How to stop windows 10 from downloading updates
I installed windows 10 yesterday only with genuine licence. I have a question. I have a very expensive internet data plan. How can I stop windows 10 downloading automatic updates? I couldn’t figure out so I tried another trick but that didn’t work either. I unplugged my data card from the system so it couldn’t download and stuck at 1 %. I downloaded these all updates manually from outside and installed one by one. Still my windows update is trying to download same updates. Is there any service or process that can be stopped / killed to prevent windows 10 from downloading these updates? Also is there any command to freshly check for new updates? Currently windows update has all these updates in history which I have already downloaded from somewhere else.
Any help would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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For the time being, I temporarily disabled windows update service from services.msc so it stopped checking for updates and downloading. But still, since I already downloaded these all updates from a different (unlimited plan) internet connection and installed one by one (not downloaded from my own internet plan). After enabling the windows service again, it again started downloading all those already installed updates. So I had to stop and disable windows service again. It then stuck at 10%.
Any way to freshly check for new updates? Currently it is still trying to download same updates which I have installed manually one by one. Windows 10 is not able to remove installed updates from it’s history.
Also there seems to be a bug for updates, that if I stop my data connection (not disabling the windows service). It keeps showing the same message similar to — Downloading the updates 10% completed. It should have stopped if data session ended. I was also not able to figure out how to forcefully make the windows check for updates rather than downloading without verifying these updates have already been installed or not.
I have also read one thing on some blogs, if I set my current connection as a metered connection, then it won’t automatically download and install updates. But I couldn’t figure out how to do that also.
Please let us know if you find any clue for these issues. Thanks in advance.
How to stop automatic updates in Windows 10
How do I stop Windows 10 updating automatically. Basically, I don’t want to update my OS. Windows update is very annoying and it breaks the system sometimes. In windows 10 I don’t find any option to turn off automatic update.
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Basically, at the moment there is little you can do to stop W10 updating itself for most W10 versions. This is unlikely to change by much as far as I can tell from the info around on the www.
Apart from the Enterprise version (I believe), you cannot pick and choose updates for most versions of W10 (Home etc), Its all automatic. Unlike with older versions of Windows which allowed you to set Windows Update in a number of different ways.
There are a few minor tweaks you can do, like:
But basically, you have to accept the update(s) as they are offered.
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To disable Windows 10 Automatic Updates:
- Go to Control Panel — Administrative Tools — Services
- Scroll down to Windows Update in the resulting list
- Double click the Windows Update Entry
- In the resulting dialog, if the service is started, click ‘Stop’
- Set Startup Type to Disabled
Please Note: if you disable Windows 10 Updates, your system will be at risk from attack
- Windows Defender will not be updated
- Operating System patches will not be applied
- You will not be able to use the Windows Store
- Windows Apps will not update and possibly fail
On the plus side your hardware will continue to work!
If you do decide to turn off Automatic Updates, you should download them from the Microsoft Catalog Page and install them manually at a convenient time. Just enter Windows 10 + your current build number into the search box (1607, 1511 . . .etc.) to get the appropriate updates — for example: Windows 10 1607
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This no longer works, Windows is enabling that service on it’s own now. I’m attempting to disable via gpedit.msc, but the service disable I’ve been using for a while doesn’t stay disabled anymore.
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Every time an update tries to occur it destroys my entire network internet connection and all the users start screaming. That’s why it should be made easy and sticky to only notify of updates but not download or do them until the users gives consent. This is an issue for all types of users, dumb or sophisticated. MS just makes it ridiculously hard to take control of updates, and particularly hard in W10 Home.
Once you think you have it stopped then when you do allow an update they turn it all on again for you.
Now they’ve removed the registry value you can tweak to accomplish this in Home version, and you are forced to collect a bunch of missing features and get them installed in your OS again. If you do get it working it will probably all just disappear again next time you do an update.
Yet another reason why users hate Microsoft.
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Honestly a bad situation.
I have no problem if Windows notifies me and I can apply updates when I have time to fix everything the update breaks.
But unilaterally applying an update that can eff up my system without allowing me to accept or delay that update is not good. I’ve had updates bomb out my system the evening before a critical presentation and, oh-well, you’re out of luck. Enjoy your brick in front of a customer.
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In this method, we are going to use the Local Group Policy Editor. Since Group Policy Editor is not present in Windows 10 Home edition , this method is not applicable to Windows 10 Home.
Step 1: Open Local Group Policy Editor. To do so, type Edit Group Policy in Start or taskbar search box and then press Enter key. Alternatively, open Run command box, type Gpedit.msc, and then press Enter key to open the same.
Step 2: Navigate to the following policy:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update.
Step 3: On the right-side, double-click on the policy labelled Configure Automatic Updates to open its properties.
Step 4: Select Enabled option. Under Configure automatic updating, select second option labelled Notify for download and notify for install. Don’t touch rest of the settings.
Click Apply button. As mentioned before, this method will not turn off Windows Update but you will be notified when updates are available to download. You can simply ignore the alert to avoid downloading and installing updates.
When this policy is enabled, you’ll see Some settings are managed by your organization message under Advanced options of Windows Update
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In this method, we are going to use the Local Group Policy Editor. Since Group Policy Editor is not present in Windows 10 Home edition , this method is not applicable to Windows 10 Home.
Step 1: Open Local Group Policy Editor. To do so, type Edit Group Policy in Start or taskbar search box and then press Enter key. Alternatively, open Run command box, type Gpedit.msc, and then press Enter key to open the same.
Step 2: Navigate to the following policy:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update.
Step 3: On the right-side, double-click on the policy labelled Configure Automatic Updates to open its properties.
Step 4: Select Enabled option. Under Configure automatic updating, select second option labelled Notify for download and notify for install. Don’t touch rest of the settings.
Click Apply button. As mentioned before, this method will not turn off Windows Update but you will be notified when updates are available to download. You can simply ignore the alert to avoid downloading and installing updates.
When this policy is enabled, you’ll see Some settings are managed by your organization message under Advanced options of Windows Update
Thanks for the information. However, I have windows 10 home edition.
How to stop a Windows 10 update
By Alex Blake 10 August 2019
Put updates on hold
Welcome to our guide on how to stop a Windows 10 update. Updating your PC is an important part of maintaining its general health and wellbeing. Windows 10 updates often contain fixes for critical problems, and installing them can keep your PC running smoothly.
But there are times when you may not want to install an update. A frequently used program of yours may not be compatible with the latest update; in that case, you may want to defer the update until you can find a suitable alternative.
So how do you stop a Windows 10 update? While you can’t stop it installing forever, there are ways to delay it for a while. In this guide, we’ll show you how it’s done.
(Image credit: Future)
1. Pause automatic updates
Click the Start menu, then the Settings cog. Now go to ‘Update & Security’, click ‘Windows Update’ on the left-hand side, then click ‘Advanced options’. Under ‘Pause Updates’, toggle the switch to ‘On’. This will pause Windows updates for 35 days, but you’ll need to download the latest updates once that period is over if you want to pause further updates.
You can also choose to defer feature updates by up to 365 days and quality updates (which contain important security fixes) by up to 30 days. Once these periods are up, you’ll need to download updates before you can defer them again.
(Image credit: Future)
2. Meter your network connection
This is another simple thing to try. Click Start, then click the Settings cog. From here, click ‘Network & Internet’, then click ‘Wi-Fi’ in the left-hand column, then the name of your Wi-Fi connection. Scroll down to the ‘Metered connection’ section and toggle the ‘Set as metered connection’ switch to ‘On’.
This tells Windows 10 that you’re on a limited data plan, with the result that it won’t automatically push updates to you (although you can still manually install them). However, if you’re on an Ethernet connection this method won’t work, so you’ll have to try one of the other methods in this guide.
(Image credit: Future)
3. Prevent a downloaded update from installing
Once an update has started installing, you shouldn’t stop it – doing so can be potentially dangerous for your PC. However, if Windows 10 has downloaded an update but hasn’t started installing it yet, you can still stop it.
In the Windows 10 search bar, type ‘Security and Maintenance’, then click the first result to bring up the control panel window. Click the ‘Maintenance’ title to expand it, then scroll to the ‘Automatic Maintenance’ section. Click ‘Stop maintenance’ to halt the update.
If you change your mind and want to restart the update, simply click ‘Start maintenance’.
(Image credit: Future)
4. Disable the Windows Update startup service
In the Windows 10 search bar, type ‘Services’. Right-click the top result and select ‘Run as administrator’. Scroll down the list until you reach the Windows Update entry. If the ‘Status’ column says «Running», right-click the Windows Update entry and click ‘Stop’.
Now, right-click it again and click ‘Properties’. In the resulting menu, under ‘Startup type’, choose ‘Disabled’, then click ‘OK’.
This will prevent Windows Update from automatically installing updates. If you still want to prevent automatic updates but want to give yourself the opportunity to install updates manually, select ‘Manual’ from the drop-down menu instead.
(Image credit: Future)
5. Disable updates using Group Policy
This involves a getting your hands a little dirty, but is easy enough. Type ‘gpedit.msc’ into the Windows 10 search bar and click the first result. Now navigate to the following path using the left-hand pane: ‘Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update.’ In the right-hand window, double-click ‘Configure Automatic Updates’.
This will open a new window. In the top-left corner, click ‘Disabled’, then click ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’. This will prevent Windows 10 from automatically downloading and installing updates, although you can still manually look for updates by opening Windows Update.
(Image credit: Future)
6. Limit updates using Group Policy
Alternatively, you can choose to limit Windows updates instead of disabling them. As in step 5, open gpedit.msc, navigate to ‘Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update’ and double-click ‘Configure Automatic Updates’. This time, instead of ‘Disabled’, click ‘Enabled’.
In the ‘Options’ box on the left-hand side, click the top drop-down box and choose from one of the following four options:
- Notify for download and auto install
- Auto download and notify for install
- Auto download and schedule the install
- Allow local admin to choose setting
The ‘Notify for download and auto install’ option is the closest to disabling automatic downloads.
(Image credit: Future)
7. Disable updates using the Registry
Before dabbling in the Registry, make a backup of anything important, as making a mistake can cause problems for your PC.
Now, type ‘regedit’ into the Windows 10 search bar and click the top result. Navigate to the following path in the left-hand column: ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Policies > Microsoft > Windows’.
Right-click on the Windows folder and click ‘New > Key’. Name it ‘WindowsUpdate’ and press ‘Enter’.
Right-click in this and click ‘New > Key’, then name this entry AU and press ‘Enter’. On the right-hand side of this entry, right-click and click ‘New > DWORD (32-bit) Value)’. Name this entry ‘NoAutoUpdate’ and press ‘Enter’.
Once you’ve created this, double-click the new entry and change the 0 to a 1 in the ‘Value data’ box. Click ‘OK’ and restart your PC.
(Image credit: Future)
8. Limit updates using the Registry
You can limit Windows updates instead of disabling them in the Registry. To do so, follow step 6 above up to and including the point where you have created the AU entry.
Right-click the blank space on the right and click ‘New > DWORD (32-bit) Value’. This time, name the entry AUOptions (instead of NoAutoUpdate) and press ‘Enter’.
Double-click the entry; in the “Value data” box, delete the 0 and replace it with either 2, 3, 4 or 5.
These correspond to the numbers in step 5, meaning you’ll get the following results:
- 2 — Notify for download and auto install
- 3 — Auto download and notify for install
- 4 — Auto download and schedule the install
- 5 — Allow local admin to choose setting
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