Windows 10 S Mode Switch Vanishes In Latest Insider Preview Build

Microsoft seemed set to make a big deal out of Windows 10 S Mode after the spectacular failure of Windows 10 S as a standalone operating system. Microsoft confirmed in March of this year that Windows 10 S was confusing for users and instead decides to focus on S Mode. The same month Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore confirmed that Windows 10 S Mode would land in 2019.

When Windows 10 build 17686 turned up there was a setting called “Switch to S mode”, but at the time when clicked nothing happened other than to take the user to a Windows Activation page. That setting suggested the ability to move back and forth between normal Windows 10 and S Mode without a reformat of a disk. The latest Windows 10 build 17713 is now out and in that build, the “Switch to S mode” option has been removed.

S Mode is the rebranded form of Windows 10 S that failed. Windows 10 S was its own operating system originally and Microsoft was allowing those who bought devices running that OS to move to full Windows 10 for free and many of them did. The catch was that you couldn’t go back to Windows 10 S after that move; some had expected Microsoft to offer a toggle then that allowed the user to move between full Windows and S but that didn’t happen.

With Switch to S Mode now removed from the current build, any hope that the new build would allow switching between normal and Windows 10 S easy have faded. With the setting disappearing from the current build, it would seem the switching ability won’t come in Redstone 5 when it launches, but it could come later.