Windows 10 Users Are Grumpy Over Forced Updates And Unwanted Apps

Windows 10 users are expressing frustration about the most recent software update that caught many users by surprise, shutting down their system with little warning (assuming they didn't have it set to do otherwise) and installing unwanted apps. The update has been a point of contention between users, with some stating that Microsoft is overstepping its bounds and others pointing toward users as the real issue.

Earlier in its life, Windows 10 earned the ire of many users by forcing updates. Many users reported losing their work or being forced to pause in their activities for long periods of time while the system updated itself, preventing them from hitting their deadlines, forcing them to restart tests or any number of things they may have been doing when the update happened.

At this point in time, Windows 10 users are now given various management options to delay or schedule these updates, plus there are prompts that encourage the user to click to delay an upcoming update. The only problem? That prompt may appear when you've stepped away from your laptop for a few minutes and the average user is largely unaware of the need to manage updates before those updates arrive.

Case in point is the most recent Windows update that caught many users by surprise; reports have rolled in over the past couple of days from those who say they lost work or were otherwise disrupted by the updates. Once the system restarted, ire generally grew as these users found new icons for Microsoft's web office apps that weren't there before.

These web app icons appear in the Start menu and open in Microsoft's Edge browser, which only recently caused a similar upset as users found it launched full-screen after the forced installation. This change appears to have covered all Windows varieties, not just Home users or Insiders, which itself has been a point of criticism.

Because these are Progressive Web Apps, they don't take up any of the user's storage or resources — and they can be convenient for users who don't want to manually navigate to the apps' respective websites. With that said, Microsoft's failure to ask users permission to install these apps has many crying foul, particularly when the forced addition disrupts one's workflow.

For those who haven't taken advantage of the features yet, Microsoft has a support document detailing how to manage system updates, a feature that can be found in the Settings menu. However, this feature does come with limitation — there's a 'pause limit' on updates that, once it runs out, will force the user to install the updates before pausing the next one.

Likewise, some users (like myself) have reported issues with scheduling updates, essentially scheduling an update to take place at a convenient time, only to have the system repeatedly warn that it is about to update, eventually catching the user off-guard while they're away from their desk. Aside from managing updates, critics have pointed out that users have the option of abandoning Windows 10 entirely for a desktop-centric Linux alternative like Solus.