KEY POINTS
Home windows 10 LTSC (Lengthy-Time period Servicing Channel) is most popular for stability and fewer adjustments. Nonetheless, current September and October 2023 updates have launched surprising adjustments, inflicting concern amongst customers.
Microsoft added a non-removable “Home windows Backup” app powered by OneDrive to the LTSC model, which wasn’t designed for non-personal Microsoft accounts.
The October 2023 Replace additional launched an “improved search field expertise on the taskbar”, pushing the Bing and web-focused Home windows Search interface to LTSC machines.
Home windows 10 LTSC (Lengthy-Time period Servicing Channel) is a model of Home windows that doesn’t get up to date as typically because the Professional and Dwelling variations. Whereas it brings new options or enhancements, Microsoft doesn’t change any of the settings in LTSC or add new apps or UI adjustments as incessantly as in different variations.
Due to this stability or fewer adjustments, some individuals and companies favor LTSC, particularly in the event that they don’t need Microsoft to make undesirable adjustments. Nonetheless, current adjustments launched by the Home windows 10 September 2023 Replace and October 2023 Replace appear to problem this fame, inflicting outrage locally.
As Home windows Newest reported final month, Microsoft added a brand new “Home windows Backup” app powered by OneDrive to the LTSC model. This transfer brought about outrage locally, notably from enterprise prospects, because the non-removable cloud-powered characteristic isn’t even designed to work on non-personal Microsoft accounts.
Following our reporting, Microsoft issued a help doc to verify its plans to cover the Home windows Backup within the Begin menu and different locations on unsupported gadgets. The corporate later clarified that it has no intention to take away the backup app from unsupported PCs as a result of it’s a system element, however it’s planning to cover it.
When customers hoped that Microsoft would heed their suggestions from September, October 2023 Patch Tuesday replace delivered one other setback.
This time, the tech large has rolled out a number of adjustments. The help doc notes that the primary change within the October 2023 Replace is help for an “improved search field expertise on the taskbar”.
“When you’ve got a prime, backside, common, or small icons taskbar, you will notice the search field seem. You should utilize it to simply entry apps, recordsdata, settings, and extra from Home windows and the online,” Microsoft famous.
It seems the adjustments are additionally heading to Home windows 10 LTSC.
The October 2023 Replace forces the Bing and web-focused Home windows Search interface on LTSC machines. In some circumstances, Microsoft re-enabled the search bar within the taskbar, reinstalled Microsoft Edge and refreshed the interface of the search panel.
“I’m on Home windows 10 LTSC, and LTSC will not be purported to get any characteristic updates, however but, after I up to date my LTSC, not solely did it allow the search bar in my taskbar with out my consent which I DISABLED, it additionally ruined the entire search bar fully. It’s full-screen now,” one of many annoyed LTSC customers famous in a submit on X (Twitter).
Replying to a submit titled “search icon within the Home windows 10 taskbar switched to be a field” in Suggestions Hub, a Microsoft consultant has beforehand said that “there’s an possibility to modify search field to an icon if you happen to right-click the taskbar” with out explaining what’s happening.
Home windows Server 2022 will not be spared both, because it will get a brand new “Azure Arc Setup” characteristic
The current adjustments are usually not simply restricted to Home windows 10 LTSC.
Microsoft additionally added a brand new “Azure Arc Setup” characteristic in Home windows Server 2022 by way of KB5031356.
The brand new “Azure Arc Setup” characteristic creates an entry for itself within the Begin menu and the native disk the place the OS is put in.
Microsoft can also be experimenting with a taskbar pop-up that reminds you to strive Azure Arc as a result of it protects your servers from threats or screens your servers and question logs.
Thankfully, if you wish to take away this app from Home windows Server 2022, you might run the Take away-WindowsFeature AzureArcSetup command in a terminal and reboot the system.
Whereas adjustments in Server 2022 might be reversed manually, the LTSC neighborhood is awaiting extra clear communication from Microsoft.