 1903; however, 1903 will not contain the fixes for 1909. This page will provide you with the build numbers for both 1909 and 1903 versions so that it will be easier for support to assist you if you encounter issues.

For more details about the enablement package and how to get the feature update, see the Windows 10, version 1909 delivery options blog.

Troubleshooting

If you have questions or need help activating or troubleshooting Windows, see our help topics below:

For information about how to update, see Update Windows 10.

If you have questions about manually installing or removing an update, see Windows Update: FAQ.

Getting an error message when updating? See Troubleshoot problems updating Windows 10.

If you need to activate Windows, see Activation in Windows 10. If you’re having trouble with activation, see Get help with Windows activation errors.

To get the latest major update to Windows 10, see Get the Windows 10 November 2019 Update.

Why Microsoft Announced Windows 10 Is ‘The Last Version Of Windows’

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The Internet woke up to a shock this morning. Microsoft has used its Ignite 2015 conference to declare Windows 10 will be «the last version of Windows» . The reaction has been predictably alarmist, but what exactly does it mean and is this really the end for Windows as we know it?

First some context. The statement came from Microsoft employee Jerry Nixon, a self proclaimed ‘developer evangelist’ who stated: «Right now we’re releasing Windows 10, and because Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, we’re all still working on Windows 10.»

If this sounds strange, Microsoft didn’t help. The company today stepped forward to defend Nixon’s comment to The Verge saying it was “reflective” of the company’s opinion. So what is going on? Is Windows 10 really the end?

It’s Windows, But Not Like You Know It

The simplistic response is: No. Windows is not going anywhere. What is now clearly and undeniably changing, however, is how Microsoft will brand, develop, update and expect us to pay for Windows after Windows 10.

Microsoft has designed Windows 10 to run everything — Image credit Microsoft

“Windows will be delivered as a service bringing new innovations and updates in an ongoing manner, with continuous value for our consumer and business customers,» explained Microsoft in its full statement to the Verge. “We aren’t speaking to future branding at this time, but customers can be confident Windows 10 will remain up-to-date and power a variety of devices from PCs to phones to Surface Hub to HoloLens and Xbox. We look forward to a long future of Windows innovations.”

Extract the marketing speak and what the future appears to be is ‘Windows’ — no version number, just ‘Windows’.

This will be a single, homogenous entity powering all hardware Microsoft has and delivering an ongoing stream of updates. These updates may technically carry code numbers or names, but they won’t be heavily flagged and most users will simply see themselves as running ‘Windows’ — a platform which is always the latest software Microsoft has to offer. That means no more XP, 7, 8.1 or 10 and maybe software which runs iOS and Android apps

But what about ‘free’?

Which brings us to a key question: Microsoft has already stated that anyone who upgrades from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 within a year of its release will get the new platform for “free”. If this were applied to any previous version of Windows that would mean “free for as long as I use it”.

But now it is becoming increasingly clear that under the new vision of an all encompassing ‘Windows as a service’ this will not and cannot be the case. Or can it?

Gallery: Windows 10 Update Event

Microsoft’s wording suggests that in being “the last version of Windows” Windows 10 must transform into the all encompassing ‘Windows’ during its life cycle. If not it wouldn’t be the last major version of Windows, the subsequent everlasting ‘Windows’ would be.

So how will Microsoft decide where to draw the line with ‘free’? It is highly unlikely that those who move to Windows 10 within the first year will not be charged for a Windows update, upgrade or major new feature ever again.

Personally I think Microsoft will have a fixed point in mind, perhaps much like Apple does when it draws the line on which devices will get the next major version of iOS. In other words: the software is free until it’s not… so cross your fingers!

Next page: What is the alternative and will it work?

In Defence of Microsoft: There’s No Decent Alternative

At this point I suspect there are a great many of you who hate this idea. That’s not surprising. There remains a powerful appeal to the sense of ownership. DVDs and CDs versus Netflix and Spotify.

But this is at odds with where software development is heading. In a rapidly moving world it is no longer good enough to work on a major operating system release every 3 to 5 years, push it as a big upgrade which causes upheaval to install and issue Service Packs once a year. The future is evolutionary, ongoing updates where the monetary value cannot be equated to a one-off payment.

In short the last thing Microsoft wants is another Windows XP situation where a single payment at its launch in 2001 resulted in 13 years of free development and tech support followed by customer scorn when it eventually called time. Endless warranties do not make for a practical business model — especially for software which has been pirated time and time again.

Windows 10 on laptop and smartphone — image credit Microsoft

Of course there is an alternative for angry customers: jump ship to any one of hundreds of open source platforms and I’m sure many will (even though a lot also charge for ongoing support, rather than the software itself).

All of which begs a bigger question: has Microsoft got this new Windows strategy right? Personally I think it has, but it comes with the very large caveat of how often and how much users are charged.

I also think it won’t be possible for customers to pressurise Microsoft to go back. Last month Mark Russinovich, CTO of Microsoft’s Azure Cloud platform, admitted the future of Windows could be as open source software. Which ultimately means Microsoft has given more consideration to giving Windows away in future than it has to continuing the existing model.

“Like I said, it’s a new Microsoft” explained Russinovich when pushed on the company’s increasingly clear desire to split from its past.

Like it or not, I think we’re all starting to get that message.

I am an experienced freelance technology journalist. I have written for Wired, The Next Web, TrustedReviews, The Guardian and the BBC in addition to Forbes. I began in

I am an experienced freelance technology journalist. I have written for Wired, The Next Web, TrustedReviews, The Guardian and the BBC in addition to Forbes. I began in b2b print journalism covering tech companies at the height of the dot com boom and switched to covering consumer technology as the iPod began to take off. A career highlight for me was being a founding member of TrustedReviews. It started in 2003 and we were repeatedly told websites could not compete with print! Within four years we were purchased by IPC Media (Time Warner’s publishing division) to become its flagship tech title. What fascinates me are the machinations of technology’s biggest companies. Got a pitch, tip or leak? Contact me on my professional Facebook page. I don’t bite.

Why Microsoft is calling Windows 10 ‘the last version of Windows’

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«Right now we’re releasing Windows 10, and because Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, we’re all still working on Windows 10.» That was the message from Microsoft employee Jerry Nixon, a developer evangelist speaking at the company’s Ignite conference this week. Nixon was explaining how Microsoft was launching Windows 8.1 last year, but in the background it was developing Windows 10. Now, Microsoft employees can talk freely about future updates to Windows 10 because there’s no secret update in the works coming next. It’s all just Windows 10. While it immediately sounds like Microsoft is killing off Windows and not doing future versions, the reality is a little more complex. The future is «Windows as a service.»

It’s all about Windows as a service

Microsoft has been discussing the idea of Windows as a service, but the company hasn’t really explained exactly how that will play out with future versions of Windows. That might be because there won’t really be any future major versions of Windows in the foreseeable future. Microsoft has altered the way it engineers and delivers Windows, and the initial result is Windows 10. Instead of big releases, there will be regular improvements and updates. Part of this is achieved by splitting up operating system components like the Start Menu and built-in apps to be separate parts that can be updated independently to the entire Windows core operating system. It’s a big undertaking, but it’s something Microsoft has been actively working on for Windows 10 to ensure it spans across multiple device types.

While we’ll witness the results in the coming months, Microsoft is already in launch mode for a number of its apps and services that power Windows 10. The software company is testing preview builds of Window 10 with willing participants, and apps like Xbox and Mail have been engineered for regularly monthly updates. Even Office for Windows 10 will also get regular updates, much like a mobile version, instead of the big bang release every few years.

Windows isn’t dead, but the idea of version numbers could be

When I reached out to Microsoft about Nixon’s comments, the company didn’t dismiss them at all. «Recent comments at Ignite about Windows 10 are reflective of the way Windows will be delivered as a service bringing new innovations and updates in an ongoing manner, with continuous value for our consumer and business customers,» says a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement to The Verge. «We aren’t speaking to future branding at this time, but customers can be confident Windows 10 will remain up-to-date and power a variety of devices from PCs to phones to Surface Hub to HoloLens and Xbox. We look forward to a long future of Windows innovations.»

With Windows 10, it’s time to start thinking of Windows as something that won’t see a big launch or major upgrade every few years anymore. Much like how Google’s Chrome browser gets updated regularly with version numbers nobody really pays attention to, Microsoft’s approach will likely result in a similar outcome. This is really the idea of Windows as a service, and the notion that Windows 10 could be the last major version of Windows. Microsoft could opt for Windows 11 or Windows 12 in future, but if people upgrade to Windows 10 and the regular updates do the trick then everyone will just settle for just «Windows» without even worrying about the version number.

Verge Video: Hands-on with Windows 10