If you’ve been participating in the Windows 10 Insider Preview, you may have experienced some bugs as new builds have been sent. If you’re wanting to get back on the stable release track, now is a great opportunity.  

windows-insider-logo

Don’t get me wrong, Insiders know what they are signing up for already, and Microsoft provides strong warning for those signing up, including this statement (emphasis added):

Remember, trying out an early build like this can be risky. That’s why we recommend that you don’t install the preview on your primary home or business PC. Unexpected PC crashes could damage or even delete your files, so you should back up everything.

Truth be told, it’s incredibly rare for a bug to cause this level of disruption. If your data safely backed up or stored online, and you don’t mind losing a weekend re-installing your programs, you may not mind the risk of using test versions on your computer.  But what if you’ve enjoyed the ride and are ready for a more stable computing experience?  Microsoft says this too takes a bit of work on your part:

If you want to stop using Windows 10 Insider Preview and return to your previous version of Windows, you’ll need to reinstall your previous version from the recovery or installation media that came with your PC—typically a DVD. If you don’t have recovery media, you might be able to create recovery media from a recovery partition on your PC using software provided by your PC manufacturer. You’ll need to do this before you upgrade. Check the support section of your PC manufacturer’s website for more info.

Ordinarily this is the case.  If you want to stop using the test builds, you have to remove (erase) the operating system and install the final version of the one you wish to use going forward.

But as it turns out, this latest November 2015 build gives you a pass, and is just one of another set of indications that this is indeed the build that will be going public soon.  In this case, after installing the 10586 build, you can opt-out of the Insider builds with nothing more than a reboot. After the restart, build 10586 is seen as a final build.

As stated, this is just yet another strong indication that this latest build, which is also lacking any “insider” watermark or notifications, is the final build and being staged for imminent public delivery.

So if you’re through having fun on the insider roller coaster, now is a chance to go stable without an (admittedly already painless) re-installation process.  Enjoy!

2 Comments

  1. Márcio Vinícius Pinheiro

    Ok. I have the 10586 build. How can I know if I am an Insider or not? (I never opted in) In Windows Update’s advanced options there’s a section “Getting Insider Preview Builds” (or something like this, my Windows is pt-BR). There’s nothing there saying I will not get preview builds and there’s no option to opt in or opt out. There’s just my MS account name and picture, and a button which supposedly will lead me to “introduction”.

    • If it says you’re “getting insider builds”, then you’re in it. Click the link there to stop getting insider builds so you can opt out.

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