First report of a Win10 Home 1803-to-1903 pushed upgrade over a metered connection

Topic

New Reply

There are many, many reasons why I hesitate to report on update behavior that appears to be one-off. But this one seems particularly ominous. @NorD re
[See the full post at: First report of a Win10 Home 1803-to-1903 pushed upgrade over a metered connection]

4 users thanked author for this post.

Great Lake Bunyip, Elly, GreatAndPowerfulTech, Fred

Reply | Quote

Replies

woody wrote:

Yes, Win10 1803 is three and a half months away from being let out to pasture (Nov. 12).

Yes, but …

Current status as of July 16, 2019:
We are initiating the Windows 10 May 2019 Update for customers with devices that are at or nearing end of service and have not yet updated their device. Keeping these devices both supported and receiving monthly updates is critical to device security and ecosystem health. Based on the large number of devices running the April 2018 Update, that will reach the end of 18 months of service on November 12, 2019, we are starting the update process now for Home and Pro editions to help ensure adequate time for a smooth update process.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-information/status-windows-10-1903

(and it was originally intended to start last month:
“Starting this June, we will begin updating devices running the April 2018 Update, and earlier versions of Windows 10,”
https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2019/05/21/how-to-get-the-windows-10-may-2019-update/ )

3 users thanked author for this post.

rc primak, Great Lake Bunyip, WildBill

Reply | Quote

Yep. I just didn’t expect MS to use metered connections to push the upgrade this early in the game.

Notably, feature update deferral settings in 1803 and 1809 still work (taking into account the deprecation of the “Semi-Annual Channel” setting). I wonder when the deferral settings will no longer be recognized?

3 users thanked author for this post.

Fred, Great Lake Bunyip, WildBill

Reply | Quote

Yes. It has started a few weeks back. Many of my clients got push and several of my test machines as well.

Reply | Quote

… but were they pushed over metered connections?

1 user thanked author for this post.

WildBill

Reply | Quote

It’s a tough one. The alternative is to strictly respect the metered connection, not update the machines at all and result in them going EOL in a few months. I don’t know what the solution is, short of continuing to service all builds indefinitely or making LTSC generally available.

Reply | Quote

I think the point of this post is not that there are automatic upgrades, but that they seem to happen on metered connections, which could lead to higher data costs.

2 users thanked author for this post.

Fred, woody

Reply | Quote

woody wrote:

There are many, many reasons why I hesitate to report on update behavior that appears to be one-off. But this one seems particularly ominous. @NorD re
[See the full post at: First report of a Win10 Home 1803-to-1903 pushed upgrade over a metered connection]

I often wonder to whom machine belongs, at my lap

* _ ... _ *

Reply | Quote

[KP]

For those who are worried, run wushowhide to see if it wants to upgrade and check hide for 1903. Here is hoping it still works.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by KP.

Reply | Quote

[KP]

1803 Home 32-bit

This PC has tried Windows Update recently but Metered Connection is on so it does not do it and only gives me a notification that the Metered Connection is on.

No 1903 Upgrade is showing using WUShowHide. I only get 1803 updates plus KB4023057. Metered Connection on.

I hide KB4023057, SilverLight and a Windows Defender update (because I was not sure what the Defender update was).

I use “Windows 10 Firewall Control” to block a Windows Defender. In this case I unblocked Windows Defender because I wanted to update Defender. This part I may have wrong; I may be blocking some other Microsoft program. I will snip a picture of the blocking and post. I am not on Windows 10 right now.

I turned Metered Connection off.
Update and Security -> and the updates started downloading but KB4023057 was going to download. No way!. I turned Metered Connection back on which stops everything.

I suspect the blocking of Windows Defender / Microsoft program may be helping me.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by KP.

Reply | Quote

Windows Defender is Win10 built-in malware program. It is a patr of Windows you can turn on or off if you want to use another Anti-virus/anti-malware). In any case, you should let it update.

Keep hiding KB4023057 – that  one is to “help” you upgrade.

Reply | Quote

My Win 10 home with metered on always offers updates on Win settings with an attached Download button. However, it seems to have already downloaded the update but does not install it until I do a restart. As soon as I do a restart then, boom, there it goes with no way to stop it.  So I am very careful not to restart until I am ready (as in when Woody gives the all clear!) I have the offered 1903 but still on 1803 as I have not yet done a restart.

Reply | Quote

[Alex5723]

Fred wrote:

I often wonder to whom machine belongs, at my lap

There is nothing to wonder about. The machine belongs to you, the OS is on lease and belongs to Microsoft to do with whatever it pleases, as it is noted on the EULA you have signed when activating your OS.
You could have declined the EULA, which you did not, and get $50 (in case of pre-install Windows) refund from Microsoft.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by Alex5723.

Reply | Quote

I didn’t know about the refund. How does one apply for it? Or were you joking?

-- rc primak

Reply | Quote

rc primak wrote:

I didn’t know about the refund. How does one apply for it? Or were you joking?

Not joking. After declining the EULA during setup and not activating Windows, you can request your OEM or Microsoft to refund you for not using the pre-installed OS.

https://www.linux.com/news/how-get-windows-tax-refund

https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-windows-tax-fight-is-finally-over-buyers-can-get-a-refund-on-their-microsoft-os-in-italy/

1 user thanked author for this post.

rc primak

Reply | Quote

Any more up to date and detailed instructions?And valid in the US for Windows 10?

-- rc primak

Reply | Quote

rc primak wrote:

Any more up to date and detailed instructions?And valid in the US for Windows 10?

I remember an Israeli who got refunded.
Acer will refund you as well :
https://us.answers.acer.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/280/~/how-do-i-obtain-a-refund-for-the-microsoft-windows-operating-system%3F

I am sure other OEMs in US will refund you too.

1 user thanked author for this post.

rc primak

Reply | Quote

Win 10 home 1803 metered connection / manually download defender virus updates weekly (doesn’t download automatically with metered connection).

Will update if 1903 gets pushed.

Reply | Quote

My experience is you need to Metered off to download automatic updates then Meter on to stop it.

Reply | Quote

rc primak wrote:

I didn’t know about the refund. How does one apply for it? Or were you joking?

Hahaha, it’s a peculiar way of thinking. Lots of consumerorganisations, in the US aswell, are quite strickt who and what may and may NOT mess and interfere with my data; whatever uela’s may state…

Microsoft Google Apple Facebook WhatsApp Instagram Pinterest Amazon Bol and many others – dataslurping and missusing the microphone and camera.

Future might become better (?)

* _ ... _ *

Reply | Quote

[MWmC]

Good morning from hazy, hot, and humid NYC. I helped a young acquaintance (new to Windows, and furious about it) with this very problem over the weekend. In her case, she was working on a metered connection (roaming out of the country the previous week) and basically had the data allowance she purchased consumed by the update. She works on a Microsoft Surface Pro 6, by the way; the i7 version. [Edit; and i forgot to mention that she’s on Win 10 Pro 64-bit 1903 already and was updated to 18362.239; sorry; heat getting to me. Well, that and general decrepitude.]

The only idea i have on the subject is that she was wisely using a VPN to connect to the cellular network.

Are we sure that Microsoft recognizes that a VPN connection on top of a cellular connection is still a cellular/metered connection? It seems like it should. It has an option to “allow VPN over metered connections,” but i’m still not sure. On my desktop machine, for example, connected to a home WiFi, the use of my VPN seems to hide the WiFi connection and make it show as generic Ethernet. (It also frequently tells me that i have no internet connection when i clearly do, so something isn’t quite right with Windows and VPN.)

It’s possible that this topic has been discussed before. I apologize if it has. I’m new to the AskWoody and the forum and am not up on past posts.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by MWmC.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by MWmC.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Fred

Reply | Quote

PKCano wrote:

Windows Defender is Win10 built-in malware program

Windows Defender update is called now – Security Intelligence Updates for Microsoft Defender

1 user thanked author for this post.

KP

Reply | Quote

Using wushowhide on July 27 I spotted on my Windows 10 Home 1803 computer the Feature Update to 1903: I promptly hid it in wushowhide, checked that it was hidden and followed the “How to clear the Windows Update queue in Win10” instructions from PKCano. After that, the Windows Update screen reported that all available updates were installed and that the last check had been performed on July 27 around 4 pm.

Today I was surprised to receive a notification that an “update cannot be installed”, so I looked in Windows Update and found the following:

It’s not in English (apologies), but it’s saying that the last check dates back to July 27 at around 4 pm (i.e. the same date when it previously reported no updated being available), but now it is reporting that the Feature Update to 1903 is pending, but cannot be downloaded due to my ethernet connection being set to metered.

I find this extremely annoying and suspicious, since it looks like hiding Feature Update to 1903 in wushowhide was not enough to really hide the update.

2 users thanked author for this post.

rc primak, Fred

Reply | Quote

Hang on to your metered connection and keep hiding it if it’s in wushowhide., but don’t be surprised if you get it anyway. We are getting reports of forced upgrades over metered now.

3 users thanked author for this post.

rc primak, Berserker79, Fred

Reply | Quote

Thanks PKCano. I plan to hang on to the metered connection and keep my fingers crossed. No download of 1903 took place on the metered connection so far, but I’m not too happy sitting here just waiting for it to potentially happen. I’m actually wondering whether to avoid this uncertainty I should upgrade to 1809 using the copy I downloaded back when that was suggested.

What is really interesting, however, is that today my Windows Update screen changed back to the “All available updates installed” and it is no longer reporting the Feature Update to 1903 being pending for download:

I did not take any further steps after yesterday’s notice about the pending download (except running wushowhide which reported nothing available to hide). Also, the “last checked” date did not change. It almost looks like WU tried to push 1903, failed because the connection is set to metered, then on the subsequent reboot realized that I hid the 1903 Feature Update in wushowhide. Does this sound possible?

Reply | Quote

That sounds somewhat possible, but mostly lucky.

Reply | Quote

[KP]

With no blocking and Metered Off, the Windows Updates downloaded including Windows Defender / Security Intelligence Updates.

From the picture Windows Defender is AntiMalware Service.

I still think that blocking Windows Defender is helping to stop Windows Update.

KB4023057 did not get blocked, WUShowHide only blocked SilverLight and nothing else.

I can’t uninstall KB4023057. I have two choices: System Restore to go back or move forward to 1809. My preferred choice is 1803 and moving to 1809 in November.

I think I have seen somewhere how WUShowHide may not block going forward and I saw how it does not block some updates. Be forewarned.

It may also be a good idea to take a screenshot of all the patches that available for hiding (WUShowHide), to see what you need to manually download.

I do install the Windows Defender definitions but not every day. It even works from a Standard User privilege. [For me, anti-virus has not caught / stopped anything for a decade however I try to be very careful. You should follow PKCano’s advice and update all the time. Only update occasional, if you feel you have other defensive measures to ensure you will not get compromised so YMMV.]

The Windows Updates I was not sure about, is Security Intelligence Updates. Thanks

• This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by KP.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by KP.

Reply | Quote

Some of my users are at 1709, most are at 1809. I am clean-installing 1809 on an extra PC, putting all of their stuff on the extra PC, then swapping out with them. This is how I am moving them each to 1809.

I now have most of them moved to 1809. Once I am done with that, I will clean install 1903 and see what happens. Hopefully I will be able to set Group Policy to defer feature updates. I had better be able to set Group Policy to block preview updates and not include driver updates, or we won’t move to 1903.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

Reply | Quote

Decided to load Win 10 home 1903 (Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid!). Prepare for 2 hours on 100 Mbps network. Open Win Settings. Showed 1903 Update available with gray Download button since I have Metered On. Thought already downloaded (see my comment above). Restarted to see if previously downloaded. Nope. Clicked Download. Win Settings said it was a 3.5 GB download but my Ethernet Status showed it downloaded 3.94 GB. Wired Ethernet status showed speed 100 Mbps but Activity Monitor showed Delivery Optimization at only 15 Mbps. As downloading, Win Settings/Feature Update showed status “Initializing” but Ethernet status showing downloading. (Very misleading Settings status!) 2019 08 Update below that showed Status: Pending Install. After a very long download a fairly quick install ended with “Error- 0x80070002 Retry”. ( I have learned by now Retry does not work without a Restart first!) Restarted. Same Retry message. Retried. This time Status: Preparing to install xx%. Then after another long time Status: Installing: xx%. The percentages rose fairly quickly until 93% that sat there forever. Then again 96% sat there forever. At 100%, Auto Restarted and normal old Win 8.1 blue screens started working with numerous restarts. Finally after 2 hours got new Win 10, which like all other Web site “improvements” seems to just redesign the same thing with more mouse clicks needed to get to the same thing. (Why do Web sites keep adding more mouse clicks to get to the same function? Why do we have to reload an entire 4 GB operating system every time for an improvement? This is expensive in time and bandwidth!! How can the average non IT home user even get through this gauntlet? Why can’t we return to that very simple, user friendly Win 8.1 update process?) Ugh!!

One other tip: MS Office will not update with Metered on. It pretends to download but Ethernet Status shows no downloading. You have to turn metered off, then check for updates. Then it does its thing. Then turn Metered back on. Ugh!!

 

Reply | Quote