Meanwhile, back in Windows 10

With Windows 10's 1809 update still M.I.A., and having had a very bad month in October, Microsoft were likely hoping to put the worst of their WaaS woes behind them. They've been busy hyping the latest 19H1 update's build and its features, and saying nothing at all about the ill-fated 1809 update, which is looking more and more like it also won't release until the first half of 2019.

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...