We are not tricking anyone into installing Windows 10: Microsoft

Microsoft said it is not tricking users on Windows 7 and 8.1 to upgrade to Windows 10, as was recently reported.

Recent changes in the way the Windows 10 upgrade is delivered to customers is an effort to ensure that everyone who wants their free upgrade to Windows 10 receives it, said Microsoft.

However, some users are dismissing the scheduled upgrade notification without reading it, said Anthony Doherty, the Windows business group lead for Microsoft South Africa.

Doherty said the notification explains that the upgrade has been scheduled, and that a link is provided to let you reschedule or cancel it if you wish.

Some Windows 7 and 8.1 users complained about Microsoft’s decision to automatically schedule the upgrade and how it styled the notification.

We posed questions about these complaints to Doherty.

Why enable the close button (red X) on the notification?

Among the complaints was that the red “close” button was active, suggesting that a “cancel” operation was available.

However, clicking the red “X” only dismissed the notification window – it did not cancel the scheduled update.

Doherty said the close icon is only intended to indicate to users that they are closing something, not cancelling or stopping the process.

Why push the upgrade?

Another change that upset users was that Microsoft made the Windows 10 upgrade a recommended update.

This means that under the default update settings for Windows, the upgrade (around 3GB, according to Microsoft) is downloaded automatically.

Doherty said Microsoft made Windows 10 a recommended update because of customer feedback.

A number of clients reported they had reserved their upgrades, but had not received their update – so Microsoft made it an optional update.

Further feedback regarding the number of steps needed to upgrade to Windows 10 by applying the optional update resulted in Microsoft making it a recommended update.

Doherty said they are mindful about the broadband challenges in the South African market.

However, there has been pressure from customers locally and abroad to get their free upgrade before Microsoft’s free Windows 10 promotion ends on 29 July.

More on Windows 10

How to stop Windows 10 from installing automatically

The new features coming to Windows 10

Microsoft “tricks” users into upgrading to Windows 10

Windows 10 RAM requirements increased

Windows 10 free upgrade to end soon