Microsoft has announced an update to its graphics driver publishing policy in an effort to fix a major issue plaguing Windows for a very long time. Essentially, this promises to fix the problem of Windows Update downgrading your drivers even though you may have a better, newer driver already. To do this, the company is introducing a shift from its four-part hardware identification targeting system to a simplified two-part model. The tech giant is hoping this change will improve the accuracy of driver distribution.
According to Microsoft, this updated Windows Hardware Compatibility Program (WHCP) approach will bundle driver targeting into a combination of Hardware ID (HWID) and Computer Hardware ID (CHID). This will replace the previous, more complex four-part structure that was used for graphics driver publishing and targeting so as to reduce mismatched installations that can lead to graphics driver issues on user setups.
Microsoft has clarified that the updated policy is focused on improving how future drivers are published and distributed; existing ones will continue to follow the current framework.
In terms of when we will see this updated change in end-user devices, Microsoft has provided a timeline and it hopes to complete this between the end of 2026 and early 2027.
The announcement comes as part of its effort to improve Windows driver quality that's being delivered via the Windows Update channel. Alongside this, the company also announced another major improvement wherein Windows 11 will automatically roll back buggy drivers using the power of the cloud.
The tech giant keeps adding interesting driver improvement features from time to time (including on Windows 11 version 25H2), and the two latest initiatives are certainly very appealing. You can read the official blog post here on Microsoft's site.
7 Comments
Load the comments and join the conversation!
Read the comments, ask the editors questions, show respect and join the conversation.