Windows 10 will now download some updates automatically over metered connections

Last year there was a number of stories about organizations suffering crippling data charges after Windows 10 started to download updates automatically over their cellular or satellite data connections.

It seemed at first Microsoft has learned their lesson, by allowing users to mark Ethernet connections as Metered, but now in the latest Insider version of Windows 10 there is an indication that Microsoft will once be forcing Windows 10 users to incur uncontrolled and uncontrollable costs against their will.

The text in the Update Settings page has changed, and now says:

We’ll automatically download and install updates, except on metered connections (where changes may apply). In that case, we’ll automatically download only those updates required to keep Windows running smoothly.

Microsoft has so far not clarified what “updates required to keep Windows running smoothly are”,  or how these differ from regular updates, but with LTE-enabled laptops and tablets becoming more common many more of us may be waking up to the bill shock of a massive and unexpected phone bill 30 days after Patch Tuesday.