Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (1709) is now fully available

Microsoft has taken a phased approach to the rollout of their Windows 10 feature updates, such as the Fall Creators Update (1709). These updates are sent first to devices which Microsoft and their partners have tested thoroughly, and those which have hardware characteristics that Microsoft believes will have a smooth experience. For the Fall Creators Update (1709), this process started back in October last year and continued until a few days ago, with the end of last week marking the point where the update was fully available to all Windows 10 devices.

With security issues like Meltdown and Spectre showing new classes of vulnerabilities, Microsoft is encouraging all users to keep their feature and security updates current, something which is sensible advice regardless of which operating system you’re running. The Fall Creators Update was the fastest Windows 10 update to reach 100 million devices, although there were more Windows 10 devices to update than when any previous feature updates were released. What is possibly more interesting is that the Fall Creators Update has received the highest level of customer satisfaction compared to all prior updates. This is perhaps a sign that Windows 10 is maturing, and over time the experience is becoming more unified with less fall-back to an older interface (e.g., settings app vs. control panel).

Windows will automatically notify you of the update availability and offer the choice of install times, unless the user is on a metered network, or running a version older than 1609. Similarly, those on Enterprise or Professional editions that have elected to defer updates won’t see the notification, while those whose systems are in an enterprise environment but have automatic updates enabled will start seeing the notification from the 18th of January.