Windows 10 users frustrated by automatic updates that restart their computer ‘unexpectedly,’ study finds

If you’re frustrated by automatic updates on your Windows PC, you’re not the only one.

A new study has found that a sizable number of Windows 10 Home Edition users have witnessed their computer ‘restart unexpectedly’ at the time of a software update.

Windows users have long complained about Microsoft’s forced updates feature, as it has led to many losing unsaved work, or the updates take too long to complete.

For Microsoft’s part, the firm has introduced additional features that give users control over when the updates take place.

They’ve also added more prominent notifications warning users of an upcoming update.

But a study conducted by researchers from University College London details how those improvements may not be enough.

Researchers surveyed 93 Windows 10 Home users to gauge their opinions on the software’s update process.

Many users continue to view Windows’ update system as being ‘too complicated,’ according to ZDNe.

Microsoft releases major Windows 10 updates twice a year, as well as some minor updates every month.

Users can control when updates start kicking in by adjusting their ‘Active Hours’ settings, which enables them to set a time period when the update will begin downloading.

For example, if you set ‘Active Hours’ to between the hours of 7am and 6pm, updates will only begin downloading outside of that time period.

However, only 28 percent of survey respondents said they were aware of the Active Hours feature.

Almost half of respondents reported that they experienced unexpected restarts.

Additionally, the researchers argue that the Active Hours feature is largely unhelpful for many users, as the default setting is between 8am and 5pm.

A sizable portion of users prefer to use their PC during weekday evenings, ZDNet noted.

‘From the perspective of minimizing disruption, users need to understand the “active hours” concept and conversely the configuration of active hours should ideally align with their usage patterns,’ the study explained.

‘Failing this, a user cannot reliably expect to leave tasks running outside of “active hours” or expect their desktop state to be fully restored upon resumption of active hours.’

Researchers further criticized Windows 10 Home for ‘insufficient notice of restarts’ and argued that Windows should ‘obtain explicit permission for restarts consistently.’

‘We think a notification that describes an update as one that “could take a little longer than other updates” is failing to set accurate expectations to support users in planning around the availability impact of these updates,’ the researchers said.