Latest Windows 10 update causing major issues

By Kim Komando

March 11, 2019

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. I know it’s starting to sound like a broken record, but you might want to hold off on the latest Windows 10 update.

We always advise users to apply security updates right way, but in light of Microsoft’s track record with its recent Windows patches, we can’t blame you if you’re a bit apprehensive about updating your Windows machine now.

Yep, yet again, it looks like the latest patch which was supposed to fix various issues has introduced its own set of problems. Read on and see if you’re affected and what you can do about it.

Latest Windows update is severely degrading performance

The most recent cumulative update for Windows 10, KB4482887, was supposed to bring improvements, security patches and fixes for a variety of system issues.

Issued out-of-band and separate from its regular Patch Tuesday cycle, one of the most important fixes in this update is the “Retpoline” patch for the Spectre chip flaw mitigations which would’ve helped boost the performance of affected machines.

However, as expected with most Windows updates lately, it looks like the patch itself introduced a whole new set of issues and broke Windows 10 for many users.

According to multiple user reports, the update is degrading the performance of certain games and is causing severe graphics and mouse issues. Note: Among the games affected are Destiny 2, Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Sea of Thieves.

So if you’ve updated your Windows 10 machine recently and you started noticing that your mouse and your games are acting abnormally, you are not alone.

Microsoft confirmed this problem in its release notes for the update and it stated that it’s working on another update to fix the issues. In the meantime, the company is also advising the affected users to uninstall the botched update (KB4482887) to reverse the adverse effects.

Hopefully, the fix will arrive in this month’s Patch Tuesday. This day, which usually falls on the second Tuesday of each month, is when Microsoft regularly rolls out its software updates.

How to uninstall the botched update

To uninstall KB4482887 (or any recent Windows 10 update), open your system’s Settings >> select Update & Security >> Click on Windows Update.

Here, click on Update History to see a list of all the recent updates that were applied recently. Now, click the “Uninstall updates” link.

The familiar “Uninstall an update” page on the Control Panel will now open. To uninstall this particular update, look for KB4482887 then click its Uninstall button. Click “Yes” to confirm then restart your system.

How to delay Windows Updates

With all the issues that surround each release, do you want to adopt a wait-and-see attitude with Windows updates? Here are various ways you stop or slow down automatic Windows updates.

Windows 7 or 8.1

It’s quite simple to stop Automatic Updates on Windows 7 or 8.1. Just go to Start >> Control Panel >> System and Security then click “Turn automatic updating on or off” under the Windows Update section. Just set this setting to “Never check for updates (not recommended)” then click OK.

Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise

If you have Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise, you can defer or postpone for a few months.

To adjust this schedule, click the “Update & security icon” under Settings and go to the “Windows Update” tab. You’ll see what updates are available.

Here you can tweak your “Active hours” (times you commonly use your computer) and Restart options. Adjust these times so as not to interfere with your daily routine. Under “Advanced options,” for more automated updates, you can choose to have other Microsoft apps to update with Windows.

Then there’s the “Defer feature update” option to postpone certain updates. Don’t worry if you can’t find this option if you have the Windows 10 Home version since deferring updates only works for the Pro and Enterprise versions of Windows 10.

Windows 10 Home Edition – use Metered Connection

With the Windows 10 Home Edition, there’s no real way to turn off Automatic Updates.

Windows 10 Home users are limited to what they can do with updates but you can slow them down by toggling Metered Connection to “On” under your Network settings.

Since a Metered Connection is designed to save bandwidth, Windows won’t automatically download the updates.

Here’s how you do this:

1. Search for “Change Wi-Fi settings” on your taskbar.
2. Click on “Advanced Options.”
3. Toggle “Metered connection” to On.

Keep in mind that this only works if you’re connected via Wi-Fi. If your computer is connected via Ethernet cable, you’ll have to switch to a Wi-Fi connection to get the Metered connection option.

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Tags: Microsoft Windows 10, Microsoft Windows 7, security