If you haven’t ditched Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 for Windows 10 just yet, Microsoft‘s going to remind you once more whether you like it or not. After it’s questionable tactics to grow its Windows 10 user base, this is likely the company’s final throw of the dice.
And it’s arguably more annoying than ever before.
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Appearing as a full-screen notification, this dark-blue screen of annoyance rather politely reminds users of that free upgrade offer, which ends on 29 July.
“Sorry to interrupt, but this is important. Windows 10 free upgrade offer ends July 29,” the message states.
The screen will popup after Windows unlock, and will do so once again when selecting the “Remind me later” option.
“You can choose to upgrade directly from the notification, dismiss the notification permanently, or choose to be reminded later. For more information about the Windows 10 upgrade and how to manage notifications, see the “More Information” section,” the company explains on its support page.
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Undoubtedly, this will annoy some users to no end, bit it’s clear that Microsoft’s having problems meeting its arbitrary “billion devices running Windows 10 in two to three years” goal.
Microsoft also notes that the screen will not appear under these circumstances:
- You have a recent version of the “Get Windows 10” app installed.
- You have selected the “Do not notify me again” option.
- Your computer is detected to be incompatible with Windows 10.
- You have previously uninstalled Windows 10 after you upgrade.
- Your Windows 10 installation failed and rolled back.
- You have hidden the “Get Windows 10” app notifications.
- You have disabled the Windows 10 upgrade or you have disabled the offer screen through registry key settings.
After the free upgrade period ends on 29 July, the OS will cost users between US$119 and US$149, depending on the version.
Late last month, Microsoft also announced that its pseudo-service pack — Windows 10 Anniversary Update — will arrive on 2 August, and will bring a slew of changes to the OS.
As of May 2016, Windows 10 is running on over 300-million devices.
