Microsoft is throttling Windows 10 20H2 availability for all users

[Porthos]

Microsoft is currently throttling Windows 10, version 20H2 availability to provide all users who want to upgrade with a positive experience while downloading and upgrading the OS.


After Windows 10 20H2 (aka the October 2020 Update) was released on October 20, it immediately started rolling out to users who manually check for updates via Windows Update (seekers) on devices running Windows 10 1903 or later.


According to Microsoft's 20H2 feature update support page, customers need to have the Windows 10 2004 Servicing Stack Update and KB4579311 or later installed before upgrading.

Microsoft is throttling Windows 10 20H2 availability for all users

Microsoft is currently throttling Windows 10, version 20H2 availability to provide all users who want to upgrade with a positive experience while downloading and upgrading the OS.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

 

[britechguy]

After Windows 10 20H2 (aka the October 2020 Update) was released on October 20, it immediately started rolling out to users who manually check for updates via Windows Update (seekers) on devices running Windows 10 1903 or later.

I do not know where that specific piece of information regarding "seekers" has come from, and I realize it could be Microsoft since they often fail to update lots of repeated documentation, but the "seeker" behavior was turned off with, I believe, the introduction of 2004.

I have done several manual checks for updates, on more than one machine (all of which are running Version 2004), after October 20th, not ever expecting to get a Feature Update since seeking behavior has been gone for a while. I didn't get it, on any of them.

There was quite a bit made on one of the blind-focused groups I'm on when seeker behavior was eliminated from manual checks for update, as a lot of people did not want to accidentally trigger a Feature Update when they weren't looking for it, yet, and they were thrilled when that feature was extinguished.

Windows Update is supposed to "phone home" with whatever information regarding hardware specs it uses to determine whether a given configuration is even in the "deemed ready" category for any given Feature Update. And even if it's in that class it may not yet be placed into a cohort for whatever phase of the roll out of the Feature Update is currently being formed.

There have been lots of changes in exactly how Windows Update handles Feature Updates over the last year to year and a half, and all of them have been improvements, in my opinion.

 

[Sky-Knight]

My rigs all started prompting for the upgrade to 20H2 today.

 

[britechguy]

My rigs all started prompting for the upgrade to 20H2 today.

It's popping up on mine, too. And since 20H2 is a trivial update to 2004, and I have 2004, I'll apply it. There's really no point in doing the November cumulative update to 2004 at this point.

And the actual download for 20H2 completed in the time it took me to type this message.

 

[Sky-Knight]

The update was indeed tiny, took longer to patch .Net than it did to go from 2004 to 20H2.

 

[britechguy]

Yep. Went without a hitch on the two machines I've applied it to. Now to fire up the "backup laptops" and let them get up to date.

 

[Sky-Knight]

So I've had 5 systems here at home all running Win10 Pro 2004 upgrade to 20H2 via Windows update in mere minutes, very fast update.

Now my wife's laptop, it's the only Home edition machine I have in the house, and it's a bit different.

Forced itself from 1909 to 2004 on Tuesday (9-10). I assume because of this Windows Update wasn't reporting 20H2 availability for the unit. There seems to be a 30 day lag, basically you don't get a new feature release while the old install files are hanging around. So I cleaned those up with disk cleanup manually, then used the Windows Update Assistant to force the machine to 20H2.

And that's when things went weird... the Update Assistant required a length of time more comparable to a full feature update to complete. It also referenced Windows 10 version 2009!

The Windows Update process to 20H2 didn't result in that first login animation, my wife's update did... But in the end all machines are on the same build number of Windows 10, and the Home edition laptop is reporting Windows 10 20H2 when I run winver.

So this might be a home vs pro thing... or a difference in using the Update Assistant instead of Windows Update. But it seems for now all systems are on the same page regardless of how they got there.

 

[britechguy]

Well, while my download time for the 20H2 update was incredibly fast, the actual time required to apply it (on this machine with an SSD and 12GB RAM) wasn't nearly so fast. Very much like the 1903 to 1909 Feature Update which, while smaller than your typical "full" one, was still substantial.

I also had not applied the final cumulative update released for 2004, electing instead just to jump to 20H2, and that almost certainly had some bearing on things.

 

[Porthos]

So I've had 5 systems here at home all running Win10 Pro 2004 upgrade to 20H2 via Windows update in mere minutes, very fast update.

This is normal.

Forced itself from 1909 to 2004 on Tuesday (9-10).

That happens.

then used the Windows Update Assistant to force the machine to 20H2.

And that's when things went weird... the Update Assistant required a length of time more comparable to a full feature update to complete. It also referenced Windows 10 version 2009!

The update assistant will do a "repair" install to go to 20h2. 20h2 is also known as 2009 as well.

If the computer is on 2004 you can use DISM and a CAB file to upgrade to 20h2.

2004 is required for the following to work.


It can also be installed manually by downloading the cab file and using DISM to install.

http://b1.download.windowsupdate.co..._75cbce76d188e8fdab860946c0131789de35ea64.cab

I place it in the root of the C drive and run the following cmd in an administrative CMD window.

DISM /Online /Add-Package /PackagePath:"C:\windows10.0-kb4562830-x64_75cbce76d188e8fdab860946c0131789de35ea64.cab"

It will enable the 20h2 features

Takes very little time.

Warning, There will be no Windows.old created and no way back. Plan accordingly. Hint: system image first.

I have not encountered any issues and have done several this way remotely for clients.

 

[fincoder]

It can also be installed manually by downloading the cab file and using DISM to install.

That could be a handy way of upgrading new computers that come with factory-installed 2004, which I assume we'll keep getting for the next year or so. No data/apps yet so it doesn't matter about the ability to roll back.

I just clicked your link to the cab file expecting a few gigabytes, but it's only 85MB! Small enough to quickly copy from USB or network share, I'm definitely giving this a try.

 

[Porthos]

I just clicked your link to the cab file expecting a few gigabytes, but it's only 85MB! Small enough to quickly copy from USB or network share, I'm definitely giving this a try.

Exactly, It is just an enablement package that enables the 20h2 features. Those features are already on a current 2004 install and the cab enables them.

 

[britechguy]

Those features are already on a current 2004 install and the cab enables them.

Do you happen to remember which cumulative update to 2004 served as the "staging update" for 20H2? I know that you can't take a Version 2004 that has not received it and just do the "flip the switches" install, but I cannot recall which cumulative update it was that put all the features in place, but left them unactivated.

 

[fincoder]

Those features are already on a current 2004 install and the cab enables them.

I suppose I'll find out what happens if the current 2004 install doesn't yet contain the hidden 20H2 code.

 

[britechguy]

I suppose I'll find out what happens if the current 2004 install doesn't yet contain the hidden 20H2 code.

I take "current" in Porthos's statement as meaning, "up to date in all respects, and having all current updates prior to 20H2 already installed."

I absolutely know it works in that case.

I just went back to another forum on which I participate and found the answer to my own earlier question. The update with the designation, KB4579311, from October that updated Version 2004 to Build 19041.572, was the staging update for 20H2. So if your build dot number is lower than 572, the DISM/CAB file method will not work.

 

[Porthos]

I would just update it to current, One CU install will do that whether it is November or any future one since they are cumulative.

 

[britechguy]

I would just update it to current, One CU install will do that whether it is November or any future one since they are cumulative.

I absolutely agree, and since there was a cumulative update like 3 days ago, it's sitting there ready to go for most who seek updates via the Windows Update pane.