Update 2017-05-02: I’ll attempt to keep this up to date as new versions of Windows come out. This might seem like an odd topic to cover, but I’ve receive quite a few questions about this in recent months. Due to Windows 10 being developed constantly and on a rapid release schedule, it’s important to differentiate between the various major updates. Even though Windows 10 Anniversary Update (1607) seems very similar to what would have been called Windows 10 RTM in the past, there are some big changes, and keeping track of each major update can be tricky when traditionally IT Pro’s are used to a new version of Windows every few years rather than every few months. It also doesn’t help that each update has a marketing name that isn’t reflected anywhere in Windows itself, so matching the update names to version numbers/builds can be useful. Here’s a quick table on the major updates, their versions and actual build numbers.
| Update | Version | Build | Codename |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 10 RTM | 1507 | 10240 | Threshold 1 |
| November Update | 1511 | 10586 | Threshold 2 |
| Anniversary Update | 1607 | 14393 | Redstone 1 |
| Creators Update | 1703 | 15063 | Redstone 2 |
| Fall Creators Update | 1709 | 16299 | Redstone 3 |
| April 2018 Update | 1803 | 17134 | Redstone 4 |
| October 2018 Update | 1809 | 17763 | Redstone 5 |
| May 2019 Update | 1903 | 18362 | |
| November 2019 Update | 1909 | 18363 | 19H2 |
| May 2020 Update | 2004 | 19041 | 20H1 |
| October 2020 Update | 20H2 | 19042 | 20H2 |
| May 2021 Update | 21H1 | 19043 | 21H1 |
| TBA | 21H2 | xxxxx | Sunvalley |
As you can see from the table, there’s not a huge amount of updates currently (although certainly more than the traditional Windows release cycle) and it’s easier to think of each update as a service pack in some ways. If using Windows 10 LTSB 2015 (Long Term Servicing Branch) you will be on Windows 10 RTM (1507) and if you are using Windows 10 LTSB 2016, you will be on Windows 10 Anniversary Update (1607). The LTSB version of Windows 10 is only available to volume licensing customers and has some of the more consumer facing features and apps removed.
If you want to check what version of Windows 10 you’re using, just press the Start button and type winver and press Enter. If you have the Anniversary Update installed, Windows will report Version 1607 and OS Build 14393. The trailing 3 numbers in the image below are minor updates which are the regular updates you receive through Windows Update each month.
The name of each update I tend to think as the friendly name or marketing name for it, as I’ve never actually seen the name referred to in the OS itself. For my own management of images and such, I tend to go by the version number. The version is easily remembered as it is derived from the year and month that the update was released, so 1607 is 2016, July, which is when the Anniversary Update was released.
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-Mike