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I get this warning each time I login to Windows 10:

This build of Windows will expire soon

Your build of Windows will expire on 31/07/2020. You should move to a new build as soon as possible. Go online for more information.

With a 'More info' and 'Close' button. The 'More Info' button goes to a website that does not exist:

We're sorry, we can't find that page. The page you're looking for may no longer be available. Please make sure your URL is correct and try again.

With nothing in the Wayback machine either.

I'm in the Windows Insider Program (to use WSL 2), and have recently switched from the Dev channel to the Beta channel, because the Dev channel is not needed anymore for WSL 2 support. It is my guess that switching WIP channels lead to this 'Windows will expire soon' warning.

According to the lower right corner of my desktop, I'm on

Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview Evaluation copy. Build 20152.rs_prerelease.200617-1502

I guess it says this is an "Evaluation Copy" because it is an WIP build. The current WIP build numbers are

  • Dev: 20175
  • Beta: 19042.421
  • RC: 19041.388

So maybe Windows refuses to update to the Beta channel, because that has an older version than I'm already on. I was expecting that I would move over to the Beta channel before the Dev channel would expire. (My reason for not staying on Dev is that Dev requires to many reboots.)

My priorities are a) have a working operating system on July 31th, and b) move from the WIP Dev channel to the Beta channel (or maybe RC or turn of WIP entirely, depending on WSL 2 support). What are my options?

  • Wait till July 1st and see what will happen (maybe Windows will switch to the Beta channel last minute?).
  • Go back to the WIP Dev channel. (And very carefully time going to the Beta channel some how?)
  • 'Refresh' / reinstall Windows somehow and get to the WIP Beta channel.

None of these are very attractive, anyone know something smarter? What will happen if I do nothing, can I still use the machine after July 31th?

Related questions seem to indicate that I can just wait it out, but those are all for specific builds, so I'm not sure.

This build of Windows will expire soon

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  • 1
    Install a current Insider Preview build. You can do this by downloading the proper ISO and mounting it within Windows. If you wait until after the build expires Windows will not boot. Your build is higher than the current Beta channel build, which means, you can only install the current Developer build at this time. Eventually the Beta build will catch up but that WILL NOT HAPPEN before July 31 2020
    – Ramhound
    Jul 28, 2020 at 11:18
  • Thanks @Ramhound. I've now temporarily resubscribed to the Dev channel to get the latest Dev update. I'll set it to Beta again after the update has installed. I'll repeat this procedure each time I'm close to the expiration date. Hopefully this will get me to a Beta build at some point. But I'm a bit afraid that Dev will have moved some versions by the time an earlier build has been deemed stable enough for Beta. Then I might never get out of Dev... E.g. Beta 19042.421 was released 2 days after Dev 20175. So seems I'm stuck.
    – BlackShift
    Jul 28, 2020 at 15:18
  • You need to get the current Developer channel build, then while you are on the current build, switch your channel to Beta. This will opt you out of future Developer builds, and allow you to remain on the Beta channel, expiration dates are typically well past the point Microsoft has scheduled a release. Additionally, there is an known issue with AMD processors, that block certain Insider Preview builds in Beta/Developer channels. More information on the Insider Preview website.
    – Ramhound
    Jul 28, 2020 at 15:21
  • @Ramhound, switching from Dev to Beta is exactly what got me into this situation. Thanks for stating that expiration dates are typically further into the future. Maybe this is one of the few times that 'typically' does not apply, and for some reason they expired Dev releases before there is a suitable Beta release to upgrade to. There is an explicit "Important Note" about expiring builds on the 20175 release notes, so let's hope this indicates that the situation is indeed abnormal: blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2020/07/22/…
    – BlackShift
    Jul 28, 2020 at 15:32
  • You switched channels after the Developer channel build was higher than the Beta channel build number. You can only going forward on builds not backwards without a reinstall. If you opt out of a channel while on the current developer build that shouldn't be a problem.
    – Ramhound
    Jul 28, 2020 at 16:07

2 Answers 2

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I get this warning each time I login to Windows 10:

This build of Windows will expire soon Your build of Windows will expire on 31/07/2020. You should move to a new build as soon as possible. Go online for more information.

Build 20152 was released on June 24th 2020 the current build for the Dev channel was released on July 22nd 2020. There were 2 additional builds released between June 22nd 2020 and July 22nd 2020.

Based on my research it does not appear that the Beta channel has received what potentially will become the 21H1 release at this time. Build 20152 at this time is one of those builds. This means that until 20H2 is release the Beta channel WILL NOT have any builds that will potentially become 21H1 at this time.

I'm in the Windows Insider Program (to use WSL 2), and have recently switched from the Dev channel to the Beta channel, because the Dev channel is not needed anymore for WSL 2 support. It is my guess that switching WIP channels lead to this 'Windows will expire soon' warning.

At this time you will have to switch back to the Dev channel in order to receive new builds of Windows 10. You will have to stay on this channel until after 20H2 is released. You must make the switch from the Dev channel to the Beta channel before development of 22H1 is started.

My priorities are a) have a working operating system on July 31th, and b) move from the WIP Dev channel to the Beta channel (or maybe RC or turn of WIP entirely, depending on WSL 2 support). What are my options?

Once a build expires you will be unable to boot into Windows. This means you must install the current Dev channel build before July 31st 2020. In order to receive that build you must do the following actions as an Administrator.

1. Open the Start Menu.
2. In the search box, type CMD.exe.
3. On the right menu under Command Prompt, select Run as administrator. 
4. If prompted by UAC, choose Yes.
5. From the elevated prompt, enter this command, then hit enter: `net stop wuauserv`
6. Enter this command, then hit enter: `rmdir /s /q C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\SLS`
7. Finally, enter this command, then hit enter: `net start wuauserv`
8. Close the Command Prompt window.
9. Open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and check for updates.

Once you have completed all the actions required to solve this problem you should be offered the current Dev channel build. Windows 10 does not allow you to go backwards to a past build. This means it's not possible, at this current time, to install a Beta channel build.

I'll repeat this procedure each time I'm close to the expiration date. Hopefully this will get me to a Beta build at some point. But I'm a bit afraid that Dev will have moved some versions by the time an earlier build has been deemed stable enough for Beta. Then I might never get out of Dev... E.g. Beta 19042.421 was released 2 days after Dev 20175. So seems I'm stuck.

You encountered an issue that impacted Intel and AMD machines on earlier builds. Due to the changes to the Insider Preview channels, until there is an overlap between the Dev channel and Beta channel you won't be able to switch channels, the earliest this would happen is after 20H2 is released. You will have to postpone updates before the Dev channel build is higher than the expected build for 21H1.

I use this website to determine what release a build belongs to exactly.

switching from Dev to Beta is exactly what got me into this situation.

It was actually an issue, that was fixed back on July 22nd 2020, but prevented your machine from being offered a more recent build. Switching the Insider Preview channels didn't have anything to do with your problem.

Maybe this is one of the few times that 'typically' does not apply, and for some reason they expired Dev releases before there is a suitable Beta release to upgrade to.

The Beta channel is actually targeting the next feature update 20H2. The build you had installed was a preview build for 21H1.

Source:

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  • Thanks for your elaborate reply. I don't think I was affected by the 20175 issue, because I was still on 20152, meaning I must have selected the Beta channel somewhere in June already (which matches my memory). But the effect was the same. Frustrating that the information is spread over so many places, while the 'More info' button is broken. Oh well. This is also an interesting discussion: answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/forum/…
    – BlackShift
    Jul 28, 2020 at 19:12
  • From the insider forum it seems that the current plan is that it will not be possible anymore to switch from Dev to Beta, other than reinstalling, and that the user interface will be updated to reflect that.
    – BlackShift
    Jul 29, 2020 at 7:17
  • @BlackShift - Link? My answer is accurate today. I can’t write an answer for tomorrow.
    – Ramhound
    Jul 29, 2020 at 11:17
  • The link I put in my other comment, see the last post by EddieL: "As for when, as it is now, if you want to move to Beta, RP, or retail, you will need to perform a clean install. The Dev channel is constantly moving forward unlike the old Fast ring. When we made the shift to active development back in December that was your last chance." answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/forum/…
    – BlackShift
    Jul 30, 2020 at 15:14
  • @BlackShift - While it's always been true that the Fast ring was always higher than the Slow ring, there was always a small period of overlap, where it was possible to switch channels. The interface today certainly indicates that is possible, with a message, that indicates this might be possible. There certainly will be a point where this overlap happens again, but that won't happen, until the 4th QTR of this year. The problem that will exists is that the builds will expire before 21H1 is released more than likely. I will update my answer to reflect this fact.
    – Ramhound
    Jul 30, 2020 at 15:25
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I was also getting this notice and accidentally I found how to fix the problem.

I manually installed an Insider Preview release that was in "Dev Channel" from MS website, but I stayed in "Beta Channel" in the OS.

I found the problem when trying to add a Windows optional feature (https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/windowsserverdocs/issues/2074#issuecomment-725777651).

What worked for me was change the Insiders' release channel. I changed it do Dev Channel and it solved the problem.

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