Microsoft Explains Unintentional Release of Windows 10 Builds To Testers
One of the main benefits of being a Windows Insider is getting access to new builds with unreleased features ahead of the general public. This comes at the expense of stability, though to what extent depends on whether you're subscribed to the Fast ring or Slow ring. For Windows Insiders who are concerned about stability and buggy behavior, be advised that you might be running a preview build that was not yet ready for testing.
Microsoft on Thursday fessed up to accidentally releasing preview builds for both PC and mobile. The company said the builds were pushed out to Windows Insiders because of an inadvertent deployment to the engineering system that controls which builds and which rings get doled out. Once Microsoft noticed what happened, it put blocks in place to prevent more people from receiving the builds.
As it stands, Microsoft says only a small portion of Insiders were affected by this. For those that did receive a build ahead of schedule, Microsoft has a couple of options.
"Please be aware that this build was never intended to go out to Windows Insiders and may include issues that impact usability of your PC—more so than the normal builds we give you. You can either sit tight and wait for us to publish a newer build to you or you can roll-back to the previous build via Settings > Update & security > Recovery. And check your Windows Insider Program settings," Microsoft stated in a blog post.
For those who want to roll back to the previous release, there is 10-day window to do so. In addition, that option only exists if Disk Cleanup was not used to remove the previous Windows installation.
Things are a little more hairy on the mobile side. The leaked build will not install on mobile devices, and will instead make them get stuck in a reboot loop. The only way to recover is to use the Windows Device Recover Tool and then perform a re-flash. Once the re-flash is complete, you can join the Windows Insiders program again.
"We apologize for this inconvenience and thank you for being a Windows Insider! We will keep you updated on when we plan to release new builds to you next week. We will not be releasing new builds to any of the rings this week," Microsoft added.
While this will be an inconvenience for some, it kind of goes with the territory of living on the cutting edge.
Microsoft on Thursday fessed up to accidentally releasing preview builds for both PC and mobile. The company said the builds were pushed out to Windows Insiders because of an inadvertent deployment to the engineering system that controls which builds and which rings get doled out. Once Microsoft noticed what happened, it put blocks in place to prevent more people from receiving the builds.
As it stands, Microsoft says only a small portion of Insiders were affected by this. For those that did receive a build ahead of schedule, Microsoft has a couple of options.
"Please be aware that this build was never intended to go out to Windows Insiders and may include issues that impact usability of your PC—more so than the normal builds we give you. You can either sit tight and wait for us to publish a newer build to you or you can roll-back to the previous build via Settings > Update & security > Recovery. And check your Windows Insider Program settings," Microsoft stated in a blog post.
For those who want to roll back to the previous release, there is 10-day window to do so. In addition, that option only exists if Disk Cleanup was not used to remove the previous Windows installation.
Things are a little more hairy on the mobile side. The leaked build will not install on mobile devices, and will instead make them get stuck in a reboot loop. The only way to recover is to use the Windows Device Recover Tool and then perform a re-flash. Once the re-flash is complete, you can join the Windows Insiders program again.
"We apologize for this inconvenience and thank you for being a Windows Insider! We will keep you updated on when we plan to release new builds to you next week. We will not be releasing new builds to any of the rings this week," Microsoft added.
While this will be an inconvenience for some, it kind of goes with the territory of living on the cutting edge.
