Connect with us

Editorials

10 Things You’ll Hate in Windows 10

Published

on

The free Windows 10 upgrade arrived on July 29th to positive reviews. Most reviewers lauded Microsoft’s decision to mix old ideas with modern concepts for a better experience. For example, the Start Menu isn’t new. Microsoft configured its Start Screen experience from Windows 8 into a Start Menu that’s great for notebook, tablet and desktop users. Apps running in small windows that can be resized for multitasking definitely isn’t new. Windows 10 introduces safe apps that users can download from its store and use the same way they have for years.

There’s a lot to like about Windows 10. GottaBeMobile found Windows 10 to be a pretty decent operating system by and certainly better than what Microsoft delivered in Windows 8.1. Overall, users should love their new Windows 10 devices and the free Windows 10 upgrade.

How to get better Windows 10 Battery Life (1)

Read: Windows 10 Review – A Love Affair

There are some features that do need some work though. Some of them are pretty obscure issues. You can live with them until Microsoft gets around to addressing them. A few of these even have fixes coming that we know about. Others are more complicated problems that’ll take Microsoft and its partners sometime to address.

10 Things You’ll Hate in Windows 10: Updates Happen Automatically

10 Things to Love About Windows 10 (8)

By far, one of the most controversial things to come out of Microsoft’s decision to treat Windows as a service is automatic updates.

The basic idea is simple. Microsoft wants users to love Windows and their Windows 10 devices. The people who merely tolerate or outright hate Windows usually have complaints about security. By requiring updates, Microsoft is able to address security issues and keep every device current with little assistance from users themselves.

Most users aren’t too thrilled with the idea of Microsoft mandating what upgrades they need to download. Some are even worried that an update Microsoft forces on users in the future could mess up their PC. That hasn’t happened yet, but that’s the worry.

Microsoft at least makes this easier on users by silently downloading updates in the background and installing them without requiring constant approval. If a restart needs to happen for an update to go through Windows 10 does the restart at 3 a.m. local time by default. Users can choose a specific time to perform reboots if they have a time that works better for them.

10 Things You’ll Hate in Windows 10: OneDrive Syncing Stinks For Now

How to Turn Off OneDrive Syncing in Windows 8 (5)

Built in OneDrive support from Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 did a lot of the groundwork for Microsoft’s integrated services strategy. Microsoft wants Windows to act as a gateway to its services, software and hardware in the same way that Android is sometimes seen as a gateway to Google’s services.

In Windows 8.1 OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage utility was robust. It was built-in and it supported background syncing effortlessly. What’s more, users could host their OneDrive folder on external storage like SD cards and hard drive. Stuff that wasn’t storeed locally was still visible thanks to little placeholder files.

OneDrive is still built-in for Windows 10. Unfortunately, everything great about it is gone. First, those place holder files that made it easy for you to see what was store on Microsoft’s servers aren’t there anymore. The touch-centric version of the OneDrive app is gone. You can’t sync OneDrive folders to external media either, meaning it’s practically useless for people with a limited amount of storage built into their device. Without a web browser, the only way to sell all of what’s on your OneDrive is to locally sync all of it.

Microsoft has said it has plans to at least restore some of this functionality, but it’s being quiet about the timetable.

10 Things You’ll Hate in Windows 10: Skype Is a No Show

Skype in Windows 8.1

Skype in Windows 8.1

There’s really only one messaging and video chat service that can give Google Hangouts any competition and its Skype. No doubt, that’s why Microsoft purchased it some time ago. Like OneDrive, Microsoft moved aggressively to integrate Skype in Windows 8.1.

Also like OneDrive, Skype is a borderline disaster in Windows 10. Microsoft has retired the dedicated Skype app that it built for the Windows Store. Instead it’s encouraging users to download it’s cumbersome, desktop program.

Microsoft has confirmed it has a Messages, Video and Phone app coming to address these issues for Windows 10 users. These apps could come sometime this fall.

10 Things You’ll Hate in Windows 10: Only in Tablet Mode Does the Touch Keyboard Surface Automatically

new Windows 10 Problems (12)

Windows 10 has two modes. The standard one really doesn’t have a name, but it’s what users get when they have a mouse and keyboard connected. It has windowed apps for multitasking and shortcuts in the Taskbar.

There’s also a Tablet Mode for users who only have touch. In Tablet Mode the Start Menu takes over the entire screen. Apps run in full screen too, though users can still snap them for multitasking purposes. Devices with the right driver upgrades from their manufacturer switch between each mode automatically. Microsoft did some good work here.

Unfortunately, the company missed the mark on one tiny thing. Outside of tablet mode, touching a text field anywhere doesn’t automatically open the keyboard, even though Windows 10 did. Instead, users have to hit the keyboard button on the right of their Taskbar or switch back into Tablet Mode to have the keyboard surface on its own. This wasn’t a problem in Windows 8.1.

10 Things You’ll Hate in Windows 10: Music Is Still Missing Basic Functionality

Windows 8 vs Windows 10 (4)

Microsoft has a sorted past with music. Thwarted by iTunes and the iPod, Microsoft stripped out tons of features and renamed its music service Xbox Music in 2012. Now it’s 2014 and Microsoft has Groove Music.

Groove Music is built into Windows 10 and so is support for its $9.99 subscription service. The app itself is decent enough, the company did add iTunes playlist importing. There are some huge deficiencies too. There’s no metadata editing whatsoever, leaving you at the mercy of whatever bad organization the app automatically applies to your music library. Only the algorithm built into the Radio does any actual playlist creation. There’s no support for automated playlists based on metadata. The service itself offers very little in the way of playlist creation too.

It plays music just fine, anything outside of that is another story.

10 Things You’ll Hate in Windows 10: You Can’t Act on Notifications in the Action Center

How to get better Windows 10 Battery Life (13)

The Action Center exists to let users see every alert coming from their device in one place. At the bottom of the Action Center are toggles for settings that users can switch out. It’s a huge step forward, one that Microsoft introduced in Windows Phone last year. Windows 8.1 forced users to rely on Live Tiles, which wasn’t the best idea since notifications would completely disappear if you didn’t catch it and didn’t have the app pinned.

The problem with the Action Center is that it’s not completely different. iOS and Android both have central places for notifications. Both allow you to reply to a message or otherwise act on a notification without having to dive into the app. For now, Windows 10 users are stuck deep diving into each notification.

Microsoft has plans to address this sometime soon too, if pictures of its unreleased Messages app are an accurate indication of the company’s plans.

10 Things You’ll Hate in Windows 10: Start Layouts Don’t Sync Across Devices

How to get better Windows 10 Battery Life (4)

Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 had effortless syncing. Change your background on one device and it changed on all your others. Install an app and that app was automatically added to your list of installable apps in other places. Even Live Tile layouts synced.

Microsoft has mostly canned this idea in Windows 10. Live Tiles are unique to every device now and there’s no easily discoverable list of all the apps users could install from their Windows Store account. For a company pushing the idea that Windows is great for every kind of device, making life more difficult for users with device combinations seems odd.

10 Things You’ll Hate in Windows 10: Windows Store Apps Need Updates

In Windows 10, Microsoft has made a sprawling sandbox for developers to create in. Windows Store apps can run side-by-side, update themselves automatically. Users can install a single Windows Store app across notebooks, desktops and tablets. All of this requires updates from developers and that’s going to take time.

Microsoft only finalized its Windows 10 developer environment in the days leading up to Windows 10’s launch. Right now, the Windows Store is almost exclusively stuffed with apps designed with old tools for Windows 8.1.

10 Things You’ll Hate in Windows 10: Connect to Suggested Open WiFi Hotspots

new Windows 10 Problems (7)

Windows 10 does anything and everything in its power to save users data and connect them to the internet. One utility involved in this is a system for connecting to open WiFi hotspots whenever possible. This feature is turned on by default and it can be very frustrating.

Say you’re in Starbucks thinking you’re connected to their WiFi. Without asking, your PC could be connected unstable slow Wi-Fi from the salon next door instead. Microsoft buries the switch to turn this off deep within the Advanced Wi-Fi settings menu.

10 Things You’ll Hate in Windows 10: White Titlebars

Xbox on Windows 10 (1)

Finally, there’s the design of Windows 10. For most, it’s refreshing and modern. Others see it as a never-ending collection of apps with bright white titlebars that break up the flow of their apps.

Apps created specifically for Windows 10 can either fill in this white bar with content or colorize it. Today, most apps aren’t updated to support Windows 10, meaning users are stuck with the white bars.

Microsoft plans to update Windows 10 at regular intervals to add new features and make tweaks to solve old problems. Here’s to hoping the company delivers early and fixes some of these Windows 10 problems as soon as possible.

24 Comments

24 Comments

  1. Sherry Deshaies

    08/15/2015 at 9:01 am

    I hate the whole thing, lost much of my stuff from w 7, moves supper slow, videos don’t always show up and I can’t use my regular go to sites. I wish I had never downloaded it and wish I knew how to get back w. 7. I find this a cheap stunt to make me pay for things I already had. Shame on you, I have loved windows up till now. I am not the only one, nearly every one on my fb hates it, those that don’t have not fallen for the cheap stunt you have pulled.

    • KB

      08/17/2015 at 11:34 am

      Mine is slow, too. Go to your start bar, settings, then ‘update & security’ — under ‘recovery,’ you can revert to Windows 7 if it’s been a month or less since your upgrade. I’m debating, but this slowness is AWFUL.

  2. Mike James

    08/15/2015 at 9:43 am

    “Only in Tablet Mode Does the Touch Keyboard Surface Automatically”

    This is FALSE.

    Settings > Devices > Typing > “Automatically show the touch keyboard in windowed apps when there’s no keyboard attach to your device”

    • Mobile Fan

      08/15/2015 at 1:19 pm

      Cool tip, Thank You. Very useful in tablet mode.

  3. t murray

    08/15/2015 at 10:48 am

    Mike, thank you for that tip.

  4. Kathleen Mangina

    08/15/2015 at 12:08 pm

    I lost all my favorite games.

  5. Norm Robinson

    08/15/2015 at 12:40 pm

    Windows 10 works well on my HP PC, but my Toshiba Satellite laptop mouse freezes when W-10 fully loads and makes the laptop almost worthless. Can find my way to the Device Manager, but when I click on a component all it get is the “general” tab and no way to update drivers. The Microsoft site gives some basic info, which it totally no help. Regretting this Windows 10 download on my laptop.

    • Norm

      08/18/2015 at 4:51 am

      My HP PC performance is much better with W10 than when I was running W7. However, I never could get it running correctly on my Toshiba Satellite laptop. I finally was able to get the laptop back to W7 but it was not easy with no mouse function. Win some, lose some…

  6. uni

    08/15/2015 at 9:42 pm

    If you hate it so much then just factory reset or reinstall windows! That’s what I did. I tried it for about a week and it’s has given me some problems so I am changing back and hopefully it will resolve these issues.

    • Ken Newman

      08/16/2015 at 10:17 pm

      What isn’t being said is that if you had upgraded your operating system (say from Windows OEM standard to Windows Ultimate or Pro) reset FAILS and calling the vendor to obtain restore disks on a machine 3-1/2 years old (HP) takes over 6 hours to reauthenticate your operating system. Once I got a hold of them they said I had to purchase a retail version of the software and reinstall. Thanks for the false promise of easily going back to WIndows 7.

  7. ron scannell

    08/16/2015 at 12:39 pm

    There is only 1 thing I hate about it and would be ‘Windows 10’, or should I say Windows 8.2. It takes a good 8 minutes to fully start, that is if it starts and doesnt just go blackscreen. Email is very slow to open, as the new Explorer. I think a class-action law suit should be started.

  8. Tim Higgins

    08/16/2015 at 6:17 pm

    I upgraded my desktop to W10 about a week ago. I built it so I know all the components. I downloaded all the drivers for W10 for my motherboard, graphics card, etc. beforehand. I had zero issues during the upgrade process, and it turned out I did not need any of my downloaded drivers- W10 went and got them automagically. My boot process is quicker than my W7 boot. I do not use Cortana, and turned off all those privacy-invasive features that I could. I did not initialize One Drive, being satisfied with DropBox, Google Drive and Box already in use. The windows store seems useless for a desktop environment. Edge has potential. Maybe in a few months or years it will be up with Chrome or Firefox, but not at present. So, I’m using it much like I used W7, but am enjoying its increased speed. No slow downs, no freezes, no crashes. Perhaps I just got lucky, but I suspect it has more to do with the self built pc, using retail hardware of recent vintage. I suspect I’ll have more issues with my laptop, an Lenovo ideapad U260 which is maybe 5 years old. Lenovo appears to be not supporting it any longer. That said, I’ll probably still give it a go. My test machine is a 2009 vintage Lenovo S10 netbook that I got from one of your give-aways! It ran XP, but I joined Windows Insider program using it and successfully put W10 on it. Everything works, but the Atom 270 CPU, 1.5 GB Ram really isn’t up the the job. It was a good learning experience, and I polished my meditation skills while doing it!

  9. Jennifer

    08/16/2015 at 7:27 pm

    “Microsoft has a sorted past with music” …please tell me you meant *sordid* …?

  10. John

    08/17/2015 at 12:48 pm

    Used windows XP & 7 prior to upgrading to 10 on my laptop, desktop with the exception of a few minor problems over the last 15 years I can’t really complain. I’m not a computer genius but merely a average user and consider myself quite lucky compared to a lot of other people that post reviews on these sites. BTW – With the exception of my first desktop years ago I’ve always been using refurbished pc’s and still never had any major problems. Go figure !!!!!

  11. Rishi

    08/18/2015 at 1:44 am

    Worst upgrade to Windows 8.1

  12. AydenC

    08/18/2015 at 4:38 am

    Things I Hate About Windows 10:
    1. I Burn DVD’s All The Time, They Shouldn’t Of Removed Windows DVD Maker.
    2. Where’s Microsoft Anna And David? I Need Them For My Projects!

  13. Dave_R

    08/18/2015 at 6:00 am

    8.1 and 10 have both upset the driver for my HDMI attached external monitor.

    Even W8 created issues, but I was able to download the previous driver and get it working again. For now however, it seems Microsoft “upgrades” have provided me with a 22″ paperweight on the corner of my desk and… I assume… also eliminated the possibility of hooking up to any other presentation monitor through the HDMI port.

    Not a good thing for a laptop.

  14. DavidTRobison

    08/28/2015 at 11:32 pm

    fg Hey Friends,,,,!my classmate’s step-aunt makes $79 /hr on the laptop .!!She has been fired for 5 months but last month her income was $19889 just working on the laptop for a few hours. Visit This Link>> Click Here To Read More

  15. Michelle R.

    09/07/2015 at 10:08 am

    I tried it out for the first time today. I will NEVER upgrade to Windows 10. Beyond horrible.

  16. Never upgrade to Windows 10 Spyware.

    09/16/2015 at 4:07 pm

    @Sherry Deshaies
    I hate the whole thing, lost much of my stuff from w 7, moves supper slow, videos don’t always show up and I can’t use my regular go to sites. I wish I had never downloaded it and wish I knew how to get back w. 7.

    If you want to return to using Windows 7 you will need to do a clean install of your copy of Windows 7 (disc)
    Windows 10 is nothing but spyware and absolute garbage. The look of Windows 10 the Apps, the hidden spyware, the keyloggers, the back doors, everything is monitoring what you do and it Cannot!! be disabled or removed. i feel sorry for all those fooled into upgrading to windows 10 because its not an operating system its a tool microsoft created to interfere and monitor everything you do online.

    Dont use it dont upgrade to it and if you have the only way to get rid of it is by reinstalling Windows 7.

  17. Beware of hidden Windows 10 updates,files installing on Windows 7 machines.

    09/16/2015 at 4:29 pm

    Microsoft are forcing Windows 10 onto windows 7 users who refused to and will not upgrade to Windows 10
    Microsoft are doing this by installing updates onto windows 7 machines that have auto updates enabled..
    Disable it.
    To stop microsoft from doing this… Click Start, type, Services,, scroll down until you see “Windows Module, Windows Update & Windows Defender.. Right click mouse on each of these and select disable (recommended) or Manual.. Make sure Automatic is not enabled..
    This Disables Windows updates altogether, if you wish to update windows in the future you go back into SERVICES and select MANUAL .. & update as normal, after updating always disable Windows updates, its the only way to secure your privacy.
    Also when updating Wimndows 7 be on the look out for hidden windows 10 updates and do not install them, Microsoft are trying every trick in the book to get people to use windows 10, Dont let them.
    This will stop microsoft from secretly sending you windows 10 files that you do not want or ever need.
    Google ,, How to remove windows 10 files from windows 7 updates.
    stay smart ppl

  18. TomD

    10/17/2015 at 8:37 am

    I was on the computer at 2AM and a Windows 10 invitation popped up. The “If you don’t like Windows 10, you can go back to your other version” made me decide to download Windows 10. Seven hours later, I was checking on my dvd/cd drive and discovered that it was gone. My Roxio Pro program had been rendered useless. I wasn’t having that and went back to Windows 7–where I plan to stay.

  19. Debbie Mellor

    11/03/2015 at 6:26 pm

    Argh I’ve just restored my old laptop to Windows 7. I should have known better I hated Windows 8 and swapped a brand new laptop with my husband for his older laptop with Windows 7 a few years ago. I hoped that Windows 10 would be better but sadly it wouldn’t play my DVDs no media player? I searched for a decent media player and the two I downloaded either didn’t work or was going to cost me when my media player in w7 was free. To be honest I use my iPad and iPhone for everything and basically my laptop is used as a DVD player in my work room so the need for so called improved Windows versions are not high on my bucket list. Best of luck to Microsoft but I personally feel that their huge corporation is lagging way behind Apple. I guess my next upgrade will be to the stupidly expensive Mac Book. Nice one Microsoft you’ve just lost another loyal fan :(

  20. Cecil Frost

    07/12/2016 at 6:51 am

    Excellent advice here. DO NO SET UP WINDOWS 10 without reading Travis’s article and the readers’ comments first. During setup you can turn off some of the things things that will make you miserable. .Up front, Do Not click to accept MIcrosoft’s blanket recommendations for automatic functions. I turned off eight of them. Microsoft is not in my best interest here: they are in the business of maintaining a continuous flow of information about me that they can sell to advertisers to put more distractions in my face. An honest software company would not do this. This is where you can turn off automatic connecting to junk WiFi sites. I also turned off Page Prediction (just what I want: Microsoft guessing where I’m going next and taking me there so I have to interrupt what I was doing and go back). I also turned off automatic sending of my advertising ID to all apps (I’d rather get random garbage instead of personalized garbage so I can train myself to ignore it ALLl versus getting ads for things I have already bought or am familiar with jerking my eyes and mind away from what I am doing. It’s easy, just move the slider to “off”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.