Just over a week ago, Microsoft put out a blog spot reminding users that
Windows 10’s free upgrade offer will end on 29 July, which
means there are just over two months left for you to upgrade for
free. But as the date nears, Microsoft has begun to auto-schedule
PCs to upgrade to Windows 10, regardless of whether it has consent
from end users.
Microsoft is heavily invested in maximizing adoption of
its latest operating system, because it means that more
advertising data will be available to the company, which translates
into more revenue. This should come as no surprise to most readers
– after all, no one really thinks that Microsoft made Windows
10 free for a year out of the goodness of its heart.
However, Windows 7 still holds significantly more market share than
Windows 10, even though users remain subjected to pesky pop-ups
that nudge them to upgrade. But as the free upgrade window closes,
Microsoft is upping its game – and not necessarily in a good way –
by automatically scheduling upgrades to Windows 10 on certain
PCs.
So instead of seeing the familiar reminder pop-ups, some users are
noticing that their PC already has an upgrade scheduled at a future
date, even if they did not agree to it. Still, there are options to
cancel the scheduled upgrade or postpone the date, so Microsoft
isn’t quite forcing you to upgrade if you’re sharp and catch it in
time. However, this means that certain less tech-savvy users may
not notice it in time to stop it, and may simply end up with a rude
surprise as their PC suddenly initiates the upgrade process.
If you still want to remain on your older OS, the best thing to do
for now would be to check the Windows 10 pop-up regularly to head
off any automatic scheduling (hopefully, you’ll only need to do
this till the free upgrade windows closes on 29 July).
Nevertheless, we still think that Windows 10 is a great OS and you
should upgrade if your
machine supports it. But we’re also strong believers in user
autonomy and choice, and it appears slightly disingenuous on
Microsoft’s part to attempt to coax unwitting users to upgrade.
Source: Tom’s Hardware