Windows Update to Auto-Roll Back Faulty Drivers Soon
▼ Summary
– Microsoft is adding a “Cloud-Initiated Driver Recovery” feature to automatically roll back problematic drivers installed via Windows Update.
– This feature will replace faulty drivers with a previously working one without requiring manual action from users or hardware vendors.
– Currently, users must manually roll back drivers or wait for vendors to publish fixes, but the new system aims to automate this process.
– The feature is being tested with hardware partners and is expected to begin rolling out gradually in September.
– Microsoft is also making Windows updates less disruptive by allowing indefinite pause of updates, skipping updates during setup, and restarting without installing pending updates.
Microsoft is overhauling the Windows 11 update experience to reduce headaches, and one of the most promising changes involves automatic driver rollback for faulty hardware. Instead of forcing users to manually revert a broken driver or waiting for vendors to issue a fix, a new feature called “Cloud-Initiated Driver Recovery” will handle the problem in the background.
Currently, if a driver installed through Windows Update causes instability, users must either uninstall it themselves or rely on hardware partners to push a replacement. Microsoft’s upcoming system changes that by letting the company detect quality issues and trigger a recovery action directly from the cloud. “When a driver is identified as having quality issues during our shiproom evaluation process, Microsoft can now initiate a recovery action from the cloud, replacing the problematic driver on affected devices without requiring manual intervention from the user or the hardware partner,” said Garrett Duchesne, principal program manager at Microsoft.
The automatic driver rollback is now being tested with Microsoft’s hardware partners and is expected to begin rolling out gradually in September. Alongside this, Microsoft is making broader improvements to Windows Update flexibility. Users will soon be able to pause updates indefinitely, skip updates during initial device setup, and shut down or restart a PC without being forced to install a pending update. These changes aim to make Windows 11 updates less intrusive and more reliable, addressing long-standing frustrations with the platform.
(Source: The Verge)
