How to upgrade from Windows 10 build 10056 to 10061

Yesterday, Microsoft released Windows 10 build 10061 for those of you participating in the Windows Insider Program. Unfortunately, for those of you who have the leaked build 10056 installed, you might encounter a problem when trying to update to the newer build. Sometimes the installation might fail. Fortunately, there is a solution.

Pointed out by our reader iMet in the comments section, a simply registry edit will allow Windows 10 10056 to update. We highly suggest backing up your system before tinkering with the registry. If you are missing a string, make sure to add it so it looks the same as below.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsSelfHost\Applicability]
“BranchName”=”fbl_impressive”
“ThresholdRiskLevel”=”low”
“Ring”=”WIF”
“ThresholdInternal”=dword:00000000
“ThresholdOptedin”=dword:00000001

Make this registry change and head over to the Settings app to try your update again. If it fails, give it another try. I was able to successfully install after trying a second time. Keep in mind that it may take a little while to go past the “preparing to install” phase.

Build 10061 includes a new transparent taskbar, improvements to the Start Menu and more customization options in the Settings app. We’re going to explore these new features over the next few days, so stay tuned. If you notice any new improvements, let us know in the comments below. We might just feature you in a story!