How to uninstall Windows 10 version 1809 (October 2018 Update)

The October 2018 Update for Windows 10 will be downloading and installing automatically as a free update on devices sometime in October. However, rollouts of new versions have taught us that they don’t always goe as planned because of the potential unknown bugs and compatibility issues.

At least during the first several weeks, it’s expected that a small number of computers will come across problems, and for that reason Windows 10 includes an option to uninstall the October 2018 Update (version 1809) to rollback to the previous version.

Typically, you would use the option to remove the new version because your device is having problems, or version 1809 installed automatically, and you’re not ready to upgrade. If your device has been upgraded using the Windows Update, Media Creation Tool, or using the Update Assistant, during the first ten days, you can uninstall Windows 10 version 1809 using the recovery feature.

In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to uninstall the October 2018 Update to go back to the previous version of Windows 10.

• How to remove the Windows 10 October 2018 Update
• Missing Go back to the previous version of Windows 10 option

How to remove the Windows 10 October 2018 Update

The process to rollback to the previous version after installing the Windows 10 October 2018 Update from your computer is straightforward, but you should always consider checking for new updates first, as there could be already a fix for the problem you’re having.

Also, if you’re dealing with an specific issue, research online first, as the problem could have an easy fix. When nothing seems to resolve the problem, you can use the steps below (or the video above) to rollback and get rid of the Windows 10 version 1809. Here’s how:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on Update & Security.

3. Click on Recovery.

4. Under “Go back to previous version of Windows 10,” click the Get started button.

   

5. Select a reason why you’re uninstalling the October 2018 Update.

6. Click the Next button.

7. Click the No, thanks button.

8. Click the Next button.

9. Click the Next button again.

10. Click the Go back to earlier build button.

    

Once you’ve completed the steps, your device will uninstall the latest feature update, and it’ll go back to the previous version.

Missing Go back to the previous version of Windows 10 option

If you don’t see the option to go back to a previous version of Windows 10, then a few things could be happening. Windows 10 automatically saves a copy of the previous version on the C:\ drive, on a folder called Windows.old, during each upgrade in case the installation fails and rollback is necessary.

If the installation completes successfully, the Windows.old folder will stay on your device, and you can use the above instructions to manually remove Windows 10 version 1809 from your computer.

If you don’t have the Windows.old folder, you won’t be able to uninstall the update using the steps mentioned above.

There’s also a chance that you may be trying to uninstall the Windows 10 October 2018 Update after the ten days of the original installation. The Windows.old folder takes a lot of space on your device, and to free up space for more important files, Windows automatically deletes the previous version files folder after ten days of the installation. If this is the case, you won’t be able to go back to a previous version.

If you have the Windows.old folder, but you don’t see the option to go back to a previous version. Then there’s another issue, and you’ll need to downgrade using a clean installation of Windows 10 using an ISO file that contains the older version you want to use.

Once you’re back on the previous version, you can try reinstalling the feature update again. If you don’t want to upgrade, you can always block the Windows 10 version 1809 using these steps.

If you no longer have the option to roll back, you can use this guide to configure your device to keep the previous installation for a longer period so you have more time to uninstall an upgrade of Windows 10 the next time around.