It is finally official.
The Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Windows 10 Version 1607 (OS Build 14393.10), is starting to appear on users systems as Microsoft begins the process of delivering the second major update for Windows 10 to over 350 million devices around the world.
Although we have known that Windows 10 Build 14393 would be the final build for the last couple of weeks, the Windows 10 Anniversary Update still received three cumulative updates over the last 10 days 14393.3, 14393.5 and 14393.10 to fix various bugs in the OS prior to today's official release.
Over the last eight months Microsoft has released 50 testing builds for Windows Insiders so that this update could be tested across a multitude of device configurations on both PCs and Mobile devices.
Take a closer look at Windows as a Service
During this past year, since Microsoft initially released Windows 10, the company has received over 75 million pieces of feedback that resulted in more than 5,000 changes to the operating system. The more than 350 million users have used the OS for over 135 billion hours and Windows Insiders themselves have been using the OS for the equivalent of more than 50,000 years.
That is plenty of telemetry and data points to strengthen this release and make it the best update for Windows 10 so far.
Check out our full review of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update
Since this is a staged roll out not everyone will see it in their update channels at the same time so some patience is required because 350 million devices is a lot of end points to receive this upgrade via Windows Update.
However, there are some options to grab the new release ahead of that availability.
- Media Creation Tool can be used to either get an ISO, create USB/DVD install media or perform an in place upgrade.
- MSDN Subscribers can now download all SKUs of Windows 10 Version 1607 through their subscription account.
- Volume License Subscribers can download the Anniversary Update through the VLSC portal.
- According to the blog announcing the release, Microsoft indicates an ISO download is available on this support page but as of right now it is not listed there. That means the only access to the update is from one of the above options or wait for it to show up on Windows Update. UPDATE: This page has now been updated with an installer for this release that will upgrade your system.
Windows 10 Anniversary Update Resources
Resources are also appearing across different Microsoft properties with the release of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update:
- New Microsoft Edge Welcome page with three steps to get started with Edge including importing favorites, surfing safely and customizing with extensions.
- New Microsoft Edge Tips page to introduce you to all of Edge's features with a little gamifcation goal to read all of the tips and reach 100% completion.
- The Windows 10 Update History page will list the cumulative updates for each major version of Windows 10. Windows 10 Version 1607 should be listed here alongside of Versions 1507 and 1511 very soon.
- The Windows 10 Servicing Options page for Current Branch (CB), Current Branch for Business (CBB), and Long-Term Servicing Branch (LTSB) will be listed here to help everyone understand how servicing branches work.
- The Windows 10 Release Information page for recommended servicing options for current releases of Windows 10.
NOTE: Microsoft has stated that the Windows 10 roll out for mobile devices will happen in the coming weeks.
Be sure to check out all of our Windows 10 Anniversary Update Coverage.
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