The recent May 2021 update causing problems? Here is how you can properly uninstall May 2021 update and roll back to the previous version.
A few days back, Microsoft finally released the first significant update called 21H1 for the year 2021. Since then, the update is being automatically installed on many computers. Like with previous major updates, the May 2021 update is pretty minor, with improvements to the existing 20H2 built and almost no new features. The update is so minor that if you’ve installed it via Windows Update, you will not even know that it is the latest build unless you check the Windows 10 version manually.
For a vast majority of users, the update process is pretty smooth and uneventful. However, it might be the case for everyone. Even though the update itself is not that significant, there might be factors that can cause instability. Those factors include but are not limited to incompatible hardware or drives, incompatible software, not enough system resources, system crashes, corrupted files, etc. In those cases, you can uninstall May 2021 update and roll back to the previous version.
In this quick and straightforward Windows 10 guide, I will show you the steps to roll back or uninstall May 2021 (21H1) update in Windows 10.
A few things you should know
Before you can roll back May 2021 update, there are a couple of things you should know and confirm. Here are they:
It would be best to do an in-place upgrade via Windows Update or using the “Upgrade” option in the installation media. If you have done a clean installation, you will not be able to roll back.
Your computer should be within the rollback window. That is, it should’ve been less than ten days since you have installed the May 2021 update. If it’s been more than ten days, it means that the rollback window is gone, and you will not be able to uninstall May 2021 update.
Once you confirm the above two things, follow the below steps.
Uninstall May 2021 Update in Windows 10
Follow these steps to uninstall May 2021 update and roll back to the previous Windows 10 version.
First, save all your work and close any open applications. This ensures that no data is lost.
Next, open the Settings app with the “Windows key + I” shortcut. In the Settings app, go to the “Update & Security -> Recovery” page and click on the “Get Started” button under the “Go back to the previous version of Windows 10” section.
As soon as you do that, the rollback wizard will start. Here, select a reason to uninstall the upgrade and click “Next.” In my case, I’m choosing the “My apps or devices don’t work on this build” reason.
Now, the wizard will show some information regarding the time it takes and the need to reinstall applications under certain circumstances. Click “Next” to continue.
In the “Check for updates” window, click the “No, thanks” option.
Click the “Next” button on the user password information screen.
Finally, click on the “Go back to earlier build” button.
As soon as you do that, Windows 10 will start the rollback process. Depending on the computer, it will take some time to complete.
Once that done, log into your system normally.
That is it. It is that simple to roll back or uninstall May 2021 update in Windows 10.
I hope that helps.
If you are stuck or need some help, comment below, and I will try to help as much as possible.