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Microsoft is notifying users if their devices aren't ready for Windows 10 1903

Some Windows 10 users are seeing notifications from Microsoft that their devices are temporarily blocked from receiving the Windows 10 1903 update.
Written by Mary Jo Foley, Senior Contributing Editor
1903blockedupdate.jpg
Credit: @jonwalz

There have been some bugs and issues with Microsoft's Windows 10 May Update/1903 feature update since Microsoft kicked off its rollout in late May. But the 1903 complaint I've gotten most often (so far) is from users who want to install the update but can't and don't know why.

Microsoft has added a new notification which some users whose devices aren't ready or able to install the update are seeing when they attempt to proactively grab the 1903 release. As originally noted last week by Windows Latest, Microsoft has added a new message to its Windows Update page. Users attempting to install 1903 on machines with out-of-date drivers or other issues are seeing this message:

"The Windows 10 May 2019 Update is on its way. We're offering this update to compatible devices, but your device isn't ready for it. Once your device is ready, you'll see the update available on this page. There's nothing you need to do at this time."

I confirmed with Microsoft that this notification is part of its 1903 rollout strategy.

"The notification started with the latest changes made to improve the quality/transparency of the Windows update process," according to a Microsoft spokesperson.

Microsoft officials said in a blog post on May 21 that the company planned to start automatically updating devices running the April 2018 Update and earlier versions of Windows 10 to Windows 10 1903. Last week, via the Windows Update account on Twitter, Microsoft officials communicated that they were building and training machine-learning rollout processes that would enable this to happen.

Details on exactly when and how Microsoft plans to do this are scarce. But I did receive this information from a company spokesperson when I asked for more information on the automatic-update plan:

"Commercial customers who manage their Windows Updates will have their policies regarding when updates begin to be offered to their device(s) respected. Those customers who are using Windows Update for Business policies to determine when their devices update will not be pushed an update until their deferral period has lapsed.

"As additional protection, Microsoft will prevent any device(s) updating from the cloud, including managed devices, from updating when the device has a known issue that would negatively impact it. To learn more about known issues that may block your device(s) from updating, please see the Windows Release Health Dashboard at https://aka.ms/WindowsReleaseHealth." 

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