How to Turn off Automatic Windows Update in Windows

This post contains some older method to turn off the the automatic updates. So may be they will not work anymore for some users. Here is a newer guide to turn off automatic Windows updates permanently.

Officially you could delay or defer updates but there is no option to stop them forever in Windows 10. Yet there are some hacks which could work to disable these updates permanently. In previous Windows there was option to turn on / off updates but in Windows 10 they get installed automatically. Though I don’t advise you to stop them completely.

How it works?

Actually, Windows network update module is responsible to keep the Windows updated automatically. It search and install the latest updates for the operating system and other components installed on it. As its name indicates, this module runs automatically and independently of the user. At first glance, it is not possible to suspend its operation. The most the user can do is to delay the updates for 7 days.

Methods to stop automatic Windows 10 updates

For some people these automatic updates are very annoying and they ask us to stop them permanently instead of deferring them. So here we are mentioning some methods to do this task in a easy way.

We do not recommend stopping Windows updates completely (permanently) as it is essential component for the Windows security.

Method 1: Disable Windows Update Service.

An effective way to stop automatic updates in Windows 10 is to stop the Windows Updates Service.

1. Press the Win + R combination from your keyboard.
2. Type the following command in the Run box: services.msc
3. In the next window, you scrolled down to get the Windows Update service. Double-click on it to enter its properties. Next, in the startup type select Disabled.
4. Then restart the computer and Windows will not download or install any updates. However, if you want to reverse the process. You just have to follow the same steps, but change the startup type of the service to Automatic.

Method 2: Disable Windows updates by creating a group policy

Another option to disable Windows updates is to create a group policy. With this in mind, press the Win + R combination and run gpedit.msc:

Then select the left menu and follow the next path: Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Windows Update.

In the next window select Disabled. Press Apply and restart the computer to set the changes.

Method 3: Disabling Windows 10 automatic updates using a script (CMD).

It is also possible to turn off Windows 10 updates by creating and executing a script. To do this, just open the notepad and paste the following text:
Download: disable-windows-10-update.bat

Then save the file and rename the extension from “.txt” to “.bat“. Just run this file as Administrator so that the service that manages updates (wuauserv) becomes disabled.

Enabling Windows 10 Updates using a script (CMD).

If you want to restore the automatic Windows updates service, then just follow the previous process, but enter the following text:
Download: enable-windows-10-update.bat

We also save the file again and change the extension from “.txt” to “.bat”. Then execute it with administrator user permissions, and that’s it. I hope you liked the tutorial. Now you can suspend the update service according to your will. See you later!

Q: Why users require to turn off automatic updates?

A: Some people really don’t like the forced updates by the Windows 10. And there are reason behind it.

• some people find that some times update process stuck and could break the system. So they don’t want to change anything in their smoothly running computer.
• People think that windows update could take a lot of bandwidth to download the updates so who or on limited quota they really hate it.

Q: Why you should not disable the updates permanently?

There are many strong reason that you should not disable the automatic updates in Windows 10.

• Automatic updates provide latest security patches, which let the computer be protected from the latest threats.
• Windows only release 2 major feature updates in a year, except some serious security issues. So it is not annoy you every time.
• Microsoft stop support for the older versions, so it is always advisable to keep the windows updated.
• If you have no time or is on limited bandwidth then there are options to defer the update or avoid downloading updates on limited bandwidth connection.
• For the people who scare of broken updates, there are now many options to fix the Windows update errors without any hassle.

Related :

About The Author

Roger

2 thoughts on “How to Turn off Automatic Windows Update in Windows”

Umm. Did you even try your own suggestions or did you just copy and paste this tripe from the multitude of sources that post this bogus information?

And when I say try, I mean following your adjustments and then restarting, or checking the next day to see if Update is still disabled.

Because none of what you suggested works. And it didn’t work when you posted the article either. Everything you attempt to tell people to do will be in vain, because Windows Update will automatically re install, restart, and reconfigure itself no matter what you do.

It doesn’t matter if you run task scheduler, or services, or the registry editor as a trustedinstaller, then proceed to actually delete everything to do with windows update, the update orchestrator, the update medic, updatepolicy.dll, etc. It will still find its way back onto your machine.

According to Microsoft, Windows is a service. It is not a product you own. Using this as justification, they believe they are entitled to things like automatic updates and collection usage information (telemetry) because in their minds you are simply borrowing their service that they retain full control of.

It’s BS, I know, but that’s where we are at. Next the operating system will be hosted in the cloud, and you will simply use a shell to connect and use “your computer”. You’ll have a web browser built into the firmware of a real basic motherboard, and your OS and computing will all be ran (and controlled) on Microsoft’s servers. Look at what they are doing with gaming and cloud hosted GPU. You literally stream the use of a powerful GPU farm to play games. Yuck.

You’re Awesome man!
I can link this Script with my Schedule of windows and done. today no have more updates to fucking my days hahahah! and my ram and cpu are safe….

How to Disable or Block automatic Windows Update in Windows 10

There is no option to stop or turn off Windows Updates using the Control Panel or Settings app in Windows 10, as it used to be with earlier versions of Windows. But there is a workaround to disable or turn off Windows Update in Windows 10, that we’ll talk about in this post.

First, let us take a look at why people may want to turn off Windows updates.

With Windows 8.1 and earlier versions, we had Windows Update giving us options to:

1. Install updates automatically (Recommended)
2. Download Updates but choose when to install them
3. Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them
4. Never check for updates (Not Recommended)

These options provided a way to defer updates until we had enough time to download and install them or to have them downloaded automatically and then install them at a time we wish. These options are not present in Windows 10 Update & Security Settings.

Now in Settings app > Update and Security > Windows Update > Advanced Options, you will see the following settings:

Microsoft has explained that it will provide updates in two distinct methods for its two distinct types of clients.

The Home users now have the option to pause Windows Updates. Earlier they did not have this option. Windows 10 will also let you defer restart, but that is not enough because a download in the background might slow down your browsing in some cases.

The other ring of users are Enterprise users who will have the option to delay updates so that they can hold it to the time when they are free. Microsoft said it would push updates to such users less frequently so that they are faced with minimum downtime. These are the corporates and real-time users such as hospitals and ATMs etc.

Coming back to Home users and Professional users, there is not even the option to delay the updates. They will be downloaded as soon as they are available. The availability of Windows Updates for normal users means that the updates have already been tested by Windows Insiders. If you are a Windows Insider, running Windows 10 Home or Pro, you will be in priority to receive updates. After a few days of you testing the updates and if it doesn’t pose any problems, it will be released to the normal ring of users.

Thus, you are stuck. Windows 10 will keep on downloading updates as soon as they are available and will occupy your computer resources, when you may not want it too. Some of us will want to keep the automatic downloads to be stopped so that we can install the updates manually when free – when we are not working on something urgent. That is to say; some users would want the liberty and option to download and install updates when they want and not when Microsoft provides it.

Since there is no option to turn off Windows updates from Control Panel or PC Settings, here is a workaround.

Turn off Windows Updates in Windows 10

To stop automatic Windows Updates in Windows 10, you will have to:

1. Disable Windows Update & Windows Update Medic Services
2. Change WU settings using the Group Policy Editor
3. Set your network connection to ‘Metered’
4. Use a free tool that lets you disable automatic updates.

Now let us see each of these suggestions in detail.

1] Disable Windows Update & Windows Update Medic Services

You can disable the Windows Update Service via Windows Services Manager. In the Services window, scroll down to Windows Update and turn off the Service. To turn it off, right-click on the process, click on Properties and select Disabled. That will take care of Windows Updates not being installed on your machine.

But since Windows is a Service now onwards, you have to keep your computer updated. To be able to install the next set of features or a newer build, you will require the earlier updates to be installed. That’s why if you use the above workaround, you will have to go to the Windows Services Manager and turn it on once in a while to download and update your copy of Windows.

You need to also disable the Windows Update Medic Service or WaaSMedicSVC. The Windows Update Medic Service is a new Windows Service introduced in recent versions of Windows 10. This Service has been introduced to repair Windows Update components from damage so that the computer can continue to receive updates. We recommend you try this method first.

After you turn on the Windows Update Service, when you open Windows Update in PC Settings, you will see a message that updates were not installed because the computer was stopped. You will have to click on Retry so that all the available updates are downloaded and installed. This may take two or three “Check for Updates” tries. You will have to keep on clicking “Check for updates” until it says your computer is up to date. Then you can go back and turn off the Windows Update service until next time you feel you are free enough to spend time updating your copy of Windows 10.

2] Change WU settings using the Group Policy Editor

If your version of Windows 10 has Group Policy, you can also change some settings using the Group Policy Editor. Run gpedit and navigate to the following policy setting:

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update.

On the right side, double-click on Configure Automatic Updates and change its settings to suit your requirements.

Once you configure the settings, you will see the result in the Settings app as follows:

We do not recommend that you disable automatic Windows Update in Windows 10. If your computer is fine with downloads in the background and doesn’t affect your work, it is not advisable to do it. But if you face slowdown of computer due to updates downloading and installing in the background, the above tip to turn off Windows updates in Windows 10 will be of some help.

3] Set your network connection to ‘Metered’

Setting your network connection to ‘Metered’, can also stop Windows 10 from automatically downloading the Updates. You can do it as follows – Settings app > Network & Internet > WiFi > Advanced options. Move the slider to On position for Set as metered connection. See how to set Metered Connection in Windows 10.

4] Tools that help you block automatic Windows 10 Updates

Here is a list of some free Windows Update Blocker tools to Stop Automatic Windows 10 Updates. You might want to take a look at them as they allow you to control Widows 10 Updates with a click.

1. Windows Update Blocker
2. StopUpdates10
3. Wu10Man
4. Kill-Update
5. WuMgr
6. Win Update Stop
7. Win Updates Disabler
8. WAU Manager.

Incidentally, Microsoft has released a tool called Show or Hide Updates that allows users to hide or block specific unwanted Windows Updates in Windows 10. Using it, you can stop Windows 10 from downloading specific updates.

Date: November 4, 2019 Tags: Windows Updates