But the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry, and Microsoft's plans for Windows-as-a-Service are increasingly looking like they were poorly laid from the very start, so it should surprise nobody that Windows 10 has another issue. And, wow, is is a doozy, as reported by Gordon Kelly at Forbes:
Spotted by The Register, Microsoft’s activation servers have started accidentally downgrading expensive Windows 10 Pro systems into cheaper Windows 10 Home PCs, then invalidating their licences. Needless to say, that's a nasty financial hit (Home is $119, Pro is $199) and affected users are furious.
[...]
And it’s not just upgraders being affected. Problems with automated Windows 10 Home downgrades are being reported with fresh installs on different Windows Pro versions as well.
“Same issue on Dell computers running Windows 10 Pro 1803 that we just bought. Need to deploy to clients but they won't activate,” explained another user on Reddit.
Microsoft’s response? It’s not great.
On its official Answers page, Microsoft warns there is a “temporary issue” with the company’s activation server but has not disclosed any further details. As for users calling Microsoft’s call centres, the response is to simply wait for a fix.Cue the expensive class-action lawsuits in 3... 2... 1...
This is, as Kelly points out, the fourth time this year that Microsoft's insistence on controlling users' PCs has resulted in a costly blunder, eroding confidence in MSFT's ability to deliver on the promised stability and reliability of Windows 10. This latest glitch now calls into question whether MSFT are even capable of delivering on their contractual obligations to Professional and, potentially, Enterprise customers, which is awkward to say the least, with Microsoft clearly hoping that a huge number of those users will migrate to Windows 10 next year. If paying for a license doesn't actually secure your license, then what's the point of paying for Windows 10?
I'd previously written that the only way I'd upgrade to Windows 10 would be under a Semi-Professional license, since I expected a greater degree of control over my PC than the not-really-free Windows 10 Home provides; in particular, I insist on controlling the schedule on which my PC updates itself, and the ability to defer (and even entirely avoid) bug-filled updates like 1809.
But avoiding those updates has now been revealed to be insufficient; this latest bug is part of the 1803 update, which rolled out last April. And the idea that MSFT would be able to remotely invalidate my WX Pro license and just roll my PC back to WX Home, and then not even respond as to how long I'd have to wait for a fix... well, let's just say that Microsoft is rapidly losing what little credibility they have left, and Ubuntu is looking more and more like the only viable option for me come January of 2020.
GG, Microsoft! I can't call it a job done well, but it's certainly a job done thoroughly.