Microsoft Releases the Windows 10 November 2019 Update

Microsoft
(Image credit: Microsoft)

The wait is over: Microsoft officially released the Windows 10 November 2019 Update. 

This release fulfills Microsoft's self-imposed obligation to release two major updates to Windows 10 every year.

Microsoft was fairly explicit about the Windows 10 May 2019 Update's primary job being to improve the experience and offered few new features. The November update follows suit, with few changes. Microsoft's list includes:

  • Quickly creating an event directly from the Calendar flyout on the Taskbar.
  • Better managing notifications, including a new button at the top of the Action Center and the ability to sort notifications by most recently shown.
  • Integrating OneDrive content online with traditional indexed results in the File Explorer search box.
  • The navigation pane on the Start menu now expands when you hover over it with your mouse to better inform where clicking goes.
  • Using your voice to activate third-party digital assistants from the Lock screen.

There are other changes, too, but those are the ones Microsoft decided to call out in the blog post announcing the Windows 10 November 2019 Update's availability. The company didn't call attention to many other changes in a support document explaining what's new in this version of Windows 10.

Anyone curious about the Windows 10 November 2019 Update can install it by going to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update, selecting "Check for updates," and restarting their PCs after the update has finished downloading. Microsoft also offers the option of scheduling the restart, too, in case someone needs to do something before the installation would finish.

It's not available to everyone--the company said in its announcement that some people will have to wait because they "might have a compatibility issue and a safeguard hold is in place until we are confident that [they] will have a good update experience"--but people without any compatibility issues can install the update now.

The company did offer a quick caveat: It said in its announcement that "It may take a day for downloads to be fully available in the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) across all products, markets, and languages." Combine that with the compatibility restrictions, which Microsoft didn't outline, and the Windows 10 November 2019 Update's will seem pretty staggered. But having to wait a day to install the latest version of Windows 10 probably isn't the end of the world for most PC users.

Additional changes should arrive in 2020. Microsoft's already testing a version of Windows 10 meant to debut in the first half of next year with almost everyone in the Windows Insider Program. It's actually been working on the update for a while already; Skip Ahead members of the program actually started using the code-named Windows 10 20H1 update in February. Hopefully that means the update will arrive in April or May 2020 without all the issues that affected recent Windows 10 releases.

Nathaniel Mott
Freelance News & Features Writer

Nathaniel Mott is a freelance news and features writer for Tom's Hardware US, covering breaking news, security, and the silliest aspects of the tech industry.

  • jimmysmitty
    Just so people know what to expect, if you have 1903 and install 1909 it will install more like a cumulative update, actually faster. I did it on a laptop, with a SSD, at work and timed it. It took less than 4 minutes to install from the time I clicked "Download and Install" to when it was finished. So this will be a very painless update compared to the normal feature updates.

    However from what I have read if you are not on 1903 then it will install more like a normal feature update as it has to get you to 1903 first. Per Microsoft as well the Update Assistant for 1909 will be available the week of November 18th:

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3159635/windows-10-update-assistant
    So the only way to get it currently is Windows Updates.

    I do think this is a better way to go about it. One big feature update and then a sort of service pack to fix the major issues. Much more preferable than basically installing Windows 2 times a year.
    Reply
  • DookieDraws
    jimmysmitty said:
    Just so people know what to expect, if you have 1903 and install 1909 it will install more like a cumulative update, actually faster. I did it on a laptop, with a SSD, at work and timed it. It took less than 4 minutes to install from the time I clicked "Download and Install" to when it was finished. So this will be a very painless update compared to the normal feature updates.

    However from what I have read if you are not on 1903 then it will install more like a normal feature update as it has to get you to 1903 first. Per Microsoft as well the Update Assistant for 1909 will be available the week of November 18th:

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3159635/windows-10-update-assistant
    So the only way to get it currently is Windows Updates.

    I do think this is a better way to go about it. One big feature update and then a sort of service pack to fix the major issues. Much more preferable than basically installing Windows 2 times a year.
    I downloaded the ISO with the Windows Media Creation Tool yesterday to do a clean installation soon. I prefer to do clean installations, when possible.
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    DookieDraws said:
    I downloaded the ISO with the Windows Media Creation Tool yesterday to do a clean installation soon. I prefer to do clean installations, when possible.

    I do one once every 1 to 2 years but it is still a pain to do ad setup all my stuff again.
    Reply
  • DookieDraws
    jimmysmitty said:
    I do one once every 1 to 2 years but it is still a pain to do ad setup all my stuff again.
    Of course, if you have a ton of apps installed, it can be. Having to install those apps, and all the available updates, can take some time. I do prefer that fresh, new installation smell, though. :p
    Reply
  • hotaru251
    wonder what bugs will come in this 1 (as yet to be 1 w/o any issue)
    Reply
  • SirCrono
    hotaru251 said:
    wonder what bugs will come in this 1 (as yet to be 1 w/o any issue)
    I was wondering the same thing. I'm certainly waiting as much as I can before installing it.
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    hotaru251 said:
    wonder what bugs will come in this 1 (as yet to be 1 w/o any issue)

    Considering how small it is and since it is not a full install it will probably be fixes more than anything like say SP1 for Windows 7 or the 3 we got for XP.
    Reply
  • hotaru251 said:
    wonder what bugs will come in this 1 (as yet to be 1 w/o any issue)
    i got news for ya, EVERYTHING released by EVERYONE has bugs. Get used to it. you are free to not use it if it bothers you so much as to make these kinds of statements.
    Reply
  • USAFRet
    hotaru251 said:
    wonder what bugs will come in this 1 (as yet to be 1 w/o any issue)
    The software that has zero bugs has yet to be written.
    By anyone.
    Reply
  • hotaru251
    above 2 posters are seriously butt hurt....

    #1: it was about the win10 updates which are KNOWN to be problematic at times.
    #2 ofc stuff has bugs hence asking what this ones would be.

    oh and
    Mandark said:
    you are free to not use it if it bothers you so much as to make these kinds of statements.
    fun fact it is not. I am not free to not use the update. Remember WIN10 FORCES them on users. Choice is long gone with windows updates.

    (and as an OS as a whole thats also impossible given business provided/required device run windows.)
    Reply