Software updates are routine in a world of constant technological evolution. They bring new features, performance improvements, and security fixes. Not all updates go smoothly. Some updates may cause problems that negatively affect your Windows 10 computer’s functionality or performance. You may want to roll back the update in these cases. This is a guide that will show you how to do it.
Understanding Windows Updates
It’s important to know the types of Windows Updates before you begin the rollback procedure.
Updates to Features
The feature updates are significant additions and changes to the operating system. They are released approximately twice a year. These updates can make a noticeable difference to the operating system, by adding new features or redesigning old ones.
Quality Updates
Updates with higher quality are more frequent and smaller. These updates are designed to improve security, fix bugs and ensure stability. These updates don’t usually make any significant changes to the way your system looks or functions.
Reverting a Windows 10 update
Let’s now move on to the steps for rolling back a Windows 10 update.
Reverting an Update
Access the Recovery Settings
To begin, open the Settings app. This can be accessed by clicking the Start Menu, then the gear icon or pressing Windows + I. Click on ‘Update and Security’ then ‘Recovery” in Settings.
Roll back to an earlier version
You should find an option called ‘Go Back to the Previous Version of Windows 10’ in the Recovery tab. This label will be followed by a button that says ‘Get started’.
Follow the prompts
After clicking “Get Started”, you will be taken through a series prompts that ask you why you wish to rollback and remind you to backup your data. You should always have a copy of your data, since the process can potentially damage them.
Reverting an Update to Quality
Open the Update History
Just as you did for the feature update, navigate to the Update & Security section in the Settings app. Click ‘View Update History’ this time instead of re-covery.
Uninstall updates
Click ‘Uninstall Updates’ in the new window. This will open the control panel and list all recent updates.
Select the update to uninstall in Step 3.
Click the “Uninstall” button after selecting the update you wish to remove.
Conclusion
Software updates are intended to improve your computer, but they can sometimes cause problems. Windows 10 offers a simple way to rollback both quality and feature updates that are causing problems. Remember to backup your files first, because rolling back an upgrade can affect your data. Be aware that some updates cannot be reversed, especially if it has been more than 10 days since the installation. In these cases, you may need to perform a full system reset or a system restore.
