Earlier this week, Microsoft announced the release of the Get Windows 10 app for PCs running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 to help and encourage previous versions of Windows users to upgrade to Windows 10. The app Get Windows 10 is designed to help users reserve their free Windows 10 upgrade and check for compatibility issues using the Upgrade Advisor available in the app.
The Get Windows 10 app is automatically downloaded via Windows Update on eligible PCs, and its icon appears in the system tray of the taskbar.
Once you reserve your free upgrade using the app, the Get Windows 10 app icon will continue to appear on the taskbar and will alert you when Windows 10 installation files are downloaded on your PC on or after July 29th, 2015. The app will then guide you to upgrade your current Windows installation to Windows 10 for free.
While the app takes a minimal amount of space on the taskbar, many users want to hide or completely get rid of the app as well as the icon.
Those of you who have already registered for the free upgrade might want to temporarily hide the icon until Windows 10 becomes available on July 29th. Likewise, those of you who don’t want to upgrade to Windows 10 for the next couple of months might want to completely remove Get Windows 10 icon from the taskbar as well as your PC.
Complete the instructions mentioned in one of the methods given below to get rid of Get Windows 10 app icon from the taskbar in Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.
Method 1
To hide the Get Windows 10 icon from taskbar
We recommend you go for this method if you have reserved your free upgrade and want to upgrade to Windows 10 once it becomes available.
Step 1: Click the small up arrow icon on the taskbar (see below picture), and then click Customize link to open Notification Area Icons window.
Step 2: Here, under icons, look for the entry named GWX (Get Windows 10), and then select the Hide icon and notifications option from the drop-down box next to it.
Click the OK button to hide the icon. Around July 29, you can configure the GWX (Get Windows 10) to show Icon and notification to get notifications once Windows 10 files are downloaded onto your PC.
Alternatively, if you want to hide the Get Windows 10 app icon from the taskbar but want to get notifications from the app, you can select Only show notifications option in Step 2.
Method 2
To completely remove Get Windows 10 app
Go for this method only if you have no plans to upgrade the current Windows 7/8.1 installation to Windows 10 in the near future.
The Get Windows 10 app is delivered through the KB3035583 update. You can completely uninstall Get Windows 10 app by uninstalling the update. To uninstall the update, follow given below directions.
Step 1: Open Run command box by simultaneously pressing Windows + R keys (Windows +R).
Step 2: In the box, type Appwiz.cpl and then press Enter to open Programs and Features.
Step 3: On the left-pane of Programs and Features, click View installed updates to see all installed updates.
Step 4: Scroll down to see the Windows section. Here, look for KB3035583 entry.
Step 5: Right-click on the entry and then click the Uninstall button. Click the Uninstall button again when you see the confirmation box. That’s all! If asked, reboot your PC to complete the uninstallation.
Tip: The update KB3035583 might appear again under the optional updates section. When you see the update under available updates, please hide the update just to make sure that you don’t accidentally install the update again.
Method 3
Temporarily remove Get Windows 10 app from the taskbar
In this method, we are simply closing Get Windows 10 app using Task Manager.
Step 1: Open Task Manager by either using Ctrl + Shift + Esc hotkey or right-clicking on Taskbar and then clicking Task Manager.
Step 2: If you’re on Windows 8/8.1, you need to click the More details button to see the full-version of the Task Manager.
Step 3: Next, under the Processes tab, look for the entry named GWX, right-click, and then click End task option. Get Windows 10 icon should now disappear from the taskbar.
Do let us know if there is a better way to hide or remove the Get Windows 10 app icon from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.