Microsoft will soon kill off Windows 10 November 2019 Update

Windows 10 on a laptop
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Windows 10 November 2019 Update users are now being pushed to upgrade to a more recent version of Microsoft’s operating system, before version 1909 (as it’s also known) is no longer supported.

As Windows Latest highlighted, those still on the November 2019 Update are receiving a message to say: “Your version of Windows 10 will reach end of service soon. Click to download a newer version of Windows 10 to stay supported.”

The newer update is flagged in the taskbar (system tray, on the right) and should be ready and waiting to be actioned under Windows Update, with the October 2020 Update being the likely upgrade offered to such users (the most recent one), or possibly the May 2020 Update (depending on your exact hardware configuration and any potential issues therein).

Support for the November 2019 Update comes to an end on May 11, so we only have just under two months to go before the road runs out on keeping this version of the OS updated.

In short, if you haven’t made the leap from the November 2019 Update yet, then you’re going to have to do so imminently – but at least safe in the knowledge that the more recent feature updates are thoroughly bedded in and well-tested at this point (indeed, a new Windows 10 update, the first one of 2021, is fairly close, and rumored to arrive in May, in fact).

Roadblocks still exist

Windows Latest observes that there are still some compatibility issues with what’s likely to be a small number of Windows 10 systems when it comes to upgrading to either of the updates from 2020 (these are essentially the same, but with minor differences and tweaks in the October 2020 Update). 

This could potentially lead to a situation where you get the prompt to upgrade, but under Windows Update, you’re informed that the May or October 2020 Update isn’t ready for your device yet – so you have to wait a bit longer, confusingly.

Presumably, then, Microsoft will have ironed out all these final bugs before May rolls around, because the software giant can’t have a situation where it leaves users on an unsupported version of Windows 10. Blocked users could try a manual upgrade to a newer version of Windows 10, but we wouldn’t recommend it, and the results could be unpredictable (Microsoft puts these safeguards in for a reason).

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).