Microsoft now provides official downgrade path from Windows 10 Pro to Windows 10 S

Microsoft has gone ahead and released an official system image for the new Surface Laptop which allows users who have upgraded the device to Windows 10 Pro to revert back to Windows 10 S, the lightweight version of the desktop OS which comes installed on the machine by default.

To briefly explain the situation here, as mentioned, Windows 10 S comes installed on the Surface Laptop, but users who want more flexibility – and to be able to install apps from outside the Windows Store – can upgrade to Windows 10 Pro for free (at least for the time being – next year, the upgrade will cost a small fee).

But what about if you do this, and subsequently decide you don’t like Pro, so you want to switch back to Windows 10 S? Well, that’s exactly what this official Surface Laptop recovery image allows for – resetting your notebook back to how it was when you first received the machine.

Clean slate

Note that this is a full reset, however. That means you won’t be able to keep any data, apps or settings; all this will be nuked in the process, so you must remember to back up any data on the laptop that you wish to keep.

When we engaged in a revealing interview with Microsoft on Windows 10 S, the firm explained that it wouldn’t be possible to revert to the operating system after upgrading to Windows 10 Pro unless you return the machine to its default factory image.

However, at the time Microsoft was talking about resetting the device using a system image provided by the manufacturer of the laptop running Windows 10 S, and the company didn’t make it clear that it’d be offering this facility itself.

Obviously, the software giant is doing so, beginning with the new Surface Laptop, and that’s good to see.

In other less positive Surface Laptop news this morning, Microsoft’s notebook got a woefully low rating for repairability from iFixit, actually scoring less than Apple’s new MacBooks, which is quite a feat given that the latter were awarded a pitiful score of 1/10.

Via: MS Power User