Time Bomb: Windows Insider Builds Approaching Expiration Date, Urges Upgrade

Yesterday, Microsoft rolled out Windows 11 Can Build 25931.1000 to Windows Insider Canary channel users. The expiration date for this version has been adjusted to September 16, 2024. However, all previous versions are set to expire on September 16, 2023, just one month away. Once expired, a full-screen popup will appear every four hours, severely impacting usability.

For instance, Landian.news's current Canary channel version is Windows 11 Can Build 25926.1000. Running the `winver` command reveals that the evaluation copy will expire on September 16, 2023, at 01:59.

Microsoft has already alerted users in its blog that they need to upgrade as soon as possible to avoid a time bomb effect that will hinder normal usage after next month.

Landian.news also examined the Windows Insider Dev channel and found that this channel's time bomb is also set for September 16, 2023, at 01:59. Although this week's Windows 11 developer version was withdrawn due to problems, Microsoft didn't post a blog reminder. However, with next week's new version, Microsoft is expected to alert developer version users that they must update promptly.

As for the Windows Insider Beta and RP channels, they are likely rolling updates, so they have no time bomb or expiration date.

How to check for the time bomb:

Users can find the expiration date by going to the Windows 10/11 taskbar search, typing `winver`, and pressing Enter. The About Windows window will display. If there's an expiration date, that means there's a time bomb. If not displayed, it won't expire.