• What, exactly, does the switch in Win10 1803 from “Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted)” to “Semi-Annual Channel NOT (Targeted)” really mean?

    Posted on July 11, 2018 at 10:13 CDT by • Comment in the Forums

    I’m struggling with this one. I see how the Windows 10 Release Information page has been changed, dropping the old footnote about “reflect existing deferral policies” (which I never understood in the first place).

    Now that it’s “Semi-Annual Channel NOT (Targeted),” what does that mean? Really.

    Susan Bradley tackled the topic last week. I don’t see any definitive conclusions — or even a hint as to what yesterday’s change really means.

    Hold the hand waving. I want to know what the typical Win10 user or admin will see.

    Here’s what I have so far:

    Win10 April 2018 update — good ol’ version 1803 — now appears in the Windows 10 release information list as “Semi-Annual Channel.” What’s more the bizarre blurb that appeared as a footnote in that post on Tuesday morning is now gone:

    (1) Windows 10, version 1803 designation has been updated to reflect the servicing option available in the operating system and to reflect existing deferral policies. We recommend organizations broadly deploy the latest version of Windows 10 when they are ready, and not wait until the “Targeted” designation has been removed.

    … surely one of the worst cases of Microsoft bafflegab ever.

    On June 14, Microsoft declared:

    Based on the update quality and reliability we are seeing through our AI approach, we are now expanding the release broadly to make the April 2018 Update (version 1803) fully available for all compatible devices running Windows 10 worldwide. Full availability is the final phase of our rollout process.

    Now, it seems, version 1803 has been kicked up from “(Targeted)” to, uh, Not (Targeted) — without fanfare, and with no explanation. How Not (Targeted) differs from “fully available” remains a mystery.

    It appears as if this change in the footnote is a warning that version 1803 is headed out to 1703 or 1709 machines that are set to defer upgrades awaiting “Current Branch for Business” (1703) or “Semi-Annual Channel” (1709) and with the feature update deferral set to 0.

    Windows Patches/Security
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