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How to tell if your PC is running Windows 10 Creators Update

Get to know your Windows 10 version numbers: where to find them and what they mean.

Matt Elliott Senior Editor
Matt Elliott is a senior editor at CNET with a focus on laptops and streaming services. Matt has more than 20 years of experience testing and reviewing laptops. He has worked for CNET in New York and San Francisco and now lives in New Hampshire. When he's not writing about laptops, Matt likes to play and watch sports. He loves to play tennis and hates the number of streaming services he has to subscribe to in order to watch the various sports he wants to watch.
Expertise Laptops, desktops, all-in-one PCs, streaming devices, streaming platforms
Matt Elliott
2 min read

Depending on when it was put together, the new laptop or PC you just unboxed may or may not have Windows 10 Creators Update installed. It's a major update that was released in April and one to which you should upgrade. 

Microsoft isn't so forward as to slap Creators Update branding all over Windows so you'll need understand Microsoft's numbering system for the different versions of Windows and where to find such information.

So, what's Creators Update called?

Windows 10 Creator Update is officially Version 1703. If you are running Version 1607, then you don't have Creators Update and are running the previous Anniversary Update of Windows 10.

The version number is based on the date of the release, using a YYMM format. So, Version 1703 for Creators Update means it's from March of 2017 (even though it wasn't officially released until a month later). The previous Version 1607 for the Anniversary Update then was from July of 2016.

You'll also see a number for OS Build, which tells you the specific build you have. Microsoft releases minor updates to each major version of its OS; these smaller updates get a new OS Build number but don't change the Version number. Creators Update has an OS Build of 15063 dot-something, while Anniversary Update has an OS Build of 14393 dot-something.

How do I check which version of Windows I'm running?

There are two ways to check:

Open Settings and go to System > About. Here, you'll see which Edition (Home, Pro or Enterprise), Version and OS Build you are running.

win10-version
Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

The other way is to use the search bar, enter winver and hit Enter. A small window will pop up showing you the Edition, Version and OS Build that you've got.

winver-window
Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

How do I update to Creators Update?

Open Settings and go to Update & security and click the Check for Updates button. If it shows that no updates are available or updates you only to a newer Anniversary Update, then you can manually install Creators Update using Microsoft's Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant. Follow the instructions here.

Windows 10 Creators Update is a must upgrade. It introduces new 3D apps, VR capabilities and 4K game streaming, and I don't even count those among the 10 best features of Creators Update