Microsoft backtracks on decision to remove Windows Control Panel

Microsoft has removed a section from its help documents that said the Windows Control Panel would be discontinued. In the new version of the page, the company says only that many of the settings “are in the process of being migrated to the Settings app.”

The old version of the text was archived on the Wayback Machine:

Control Panel is being discontinued in favor of the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience.

The new version, currently available in Windows helps:

Many of the settings in Control Panel are in the process of being migrated to the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience.

The main difference is the removal of the term “discontinuation.” It is unclear whether the change in wording means the company has revised its policies or simply decided to better explain the situation. Foreign media outlets such as Ars Technica and Mashable have reached out to Microsoft for more information, but have yet to receive a response.

On the other hand, Microsoft kept the section where it recommends giving preference to the Settings app.

Tip: Although Control Panel still exists for compatibility reasons and to provide access to some settings that haven’t yet been migrated, you’re encouraged to use the Settings app whenever possible.

End of Control Panel was criticized

News of the possible removal of the Control Panel emerged last Thursday (August 22). The Neowin website was one of the first to notice that a new support page spoke of discontinuing the tool. Despite this, it was not clear when this would happen. The next major update to the system, Windows 11 24H2, still has the Control Panel.

Even without knowing when the tool would end, users criticized Microsoft’s decision. One of the problems pointed out is that the Settings app does not offer all the controls present in the old settings folder.

The outdated look, the same as Windows 7, would not be completely resolved with the migration, as some adjustments within Settings lead to pages with the same outdated design.

As Ars Technica points out, the Control Panel has been in Windows since Windows 1.0 in 1985 (!). The Settings app, on the other hand, appeared in Windows 8 in 2012. It looks like they’ll be around for a while longer.

Source: Ars Technica.