Windows 10 May 2019 Update is now being readied for release

Windows 10
Image credit: Microsoft

The Windows 10 May 2019 Update has entered the final stage of testing, with the upgrade expected to be rolled out starting the end of May.

In other words, Microsoft has pushed the May 2019 Update to the Release Preview ring within its Windows Insider beta testing program. As the name suggests, this is the final step in the testing process before release, where the update will be polished to a shine (hopefully).

This is no surprise, as Microsoft indicated that going to Release Preview was imminent when applying another round of tweaks and bug fixes last week. The software giant also underlined the fact that the May 2019 Update will spend an extra-long spell in this stage of the testing process, to make sure it gets things right.

Microsoft notes: “The May 2019 Update will remain in the Release Preview ring for an increased amount of time in order give us additional time and signals to detect any issues before broader deployment.”

October bug-fest

You’re unlikely to have missed the huge amount of problems which have plagued the current October 2018 Update, which is still very much rolling out, thanks to delays caused by said hitches. It’s obvious that Microsoft is going to great lengths to avoid anything like a repeat of this calamity.

Release Preview ring testers can now grab the May 2019 Update, but it won’t be delivered to them automatically. Initially, only ‘seekers’ will get the upgrade, meaning those who manually check for it under Windows Update.

As the May 2019 Update has made the jump to Release Preview, Microsoft further notes that testers on the Fast ring will now be moved to work with the 20H1 update – the next major upgrade due to go live around this time next year.

The first 'bits' from 19H2, the next big update for later this year, will be pushed out for testers to begin playing with later this season, and Microsoft says it will have more details on what that might involve in the “near future."

Meanwhile, if you’re a Fast ring tester, and you don’t wish to be shoved forward onto the 20H1 builds – which may be quite bug-ridden at this early stage of development – then you might want to switch into the Slow ring, at least for the time being.

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).