Microsoft stops automatic Windows 10 upgrades, says default checked update was ‘a mistake’

Some Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users this week started reporting they were being forced to upgrade to Windows 10, even though they had not reserved a copy nor indicated in any way they wanted to upgrade. We reached out to Microsoft asking why users were being forced to install Windows 10, and the company replied that the issue came down to an optional update in Windows Update being checked by default. The company has now reverted the checkbox, calling the whole snafu “a mistake.”

For one year, Microsoft is offering free Windows 10 upgrades to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users — one of many strategies the company is employing to achieve its goal of 1 billion devices running Windows 10 “in two to three years.” Microsoft is even downloading Windows 10 in advance so that users will be more likely to complete the free upgrade process.