Why it matters to you
If you’re the kind of Windows user that likes to install updates on your own terms, the Creators Update looks set to make things a little more difficult.
One of Microsoft’s biggest ambitions for Windows 10 is to ensure that all Windows users are keeping pace with the latest updates. Now, a change slated to take effect with the release of the Creators Update is set to remove one of the ways users could control when their system would download and install new builds.
Earlier this week, users in the fast ring of the Windows Insider program received build 15058, which is thought to be very close to the release version of the Creators Update. The build makes an important change to the Windows Update section of the Settings utility.
Previously, users could opt out of downloading updates when they were on a metered connection like paid Wi-Fi or a data plan, to help protect them from accidentally blazing through their bandwidth allowance or racking up a hefty bill. Users who wanted to delay or prevent an update for other purposes could set their connection as metered to take advantage of this feature.
More: Windows 10 Creators Update is now in the queue for an April release
However, the latest build of Windows 10 makes a major change to the relationship between metered connections and new updates, according to a report from Windows Super Site. Now, updates that are “required to keep Windows running smoothly” will be downloaded whether or not the user is working with a metered connection.
There’s currently no word on which updates will be classified as essential. The decision basically falls to Microsoft, which means that users will no longer have the control that they were afforded by hiding behind a metered connection.
This change has only just taken effect in the preview build, so it could still be reversed before it ever makes it to the public build. However, it seems likely that metered connections won’t be able to delay updates unconditionally once the Creators Update is released next month.