Microsoft started rolling out the Windows 10 May 2020 Update last week, and as it has been the case in recent years, the company said that the major release would roll out gradually to all compatible devices. As of today, it seems that Microsoft is proceeding very carefully as even the company’s latest devices such as the Surface Pro 7 and the Surface Laptop 3 are unable to install the May 2020 update.
Indeed, the Windows 10 Health Dashboard currently indicates no less than 11 known issues for the May 2020 Update, and four of them have forced the company to put upgrade blocks in place. Here are the details about these four compatibility issues preventing many devices to install the update:
Errors or unexpected restarts for some devices using Always On, Always Connected: Some devices using the Always On, Always Connected feature might have compatibility issues with Windows 10, version 2004 (the Windows 10 May 2020 Update). Affected devices will have more than one Always On, Always Connected capable network adapter, such as the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 and Microsoft Surface Laptop 3, and might receive errors or unexpected shutdown or restart.
No mouse input with apps and games using GameInput Redistributable: An incompatibility issue was found with some apps and games using GameInput Redistributable and Windows 10, version 2004 (the Windows 10 May 2020 Update). Affected apps or games might lose mouse input. Note GameInput Redistributable might be bundle with apps and games and might be silently installed during the installation of that app or game.
Issues updating or starting up devices when aksfridge.sys or aksdf.sys is present: An incompatibility issue was found with apps or drivers using certain versions of aksfridge.sys or aksdf.sys and Windows 10, version 2004 (the Windows 10 May 2020 Update). When an affected version of aksfridge.sys or aksdf.sys is present, Windows 10, version 2004 might fail to install or might fail to start after updating. Affected file versions are up to 1.8.0.* for aksfridge.sys or up to 1.51.* for aksdf.sys.
Issue with older drivers for Nvidia display adapters (GPU): Nvidia and Microsoft have found incompatibility issues with certain versions of Nvidia display adapter drivers and Windows 10, version 2004 (the Windows 10 May 2020 Update). Windows 10 devices with affected Nvidia display driver versions might receive a stop error with a blue screen or other issues during or after installing the update to Windows 10, version 2004. The affected drivers are any version lower than 358.00.
In addition to the aforementioned compatibility issues, Microsoft also recommends users to not manually install the Windows 10 May Update until it has fixed the following bugs:
- Variable refresh rate not working as expected on devices with Intel iGPU
- Difficulty connecting to more than one Bluetooth device
- Errors or issues during or after updating devices with Conexant ISST audio drivers
- Errors or issues during or after updating devices with certain Conexant audio drivers
- Stop error when plugging or unplugging a Thunderbolt dock
Overall, that’s a lot of known issues for a new Windows 10 update, though this is certainly not unprecedented. As you may recall, the company had to delay the release of the October 2018 Update after discovering a file deletion bug. Still, the May 2020 Update has been in testing since February 2019, and the company didn’t inform Insiders about these compatibility issues when it shipped them the latest bits last month before the public release.
Again, if you’re currently not able to install the May 2020 Update via Windows Update, it’s probably better to not install it manually using official ISOs or the Media Creation Tool. Windows Update should tell you when the update is ready for your PC, and in the meantime, you should see the following message explaining that “your device isn’t quite ready for it.”
The Windows 10 May 2020 Update brings several new features including a new Cortana app, the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2), as well as Bluetooth pairing improvements. It’s a solid update overall, though you may have to wait a couple of weeks before being able to install it without problems. Let us know in the comments if you’re one of the few lucky people that saw the May 2020 Update waiting for your in Windows Update.
