Jan 16, 2019 Microsoft Store on Windows can automatically install app updates. For Windows 10. Select the Start screen, then select Microsoft Store. In Microsoft Store at the upper right, select the account menu (the three dots) and then select Settings. Under App updates, set Update apps automatically to On. For Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1. Jul 14, 2018 Windows 10 will automatically check for the new Windows Updates at the time you have set in automatic maintenance. It will automatically download and install the important and crucial updates by default. This article will guide you how to enable or disable automatic updates in Windows Update for all the users in Windows 10.
Windows 10 is a great operating system, and Microsoft keeps on making it better by installing cumulative updates. Updates are an important part of your system, for security and stability reasons. However, the Windows 10 policy of forced updates has become a subject of controversy and one of its least liked features.
Jul 02, 2019 Take control of update How to stop automatic updates on Windows 10 If you're fed up with Windows 10 installing updates automatically, then use this guide to. Windows 10 will automatically check for the new Windows Updates at the time you have set in automatic maintenance. It will automatically download and install the important and crucial updates by default. This article will guide you how to enable or disable automatic updates in Windows Update for all the users in Windows 10. The Windows 10 updates are a good thing, as they can help to boost system efficiency and security. But at times, stopping the updates can come in handy, especially when you want to stop a troublesome update from automatically reinstalling. We hope these workarounds will help you to delay or completely stop Windows 10 forced updates. How to Turn Off Automatic Updates in Windows 10. This wikiHow teaches you how to prevent your Windows 10 computer from updating itself. Unfortunately, there is no way to permanently disable automatic updates, but you can delay them.
While Microsoft aims to make Windows 10 more efficient by pushing updates, the idea of forced updates may have caused problems for users. That’s because some of the updates are so huge (over 4GB) and they download automatically. This can be very frustrating if you have a limited data plan.
Worst of all, Windows 10 will force updates every time you try to restart and/or shut down your computer. This can put your PC into an endless booting loop. In this tutorial we’ll show you the three workarounds that will help you stop the Windows 10 forced updates permanently.
1. Mark Your Wi-Fi Connection as Metered
Marking your Wi-Fi connection as metered bars all background activities. Since Windows 10 updates are a continuous process that keeps running in the background, setting your connection as metered is the easiest way to stop forced updates.
It’s worth noting that this option will only delay the updates. The moment you toggle the Metered connection button to “OFF,” Windows 10 will start downloading updates automatically. But as long as the metered connection button is set to “ON,” Windows 10 will never download any update without your permission. To set your connection as metered, follow the steps below.
1. Press Win + I to launch the Settings app.
2. Click the “Network & Internet” option.
3. Under Wireless Network Connection, scroll down and click on the “Advanced Options” link.
4. A page will open with more options to configure your wireless networks. Look for the “Metered Connection” option. By default, this option is set to Off. Click and toggle it to On.
That’s it. Now Windows will not download anything in the background.
Note: Setting your connection as metered will affect Bluetooth connectivity. If you often use Bluetooth, this might not be the best option for you. Also, this method will not work if you use an Ethernet cable to connect your computer to the Internet.
Related: How to Uninstall a Windows Update
2. Disable the Windows Update Service
The Windows Update Service can detect, download, and install Windows updates and applications. Once disabled, it stops the Windows automatic update feature. Since the Windows Update service is another Windows process, you can stop it by following these simple steps.
1. Press the Win + R keys to open the run command. Type in
services.msc
and click OK.2. From the Services list that appears, locate and click the “Windows Update” option to open it.
3. A Windows Update Properties box will open. In the Startup type (under the “General” tab), and you’ll find the option to configure how you’d want the updates delivered. By default, this option is set to Automatic. You can disable it or change it to manual.
4. Lastly, head over to the “Recovery” tab, and click on it. In the “First failure section,” select “Take no action.” This will help prevent the Update Service from restarting and potentially resetting itself to automatic (default) after it fails to push updates.
5. Click “Apply,” then restart your PC.
Note: if you disable the Windows Update Service, your computer will not be able to download any updates. This will stop all future updates, and the programs will not be able to use the Windows Update Agent (WUA) API.
To re-enable the Windows Update service, repeat the above process but change the startup type to “Automatic.”
Related: How to Block Driver Updates for Specific Devices in Windows 10
3. Stop Automatic Updates by Making Changes in the Group Policy Editor
The Windows 10 Group Policy also has a hidden feature that you can use to disable automatic updates. By tweaking some settings in the Group Policy Editor, you’ll be able to choose how you want the updates delivered. Here’s how to do it:
1. Press the Win + R keys to open the Run command. Type in
gpedit.msc
and press “OK” to launch the Local Group Policy Editor.2. Find the Computer configuration option and click on it. Then navigate to the Administrative Templates folder and click to expand it.
3. Under Administrative Templates, select the “Windows Components” folder and click on it.
The system will open a very long list of the Windows components. At the bottom of the list you’ll find the Windows Update folder. Double-click on the folder to expand it.
4. Look for the “Configure Automatic Updates” option in the services list that will open up. Double-click on it to open more Windows Update configuration settings.
5. A new window will open with more options to configure the Windows updates. Select “Enabled,” then scroll down to the available options and select the “Notify for downloads and notify for install” option from the dropdown list.
6. Click the “Apply” button and exit.
This way, whenever updates are available for your computer, Windows will be notifying you that updates are available for downloads, rather than downloading and updating automatically. You can head over to “Settings -> Windows Update,” and choose to download and install the updates at your most convenient time. Windows will not be able to download or install updates without your permission.
To confirm whether the changes have been effected, launch the Settings app and head to “Updates & Security -> Windows Update -> Advanced options.” You should see a “Notify to download” button that has been grayed out.
If you don’t see a grayed out “notify to download” button, you may have missed a step or used the wrong settings.
Wrapping Up
The Windows 10 updates are a good thing, as they can help to boost system efficiency and security. But at times, stopping the updates can come in handy, especially when you want to stop a troublesome update from automatically reinstalling.
We hope these workarounds will help you to delay or completely stop Windows 10 forced updates. Feel free to comment and share.
The Complete Windows 10 Customization Guide
In this ebook we’ll be exploring the multitude of options to fully customize Windows 10. By the end of this ebook you’ll know how to make Windows 10 your own and become an expert Windows 10 user.
RECOMMENDED: Click here to fix Windows errors and improve PC performance
Windows 10 automatically updates a lot of things and tries to make the PC maintenance a little more easier for you. By default, Windows 10 is configured to automatically download and install updates for the operating system, device drivers and apps installed from the Store.
In a nutshell, on a Windows 10 PC, you don’t need to spend your precious time looking for driver updates. Windows 10 takes care of them. All you need to manually update is desktop applications that you installed from the web to keep your Windows operating system in good shape.
While it’s always a good idea to have up-to-date device drivers, at times, you might want to stop or prevent Windows 10 from automatically downloading and installing latest version of device drivers. For instance, when you know that a newer version of hardware driver is full is issues, you might want to configure Windows 10 to stop automatically updating device drivers.
Luckily, Windows 10 offers an easy way to enable or disable automatic driver updates, and you don’t need to go for third-party utilities to turn on or off automatic device driver updates.
In this guide, we will show you how to prevent Windows 10 from automatically downloading and updating device drivers.
Method 1 – Disable automatic device driver installation
Method 2 – Turn off automatic device driver installation using Registry
Method 1
Disable automatic device driver update on Windows 10
Step 1:Right-click on This PC icon on the desktop and click Properties to open System properties window. Alternatively, you can right-click on This PC icon in the navigation pane of File Explorer (Windows Explorer) and click Properties to open System properties window.
Step 2: On the left-pane, click Advanced system settings to open System Properties dialog.
Step 3: Switch to the Hardware tab and then click Device Installation Settings. This will open Device Installation Settings.
Step 4: Select the second option titled No, let me choose what to do option. Next, select Never install driver software from Windows Update. Finally, click Save changes button to stop Windows 10 from automatically updating device drivers.
Method 2
If for some reason, you are unable to configure automatic driver updates, use the Registry Editor for the job.
Turn off automatic device driver update via Registry
Step 1: Type Regedit in Start menu search box or Run command box and then press Enter key. Click Yes button when you see the User Account Control confirmation prompt to launch Registry Editor.
Step 2: Once the Registry Editor is launched, navigate to the following key:
Cannot Enable Automatic Updates Windows 10
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionDriverSearching
Turn On Automatic Updates In Windows 10
Step 3: On the right-side, look for the entry named SearchOrderConfig, double-click on it, and change its value from the default 1 to 0 (zero) to turn off automatic updates.