Hello Insiders!
We’d like to share information with you regarding build 18947 as released to Windows Insider audiences earlier today.
We’ll cover what happened and how to revert your device to your desired state.
Who: Windows Insiders who installed build 18947
What: Insiders who installed this build, especially those in the Slow and Release Preview rings, will need to use the rollback function to restore to their previous build
Why: An internal preview build was unintentionally released to a broader audience than expected.
When: Affected users generally have ten days (10) after installing build 18947 to complete the rollback process before losing the ability to do so. If you have Storage Sense enabled, this time window may be reduced. We encourage affected users to complete this action as soon as possible to ensure they’re able to roll back successfully. Steps to complete a rollback are provided below.
To verify if your device has installed build 18947, please do the following:
- Click Start
- Type WINVER
- Select WINVER (Run command)
(alt-text: image showing click-through steps to launch winver)
You will see a resulting window showing which build number is installed on your device:
(alt-text: image of winver pop up)
If your device has 18947 installed, please scroll down to the “HOW TO ROLLBACK” Steps.
If 18947 is not installed, please verify if it is pending install by checking the following:
- Click Start
- Click Settings (the sprocket icon)
- Select Update & Security
- Select the Windows Update tab
Verify whether build 18947 is pending install
(alt-text: image of windows update screen)
If your device has build 18947 pending install, you may select Pause updates for 7 days.
(alt-text: image of pause updates button)
This will cause the pending install to be cancelled. It may take a few minutes for this to register on the device.
Once this completes, it is recommended that you reboot your device and then return to this screen and un-pause updates. You will not be re-offered the 18947 build and may scan for updates as expected.
HOW TO ROLLBACK
If your device has already installed build 18947, the next step to take is to complete a rollback on the affected device. This process rolls you back to your previous build of Windows and will put you back into the proper state.
To complete a rollback, please do the following:
- Click Start
- Open Settings (the sprocket icon)
- Select Update & Security
- Select Recovery
- Under “Go back to the previous versions of Windows 10” select
Get Started
Complete the on-screen steps as follows:
a. For “Why are you going back”, select “For Another Reason”
b. Under “Tell us more” enter
18947
(alt-text: image of rollback reason prompt)
c. Click Next
d. On the “Check for updates?” screen, select “No, thanks”
(alt-text: image of check for updates prompt)
e. There will be two more screens with information to review. Please read each screen, clicking Next to continue.
f. You will see one final screen.
Select Go back to earlier build to initiate the rollback process.
(alt-text: image of go back to earlier build prompt)
Your device will complete the rollback process and you will be restored to the previous build. Your remediation steps are complete!
Windows Insiders may be wondering what caused this scenario. We actively test and validate each of our preview builds internally before sharing them externally, however a configuration change allowed this build to release to multiple rings simultaneously, including external rings. We have made the necessary remediation in our Flighting service and have implemented additional changes to help prevent from this happening in the future. We apologize for any troubles this may have caused for affected Insiders and appreciate your assistance in bringing this to our attention so we could make the necessary changes as quickly as possible.
Thank you as always!
The Windows Insider Crew
