Microsoft Mistakenly Sends Out Insider Update Notification to Windows 10 Users

Update: Microsoft says the company was able to stop the notification from showing up to regular Windows 10 users before it became widespread. Our original story follows below.

Earlier today, Microsoft shipped a new Insider Preview build for the upcoming Windows 10 October 2018 Update to Windows Insiders. The company also sent out a notification to Insiders in the Fast Ring, alerting them about the new update.

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There’s a twist, though: Microsoft may have just messed up. Users on Twitter started reporting that they are receiving the same notification on non-Insider Windows 10 devices. They are being notified about a new Insider update even though their device isn’t enrolled in the Insider program, or even if they were never an Insider, to begin with. The notification simply takes users to the Windows Update page, though it doesn’t automatically start installing the build which makes it much less of a disaster for REdmond.

The issue arises less than 24 hours after Apple faced a similar issue with the iOS 12 Beta — a bug on the latest iOS 12 betas started notifying users to update their phone even though they were running the latest beta, turning it into a meme on Twitter. Cupertino later fixed the issue with the latest beta this evening.

As for Windows 10, a Microsoft employee said the company is looking into the issue, and we have independently reached out to Microsoft for further updates on the story.

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Conversation 19 comments

  • Bdsrev

    31 August, 2018 - 7:22 pm

    <p>Hahaha I got this too, I was so confused </p>

  • UbelhorJ

    Premium Member
    31 August, 2018 - 7:35 pm

    <p>So that's why that popped up this morning. I have used insider builds in the past and occasionally receive an email about it, so I didn't think much of it and just ignored it.</p>

  • SvenJ

    31 August, 2018 - 8:05 pm

    <p>Got it here, on a non-insider Go. Just went to updates and there was no such update there. (Good, I have specific devices for that insanity). Got the iPhone one as well. Guess they are code sharing. BTW, have had a machine on insider builds since they started that program. Have never before seen this notification. Probably a new thing they are trying and just got the logic backwards. Tough computer science problem.</p>

  • PaulCans

    31 August, 2018 - 9:40 pm

    <p>I got this on a machine that isn't on the insider program. Just fired up my laptop and didn't get it on that machine.</p>

  • Lewk

    Premium Member
    31 August, 2018 - 11:08 pm

    <p>I never got this at all, and my machines are on insider builds ?</p>

  • Chris

    01 September, 2018 - 4:08 am

    <p>I didn't get it on my PC, which isn't on the Insider preview at the moment (release preview ring). I didn't get it on my Insider VM, which is on the fast ring either.</p>

  • Thomas Parkison

    01 September, 2018 - 7:49 am

    <p>I'm beta testing iOS 12 right now and yeah, I got those annoying notifications too. Thankfully Apple released an emergency update before the long weekend.</p>

  • RonV42

    Premium Member
    01 September, 2018 - 11:54 am

    <p>No notice of the 4 machines I own that aren't in the insider….</p>

  • infiniti30ds64

    01 September, 2018 - 11:55 am

    <p _msthash="20488" _msttexthash="29954561">Sono un Insider è ho installato l'ultima Build – 17751.1 serie 1809 di Windows 10 Redstone – rs5 devo dire che è un bel esempio di un Sistema Operativo molto efficiente in tutte le sue funzioni molto più veloce reattivo con colori più vivaci </p>

  • Darekmeridian

    01 September, 2018 - 12:53 pm

    <p>Ohhh nice to see you are embracing the emoji life Paul…. oh wait that was Mehedi never mind life is as it should be. ?</p><p><br></p><p>Just seems like overall software dev is a shit show across the board.</p><p><br></p>

  • Winner

    01 September, 2018 - 2:25 pm

    <p>Must be the lack of the fired QA team at Microsoft to check the email addressing.</p>

    • roastedwookie

      03 September, 2018 - 4:48 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#312881">In reply to Winner:</a></em></blockquote><p>What QA? They don't need a QA. Users are the testers now. :))) Isn't this what they said?</p>

  • MacLiam

    Premium Member
    01 September, 2018 - 6:03 pm

    <p>I saw this notification (like others, first time ever for this specific type of message) on a Book 1 that is not in the Insider Program. I just figured that I was being told one of the other machines tied to my account that IS registered as an Insider device could be updated if I wanted to do it right away rather than wait for the self-triggering installation. The Book was at that instant in the process of installing of the Comprehensive Update to 17134.254, and after the restart the 17751 notification was no longer in the notification panel. I never saw the notification on any of my other non-Insider machines. I also never saw it on any of the Insider machines, possibly because when I stumbled across it on one machine moments after after it became available, I made the rounds and triggered the update on the rest of my test machines.</p>

  • behindmyscreen

    02 September, 2018 - 2:00 pm

    <p>yeah….I got one and decided to ignore it then went to look at the blog and saw it was still a fast ring release….woops!</p>

  • jamiet

    03 September, 2018 - 2:44 am

    <p>I'm not an insider but I received this notification. I was tempted to update but wasn't worth the risk of upsetting my work computer's stability.</p>

  • jimchamplin

    Premium Member
    03 September, 2018 - 6:53 pm

    <p>Oops!</p>

  • Jeffsters

    03 September, 2018 - 7:41 pm

    <p>Sounds like Microsoft has another quality problem! </p>

  • timothy_deck

    04 September, 2018 - 4:55 pm

    <p>Just got this today. Nice. Thanks for the heads up. Very timely. </p>

  • joshhuggins

    04 September, 2018 - 5:29 pm

    <p>LOL, I saw this on a co-workers system as I was configuring something and was like, "When did you sign up for the insider program?" They just stared back at me like I was lost.</p>

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