Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Don't fix it if it ain't broke

They Fixed It / Microsoft

2012

Microsoft

Windows 8 Start menu

Before
A Start button and Start menu in the corner of the screen, where they had been since Windows 95.
The fix
Windows 8 removed both and sent people to a full-screen grid of tiles instead.
Then
Windows 8.1 put a Start button back in 2013, but it still opened the tile screen. A real Start menu did not return until Windows 10 in 2015.
Took it back

Start menu back in Windows 10, three years later.

Your call

Source: windowscentral.com

More fixes nobody asked for

2016

Apple

iPhone headphone jack

Before
iPhones with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.
The fix
Dropped the jack from the iPhone 7. Phil Schiller said it came down to one word: courage.
Then
Apple announced $159 AirPods at the same event. No iPhone since the 7 has had a headphone jack.

Kept it.

Still gone, ten years later.

Your call

2016

HP

HP printer ink lockout

Before
HP OfficeJet printers that took cheaper third-party ink cartridges without complaint.
The fix
A firmware update, set to switch on September 13, 2016, made printers reject cartridges without HP chips.
Then
Printers started calling perfectly good cartridges damaged. HP admitted no fault, but paid $1.5 million to settle a US class action and up to $1.35 million to settle in Europe.

Kept it.

HP printers were still blocking non-HP chips in 2023.

Your call

2016

Meta (Instagram)

Instagram algorithmic feed

Before
Instagram showed posts from people you follow, newest first.
The fix
Switched the main feed to an algorithm that ranks posts instead of listing them by time.
Then
In March 2022 Instagram added Following and Favorites feeds in chronological order. The ranked Home feed stayed the default.
Half took it back

Chronological feed is back, one tap away, never the default.

Your call