7 Ways to Stop Automatic Updates in Windows 10

You have only one hour left before the submission deadline for your programming assignment. You run to your computer as soon as you get home and turn it on, only to be greeted by a screen that says “Working on updates”. Only then do you realize that last night, your PC had decided to download the “automatic updates” you’ve been avoiding till now.

We’ve all been there. Stuck with an “Installation Screen” when we need the computer the most. Ironically, almost every time Windows picks to install these automatic updates is the absolute worst time for installing updates.

With Windows 10, Microsoft introduced obligatory automatic updates which mean you can’t just simply opt out of them. Microsoft, in its defense, says that the updates are for our own good as they are necessary to fix vulnerabilities and improve the security of the operating system.

Fortunately, there are a number of hacks you can employ to turn off these automatic updates or, at the very least, schedule them according to your own desired time slots.

1. Metered Connection

Windows 10 is designed to work optimally on an unlimited internet connection. However, for data capped connections, Microsoft has added a feature called “Metered Connection”. It is meant for people using the internet over mobile hotspots, satellite Internet connections, dial-up connections, and any other connection that is limited in terms of data consumption.

Metered Connection basically works as a data-saver, turning off/limiting internet usage for all but the most essential of services you use on your computer. The feature also turns off automatic Windows updates and lets you manually update whenever you want by giving you a “Download” button.

As of yet, you can set a Wi-Fi connection as metered. Windows 10 Creators Update will also let you set Ethernet connections as metered.

Setting up a Wi-Fi as a Metered Connection

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Network & Internet.
3. Click on Wi-Fi and connect to the Wi-Fi connection you want to set as metered.
4. Click on the Wi-Fi connection.
5. Scroll down and flip the switch under “Metered connection” to On.

You can set the Ethernet connection as a Metered Connection (in Windows 10 Creators Update) using the same way. Note that setting a connection as metered will only turn off automatic updates for that particular network.

Note: With the Windows 10 Creators Update, Microsoft has given Windows Update the permission to download critical security updates even if your connection is marked as metered.

2. Stop the Windows Update service

Windows Update works just like any other Windows service and can be directly stopped at system-level. Here’s how you can do it,

1. Open an elevated command prompt. (Press “Start” button, type “Run”, right-click on it and click on “Run as administrator”.
2. Type the following command and press Enter.
3. net stop wuauserv

The screen should show “The Windows Update service is stopping”, followed by “The Windows Update service was stopped successfully.” If this doesn’t appear, either you haven’t opened elevated command prompt or you have made a mistake in typing the command.

Sometimes, Windows Update restarts automatically. In such a case, you can also run the following commands after opening the elevated command prompt,

sc config wuauserv start= disabled

You can restart Windows update by entering the following command,

net start wuauserv

3. Group Policy Editor (Windows 10 Education, Pro and Enterprise)

The Group Policy Editor will notify you about new updates but won’t automatically install them. However, security updates will still install automatically.

1. Open Command Prompt by pressing Start and then typing “Run”.
2. Type “gpedit.msc” and press enter.
3. Go to Computer Configuration> Administrative Templates> Windows Components> Windows Update.
4. Now change the Configure Automatic Updates setting to ‘2 – Notify for download and notify for install’.
5. Open Settings and click on “Update & Security”.
6. Now click on “Check for Updates” once to apply the new settings.
7. Restart your computer.

4. Editing the Registry

There is also one other way you can change the automatic update settings on your Windows 10 PC. Editing the registry is a really powerful tool and it is also quite risky so proceed at your own risk. We recommend backing up your PC before proceeding ahead.

You can follow this guide from How-To-Geek to go through with this.

5. Manually update Windows

If you don’t want to turn off Windows updates but still don’t want to be bogged down by automatic updates at an unsuitable time, you can manually update Windows whenever you feel like it.

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on “Update & Security”.
3. Click on “Check for Updates”.

Windows will check for updates and if one is available, it’ll start to download it.

6. Schedule Active Hours

If you don’t have a problem with Windows automatically updating but just hate when it needs to restart itself, Microsoft has a built-in feature just for you. You can set your computer to not restart during specific time schedules.

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on “Update & Security”.
3. Click on “Change active hours”.

Now, you can pick your own time schedule during which Windows will not restart your device for an update.

7. Prevent Windows from installing specific updates and/or drivers

You can download and run this tool by Microsoft to block specific updates and/or drivers from updating. When you run it, it will search for available updates and you can select which updates you want to hide and which you want to install.

Image Credits— WindowsCentral, BetaNews