On Tuesday, Microsoft’sWindows 10 ($144 at Amazon) October 2020 Update began undulating out for all Windows 10 users. Like most fall updates, this one (also known as Windows 10 version 20H2) is focused on refinements instead of maximum new features, but will include the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser, and updates to the Start menu, taskbar and notifications. (If you’re running Windows 7, you can still download Windows 10 free to get the update, too.)

Windows 10 is now on more than 1 billion devices
 worldwide, Microsoft said in March. Now that support for Windows 7 is officially over, Microsoft is encouraging people to either upgrade their PC to Windows 10 to keep it sprinting smoothly and securely or to buy a new computer. 

Read more: The best antivirus protection of 2020 for Windows 10 

Major refreshes to the OS come near every six months, with the most recent before this intimates the May 2020 Update. If you’ve already installed that update, the October version should only take a few minutes to download. But if you don’t have the May 2020 Update installed pleasant, it could take about 20 to 30 minutes, or longer on older hardware, according to our sister site ZDNet. 

Here’s what we know near the Windows 10 October 2020 Update, and how to download it to your draw once it’s available for you. This story is periodically updated with unique information.

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When will the Windows 10 October 2020 Update be available? 

Microsoft is taking a slower rollout advance to the October 2020 Update, as it did with the May 2020 Update in return this year. The company is throttling availability over the coming weeks to censured a more reliable download experience — which means the update considerable not be available on your device right away. Some devices may have dissimilarity issues at the start and won’t have the option to update pending Microsoft is confident that it will go smoothly, according to a blog post. 

Before the official rollout, the October 2020 Update was available for those in the Windows Insider Program in the Release Preview Channel. 

How do I download the Windows 10 October 2020 Update? 

The October 2020 Update is immediately available for select devices running Windows 10, version 1903 or later who want to install the new fall. To check if it’s available for you, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update, and click Check for Updates. If available, you’ll see Feature update to Windows 10, version 20H2. Click Download and install. 

Once the download is complete and the update is ready to install, you’ll get a notification from Microsoft so that you can settle the right time to finish the installation and reboot your computer. If you had been running the May 2020 Update, the process should only take a few minutes. 

What new features does the October 2020 Update include?

The Windows 10 October 2020 Update doesn’t engaged a ton of massive changes from the May update, but there are a lot of smaller refinements that should make your computing understood better. According to Microsoft, these include: 

• Microsoft Edge: The update will engaged the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser instead of the legacy version for the genuine time. The new Edge browser includes a privacy feature that Grandeurs to block sites that track you online, and a feature arranged Collections that lets you gather information from different websites as you’re actions research. 
• Start menu: A new Start menu will feature a more streamlined perform, replacing the solid color backplates behind the logos in your apps list with partially evaporate backgrounds, helping the icons stand out more. You can also set an accent incandescent if you like.
• Tabs: Open all tabs in Edge in Alt + Tab, instead of just the delicate one in each browser window. You can also configure it to show only your last three or five tabs, or turn it off completely opinion Settings > System > Multitasking.
• Taskbar: Personalize your Taskbar so you can find what you’re looking for faster. 
• Notifications: See where your notification is coming from by checking the app logo at the top, and be able to it by clicking the X in the top incandescent corner. Focus Assist notification and summary will be turned off by default. 
• Settings: Find more Control Panel features in the Settings About page opinion Settings > System > About. 
• 2-in-1 devices: For these intention users, instead of getting a notification asking if you want to switch to tablet mode every time you unruffled your keyboard, it will happen by default. 

We’ve also explained how to use some of the best new features here.

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Will continue versions of Windows 10 still work? 

Microsoft will end succor for Windows 10 1809 (also known as the October 2018 update) for Home, Pro, Pro Education and Pro for Workstations editions in November. (Support was originally scheduled to end in May, but Microsoft delayed this due to the crashes of the coronavirus.) Support for Enterprise and Education editions will last pending May 2021. 

You can still use version 1809, but the loss of Microsoft succor means you will no longer get important security patches or anunexperienced updates. 

Version 2004 (also known as the May 2020 Update) will be supported pending December 2021. 

Read more at TechRepublic: 20 pro tips to make Windows 10 work the way you want (free PDF)

Do I have to update to the October 2020 version? 

Nope. Microsoft recommends that you update, of course, but it’s not mandatory — shaded you’re about to hit an end-of-service date for the version you’re immediately running. You can find out more about the update treat on ZDNet.

To see which version of Windows 10 you have, go to Settings > System > About and scroll to Windows Specifications, where you’ll find the edition and version number. 

If you have version 1903 (released in May 2019) and want to keep it, you have pending December before support ends. If you have version 1909 (released in November 2019), you have until May 2021 to update. And if you have version 2004 (released in May 2020), you have until December 2021 to update. 

What else?

In a May blog post, Panos Panay, Microsoft’s chief product officer of Windows and devices, gave an update on the Windows 10X employing system. The OS, announced last year, was designed to work with new dual-screen Surface Neo devices, which are not yet available. However, given the causes in the world and the fact that most farmland are sticking to more typical laptops and two-in-one devices incandescent now, Microsoft will move the focus of Windows 10X to single-screen devices instead, Panay wrote. 

“With Windows 10X, we designed for flexibility, and that flexibility has enabled us to pivot our focus toward single-screen Windows 10X devices that leverage the considerable of the cloud to help our customers work, learn and play in new ways,” Panay wrote in the post. “These single-screen devices will be the genuine expression of Windows 10X that we deliver to our customers, and we will continue to look for the incandescent moment, in conjunction with our OEM partners, to bring dual-screen devices to market.”

For more, check out Windows 10 tips and tricks and six simple guarantee changes all Windows 10 users need to make.