Windows without the crap—Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB

https://www.howtogeek.com/273824/windows-10-without-the-cruft-windows-10-ltsb-explained/

Windows 10 Without the Cruft: Windows 10 LTSB (Long Term Servicing Branch), Explained
By Chris Hoffman on October 4th, 2016



Did you know there’s a version of Windows 10 that doesn’t get big feature updates, and doesn’t even have the Windows Store or Microsoft Edge browser? It’s called Windows 10 LTSB, short for Long Term Servicing Branch.


LTSB Is the Slowest Moving Branch of Windows 10
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What Does “Defer Upgrades” in Windows 10 Mean?

There are several “branches” of Windows 10. The most unstable branch is the Insider Preview version of Windows 10. Most Windows PCs are on the “Current Branch”, which is considered the stable branch. Windows 10 Professional users have the option to “ Defer Upgrades“, which puts them on the “Current Branch for Business”. This branch will only get new builds of Windows 10, like the Anniversary Preview, a few months after they’ve been tested on the “Current Branch”. It’s like the stable, consumer branch–but slower moving.

But businesses don’t want all their PCs to constantly get big updates, even if they are delayed a few months. Critical infrastructure like ATMs, medical equipment, and PCs that control machines on a factory floor don’t need whizbang features, they need long term stability and few updates that will potentially break things. A PC operating medical equipment in a hospital room doesn’t need new Cortana updates. That’s what Windows 10 LTSB–the “Long Term Servicing Branch”–is for, and it’s only available for the Enterprise edition of Windows 10.

While this is a branch of Windows 10, you can only get it by installing Windows from Windows 10 LTSB installation media. You can get other branches of Windows simply by changing an option within Windows 10 itself, but that isn’t the case here.



LTSB Gets Security Updates for 10 Years, Without Feature Updates
Because the LTSB version is designed for stability, it’s updated very differently from other builds of Windows 10. Microsoft will never publish a feature update like the Anniversary Update or November Update for Windows 10 LTSB. These machines will get security and bugfix updates through Windows Update, but that’s it. Even when Microsoft releases a new version of Windows 10 LTSB with new features, you’ll have to download new Windows 10 LTSB installation media and install or upgrade from the media. Windows 10 LTSB will never be automatically updated with new features.

According to official documentation, Microsoft will typically release a new major version of Windows 10 LTSB every two to three years. That’s what the documentation says, anyway–the current version of Windows 10 LTSB seems based on the Anniversary Update, so Microsoft is seemingly still changing its plans. You can also choose to skip releases–every version of Windows 10 LTSB will be supported with security and stability updates for ten years, according to Microsoft.

In other words, as Microsoft’s documentation words it, “The LTSB servicing model prevents Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB devices from receiving the usual feature updates and provides only quality updates to ensure that device security stays up to date.”

LTSB Doesn’t Include the Store, Cortana, Edge, and Other Apps
Windows 10 LTSB omits a lot of the new stuff in Windows 10. It doesn’t come with the Windows Store, Cortana, or Microsoft Edge browser. It also omits other Microsoft apps like Calendar, Camera, Clock, Mail, Money, Music, News, OneNote, Sports, and Weather.

In fact, the default Start menu on Windows 10 LTSB doesn’t even include a single tile. You won’t find any of those new Windows 10 apps installed, aside from the Settings app.



Microsoft Doesn’t Want You Using Windows 10 LTSB
Microsoft doesn’t want people using Windows 10 LTSB on general purpose PCs, though. As Microsoft puts it, “LTSB is not intended for deployment on most or all the PCs in an organization; it should be used only for special-purpose devices. As a general guideline, a PC with Microsoft Office installed is a general-purpose device, typically used by an information worker, and therefore it is better suited for the [Current Branch] or [Current Branch for Business] servicing branch.”

LTSB is only for rare mission-critical devices. “It’s more important that these devices be kept as stable and secure as possible than up to date with user interface changes,” explains the documentation. You might want your desktop PC to stay as stable and secure as possible without user interface changes, but Microsoft doesn’t want to give the average Windows 10 user this option. Microsoft wants your PC constantly updated with new features.

It’s Windows 10 Enterprise, and That Gives You More Control
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Because Windows 10 LTSB is only available for the Enterprise edition of Windows 10, you also get all the Enterprise-only features you can’t get on the Home and Professional editions of Windows 10.

The Enterprise edition gives you more control over telemetry data sent to Microsoft and when Windows Update installs updates. It also lets you change some special group policy settings, allowing you to disable the lock screen. Beyond configuration, you’ll find other useful features like Windows To Go, which allows you to install Windows 10 on a USB drive and take it with you so you can boot your own Windows installation on any PC you come across.



How Can I Get It?
Sounds pretty good, right? Unfortunately, as we said earlier, Windows 10 LTSB is only available as part of Windows 10 Enterprise. And Windows 10 Enterprise is only available to an organization with a volume licensing agreement, or through a new $7 per month subscription program.

Officially, if you’re part of an organization with a volume licensing program, you’re free to install Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB instead of Windows 10 Enterprise on your PCs.

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You Don’t Need a Product Key to Install and Use Windows 10

Unofficially, any Windows user can get Windows 10 LTSB if they want. Microsoft offers ISO images with Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB as part of its 90-day Enterprise evaluation program. You can download the ISO file–be sure to select “Windows 10 LTSB” instead of “Windows 10” when downloading–and install it on your own PC. It’ll function normally for 90 days, after which it’ll begin nagging you to activate Windows. But Windows 10 is perfectly functional even without activation, so you should be able to use it as long as you like without entering a product key. You’ll just have to put up with nag screens.



Windows 10 LTSB sounds exactly like what many Windows 10 users are asking for. Unfortunately, there’s no legitimate way for the average Windows user to get it. That’s no surprise–Microsoft doesn’t even want businesses using Windows 10 LTSB for most of their PCs. But feel free to try it out if you’re curious how Windows 10 would look without these features.

 

What we need is the stripped down version that Microsoft made for the Chinese government.

The Chinese demanded all "telemetry" and MS related cruft be removed from Windows 10 before they would allow Windows 10 to be used in the Chinese government.

That version of Windows 10 has no MS monitoring, no store, much like the LTSB version being sold to the "lucky few", but *really* stripped of all MS phone home crap.

I think the Chinese version stands a better chance of being truly stripped of cruft.

Or, is it even worse - with the "Master Spying" control's made available to allow the Chinese to use all those cool new MS telemetry features to spy on their own people?

Now the Chinese can step up their Spying game thanks to Microsoft...step it all the way up to... US level spying ...?

Whaat? I thought we were the good guys



Chinese Windows 10 starts at 32:40
32:40 Microsoft Lifts "Spying" Components in Windows 10 for Chinese Government Version

 

well there was a Windows 10 China Edition made last month :
https://fossbytes.com/windows-10-china-edition/

the only serious advantage of using an LTSB edition of Win10 is to skip "feature updates" entirely.
security quality updates will still get pushed thru automatically thru the LTSB branch but LTSB users can defer them just about indefinitely if they want

 

Been running this for a few weeks now, love the fact that I didn't have to disable as much stuff as usual right out of the box.

 

So, the rumor is there are no "Feature" updates, but there are still Updates, like "Security", but what about "Driver" updates too?

What is the Update scene like with LTSB in use? What are the Updates you seeing in the Update History after running for a while?

If you don't have automatic updates on, when you run update manually, what updates want to be installed?

 

I have only gotten a few updates that are actually for Windows, primarily Anniversary stuff. Majority of my history is for Office and no driver updates have been pushed. The actual Windows Update client itself behaves exactly the same in all other fashions.

 

Do you let it run automatically, or can you disable / turn Updates off completely, what kind of control do you have over updates in LTSB?

 

It is automatic only without extra tweaking. Only options are to set the restart time, use Microsoft Update, use sign in info, and choose how updates are delivered.

 

I assume this is true but want to confirm that you can game on W10 Enterprise in the same way you can with Home/Pro.

 

Correct. I've played a multitude of games from my Steam library on Enterprise

 

Does the standard Enterprise version include the Window Store? I normally would skip it and use LTSB, but I actually do own a couple games through it and don't want to lose access to them.

 

Yes Enterprise includes the store. Only LTSB is stripped down.

 

I thought Enterprise was free for Pro keys, and by extension LTSB...no?

 

No. Legitimately speaking, as the article itself says, you can only get Enterprise with a volume licence through, well, an enterprise.

One can activate LTSB with an Enterprise licence, and /r/microsoftsoftwareswap sells licences for ~$40.

 

That is exactly what I have been looking for. I love Windows 10, but I hate all the nonsense like Xbox, the store, edge, etc.

 

Windows without all the crap... wouldn't that be Linux?