Windows 10 May 2021 (21H1) update is available for all users. Here are the steps to download the latest Windows 10 May 2021 ISO.
It is that time of year, and without missing a beat, Microsoft just released the Windows 10 May 2021 (21H1) update for all users. In case you don’t know, as of now, Microsoft releases two major updates every year. This is the first significant update in 2021. On all compatible systems, the update should be downloaded and installed automatically within a couple of weeks. Major updates are generally released in waves so that Microsoft can iron out compatibility issues and bugs as and when they occur.
If you can’t wait to install the new update, you can install May 2021 update manually. To manually update the system, or if you wish to have an ISO file in hand, you can download the Windows 10 May 2021 ISO directly from the Microsoft website.
However, it can be tricky for new users to download the 20H1 ISO in a typical Microsoft fashion. Let me show you how to download Windows 10 May 2021 ISO in two different ways.
Use Media Creation Tool to download May 2021 ISO
Microsoft provides a unique tool called Media Creation Tool that lets you do an in-place upgrade, create a bootable USB drive, or download the latest Windows 10 ISO.
Follow these steps to download Windows 10 May 2021 ISO file using the Media Creation Tool.
First, go to the official Microsoft page and click the “Download tool now” button to download the Media Creation Tool.
After downloading the MCT app, open it by double-clicking on the exe file. On the main screen, click the “Accept” button. Generally, you will find the downloaded files in the Downloads folder.
Next, select the “Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC” option. Push “Next.”
If you want to download Windows 10 ISO that is the same as the computer you are using, select the “Use the recommended options for this PC” checkbox. If you want to download some other edition of Windows 10, uncheck the checkbox and select the appropriate options from the dropdown menus. After that, click the “Next” button.
Now, select the “ISO file” option and click the “Next” button. To directly create a bootable drive, plugin an empty USB drive, select the “USB flash drive” option, and click “Next.”
Now, choose a location to save the ISO file and click the “Save” button. You can change the default name in the “Filename” field.
As soon as you do that, the tool will start the download process. The ISO file will be around 5 GB. So, the full download can take some time to complete. As it is doing its work, you can minimize the application and do your other work.
Once done, close the tool and head over to the location you chose earlier to find the Windows 10 May 2021 ISO file. You can now use this ISO file to create a bootable Windows 10 USB drive.
Direct download Windows 10 May 2021 ISO
If you don’t want to use the Media Creation tool and want to download the ISO directly, you can do that with a simple trick. That is, change the browser user agent to something other than Windows. Once you do that, the Microsoft webpage will let you download the ISO file rather than the MCT application. Though it sounds complicated, it is effortless to do.
I’m showing this in the Chrome browser, but you can follow the same steps in the Edge browser.
First, open the Chrome browser and go to this page. Next, right-click on the page and select “Inspect.” You can also press the “Ctrl + Shift + I” keyboard shortcut. This action will open the developer tools to the side or bottom of the Chrome window.
In the Developer Tools window, click on the “Phone/Tablet” icon appearing on the left side of the top bar. It is called the “Device Toggle Toolbar.”
As soon as you do that, the web page might shrink. It is normal. From the top bar above the web page, select “iPad Pro” from the first dropdown menu and “100%” from the second dropdown menu.
After that, click the refresh button on the address bar or press “F5” to refresh the webpage.
Now, scroll down and select Windows 10 May 2021 ISO from the “Select Edition” dropdown menu. Click “Confirm” after selecting.
Choose your language from the following dropdown menu and click the “Confirm” button.
The webpage will now generate the download links and displays them. Click on the Download button depending on your system architecture. It should immediately start the Windows 10 May 2021 ISO download process.
The ISO file size will be around 5 GB. Depending on your internet speed, it can take some time to complete. After downloading, you can create a bootable USB drive using the ISO file.
That is all. It is that simple to download Windows 10 May 2021 ISO file.
I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below, and I will try to help as much as possible.
