Windows 10 has a frustrating and annoying problem where Windows Update will only offer one optional update at a time.
Microsoft commonly releases new updates that are considered optional that won't be installed automatically by Windows Update.
Optional updates include new Windows 10 feature updates, Windows 10 preview cumulative updates, feature experience packs, and some out-of-band fixes that target a specific bug in the operating system.
However, for over a year now, Windows 10 will only offer one optional update at a time, even if there are multiple optional updates available for your version of Windows 10.
For example, the recently released Windows 10 21H1 update has preferential treatment in Windows Update and is offered regardless of other available optional updates.
This week, Microsoft released the out-of-band (OOB) KB5004476 Windows 10 update to fix an Xbox Game Pass bug preventing users from installing or launching games.
What is frustrating is that even though this update applies to Windows 10 20H2, Windows Update refused to offer it to my devices until I first installed the Windows 10 21H1 update.
Microsoft introduced a new "Optional Update Experience" to Windows 10 in 2019 that was supposed to resolve this issue and allow you to pick and choose what optional updates you wish to install.
This feature is clearly not working, as before we installed the Windows 10 21H1 feature update, we were still not offered the optional KB5004476 update in the Optional Updates screen, as shown below.
Once we installed the optional Windows 10 21H1 feature update, Windows Update gladly offered us the new optional KB5004476 OOB update.
BleepingComputer tried these same steps on multiple devices, and Windows 10 demonstrated the same behavior on all of them.
While some of these optional updates are available from the Microsoft Catalog, many people are unfamiliar with manually installing Windows updates.
It is not clear why Microsoft is not offering all optional updates under the 'Optional updates' feature. However, in its current form users are unnecessarily forced to install feature updates before they can get access to the actual updates that they want.
Comments
Wolverine 7 - 2 years ago
High time they addressed the update situation instead of constantly offering users apps,widgets and services hardly anyone wants and cutsey,cutsey,win 11 peekaboo nonsense,..what a graceless age,.tsk,tsk,..
cjgiam - 2 years ago
Ohhh for the good "old days" when you pick your updates from a list of critical updates & a separate list of optional updates. Microsoft apparently couldn't stand anything being that functional & simple. If an update crashed or wasn't for your device, you just skipped it. "Roll-ups" never worked because they were too general & now they make you update all the junk that would have been in the roll-ups before you can get the appropriate latest update for your device.
TsVk! - 2 years ago
And now they have taken packages that used to be updates and made them optional apps, but when they don't appear within the apps menu there's nothing you can do. You can no longer just source and download the update nor deploy across a domain via WSUS. The irony is that even after you've done 7 mouse clicks to install the optional app your PC still needs to restart for the package to function (which it doesn't mention) and while restarting it says "installing updates" . Lol.
redwolfe_98 - 2 years ago
in this case, i don't see an issue. first it offers the 21H1 feature update, then, an update for 21H1. it makes sense that you would first need the 21H1 feature update installed before installing the update for 21H1.
Lawrence Abrams - 2 years ago
Except you don't need 21H1 for this update. It is supported on Windows 10 2004 and later.
Why am I being forced to install 21H1 to receive this update via Windows Update, when I am already running a supported version of Windows 10?
Demonslay335 - 2 years ago
This sort of thing has plagued Windows since Vista in my experience. When installing updates on a customer's machine, I would hit the "Check for Updates" at least 3 times before I would trust it when it said "No updates available". 9/10 times, something would popup on the 3rd try. Windows 10 has been a bit better... maybe only 3/10 times.
Lawrence Abrams - 2 years ago
That's a different issue :) This is an issue where only ONE optional update is offered at a time. And as a feature update get preferential treatment, you can't get preview or OOB updates without downloading from the Microsoft Catalog.
TastyChimera - 2 years ago
Honestly, the most disturbing part of all of this to me? Is how that picture shows windows 10 suggesting a driver, from 1968... What is that? The first intel driver ever? :-P