Microsoft is currently rolling out an update for the removal of Adobe Flash Player from the system. The update should hit the machines running Windows 10 version 2004 and older up to the recent version 20H2.
Adobe officially killed the Flash Player and ended its support on December 31, 2020. Hence it strongly recommended users immediately uninstall Flash Player to protect their systems. Microsoft, with that regard, took the responsibility from users to act. It rolled out an update that automatically uninstalls the unwanted software.
On Windows 10 machine, the update will be listed as following in Settings > Windows Update.
- Update for Removal of Adobe Flash Player for Windows 10 Version 2004 for x64-based systems (KB4577586)”.
If you had already upgraded to the latest build, you might see it as
- “Update for Removal of Adobe Flash Player for Windows 10 Version 20H2 for x64-based systems (KB4577586)”
Microsoft has started pushing an update KB4577586 to Windows 10 powered systems on February 16, 2020. Windows 10 based machines (x86, x64, ARM64) running version 1809, 1909, 2004, and version 20H2 will receive the update. The rollout will also hit several Windows Server versions including 1909, 2004, version 20H2, and Windows Server 2019.
Microsoft has previously rolled out the same update on Windows 8.1, Windows Embedded 8 Standard, and Windows Server 2012 on October 26, 2020.
How to install Windows 10 KB4577586
The update will install itself through the Windows Update section and will not take more than 10 minutes. To check the installation status, you may go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update. Click View Update History and under Update History expand Other Updates to see the listing of the update and its status.
You should get the update automatically if you haven’t already and we recommend you wait for it. Though, you can download the update and install it manually if you know the right version from Microsoft Update Catalog.
Important Notes
This update will only remove the Flash Player installed by the Windows operating system through a previous update. It will not remove any instance of Flash Player installed manually from a third-party. For example, the version you download from a web browser through adobe.com is a third-party version and will not be uninstalled with this Windows update.
Unlike most Windows updates, this update is a permanent install and you can’t uninstall it. It means, once the Flash Player is removed, you can not restore it back.
This update may also remove registry settings for the Flash Player version installed from a third-party source. To resolve this, you can re-install the third-party version.
To uninstall any third-party version of Flash Player you will need to go to Apps & Features in Windows 10. Search for the word “Flash”, if it appears, just uninstall it. If it doesn’t appear, you need not worry about it as you never installed it.
