The leading UK consumer watchdog group Which? claims Microsoft should offer better support for people who upgrade their older PCs to Windows 10. The group claims that 12% of the people they surveyed who updated to Windows 10 have since rolled back to an earlier version of the OS.
Microsoft offered everyone who had a Windows 7 or 8.1 PC a way to upgrade their OS to Windows 10 for free from July 29, 2015 to the same day in 2016 (although there's evidence the company has unofficially kept that offer going). However, according to the BBC (via Neowin), the survey conducted by Which? showed that some people didn't care for Windows 10 after that update:
Which? surveyed more than 5,500 of its members in June, and said that 12% of the 2,500 who had upgraded to Windows 10 had later reverted to an earlier version.
Much has been said in the past about Microsoft's efforts to "nag" Windows 7 and 8.1 owners to upgrade to Windows 10 with notifications from the now removed "Get Windows 10" app. Which? says it goes beyond that, with many people complaining about problems with their PCs after they installed the free upgrade:
"Once installed, people reported various problems, including printers, wi-fi cards and speakers no longer working with their PC; instances of lost files and email accounts no longer syncing; and, most significantly, their computer encountering such problems that they had to pay someone to repair it," Which? said.
The watchdog group believes Microsoft should offer better customer service for people who have experienced problems with the Windows 10 upgrade, including "paying compensation where it's due under the Consumer Rights Act 2015." In a statement, a Microsoft spokesperson defended its efforts to help customers with the update:
"The Windows 10 upgrade is a choice designed to help people take advantage of the most secure and most productive Windows," said a spokesman. "Customers have distinct options. Should a customer need help with the upgrade experience, we have numerous options including free customer support."
