Microsoft is annoying Windows 10 users with this pop-up
Setup nag screen which has recently been doing the rounds could be confusing for some
Windows 10 has recently once again started displaying a nag pop-up that takes up the whole screen when it appears, which could have some users worrying that their system has installed an update without their knowledge somehow (or that their PC has even been reset).
The full-screen nag prompt enthusiastically addresses users on the subject of ‘making Windows even better’, and as you might guess, the way you can do this is by hooking up your PC and account with other Microsoft services which are linked in the pop-up.
- May 2020 Update is blocked by this security feature
- How to work smarter from home with Windows 10
- We solve 100 common Windows 10 problems
They include Office 365, OneDrive, Your Phone and Windows Hello, and some folks may get déjà vu when seeing this screen, because it’s the exact same one presented to users after first setting up Windows 10.
Windows Latest highlighted the fact that some folks are reporting online that they are suddenly seeing this ‘welcome experience’ nag screen out of the blue recently, and indeed it’s happened to us over the weekend – on both our main desktop PC, and Surface Pro laptop.
So it would seem that Microsoft is going on another push with these prompts, which have surfaced in the past, although usually only after a major update has been completed. This time around, however, the nag is simply appearing when users turn on their PC (or more specifically, when folks sign into their Windows 10 system).
Land of confusion?
As we mentioned at the outset, some users could potentially be confused by the screen, and think that their PC has just had an update applied, or even that it has been reset somehow, given that this nag prompt is one that’s normally delivered after Windows 10 has just been installed.
For those bothered by them, the good news, however, is that it’s possible to turn off these notifications so you never see them again under Windows 10.
Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox
Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.
Simply open the Settings menu (the cog icon if you click on the Start button), click on ‘System’, and then click on ‘Notifications & Actions’. Find the option which says ‘Show me the Windows welcome experience after updates and occasionally when I sign in, to highlight what’s new and suggested’, and make sure this isn’t ticked.
As that wording suggests, evidently the theory is that users may want to see this screen occasionally – and not just after Windows 10 installation – in case there are new Microsoft services which are brought to their attention. Presenting it differently, however, and not just as it appears in setup, might be an idea in order to avoid any potential confusion here.
- These are the best laptops of 2020
- Find out where to buy Windows 10
Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).