Can I Turn Off Windows 10 Automatic Updates & Do It Manually

How to turn off automatic updates in Windows x

The main Windows Update settings screen in Windows 10

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft has come a long way with its automatic update systems, which it refers to as quality updates or cumulative updates. It hasn't all been patently sailing, and in that location have been updates that have brought machines to their knees along the manner, but it's hard to think the concluding time things went really bad with an update. Automatic Updates are generally fine.

Still, if you're running on older hardware and you're happy with the land of your machine, or you merely don't want to upset things with a potential buggy update, and then you tin turn automatic updates off. Either temporarily or permanently.

Information technology's easy to postpone any updates within the Update settings screen for annihilation up to 35 days. If you lot want to go for longer than that, then the Registry is the place to become.

Advanced Options screen for Windows Update — (Image credit: Microsoft)

For a temporary pause to automated updates, hit the Windows key and then blazon Update into the box and striking return. This will take you lot to the Windows Update settings screen.

You'll find an option in the lower half of the screen to 'Intermission updates for up to 7 days' simply if you want more than than that, you're going to desire to striking the Advanced options entry at the bottom of the page.

On this screen, you will encounter the option of pausing the updates for up to 35 days. Just pick the engagement that you lot want updates to resume.

How to turn of Windows 10 Automatic updates — (Paradigm credit: Microsoft)

If y'all want to concord off updates for longer than that, you're going to need to popular into the Registry.

Hit Win+r and enter regedit into the run control box. Make your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Policies/Microsoft/Windows then correct-click the right-hand panel, clicking New and then Key.

Name this key WindowsUpdate and hit return.

Right-click this key and create a key inside it called AU.

Correct-click this AU key and create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value entry called NoAutoUpdate. Double click this entry and set its value to 1.

Creating registry keys to stop Windows Update — (Paradigm credit: Microsoft)

Go out the Registry Editor, and then restart your machine.

One time y'all've rebooted you'll find that Windows x will no longer update automatically. If you want updates from this point on, you're going to have bank check for and install them manually. Or delete the keys you've just created.

Alan has been writing about PC tech since before 3D graphics cards existed, and nevertheless vividly recalls having to fight with MS-DOS just to get games to load. He fondly remembers the killer combo of a Matrox Millenium and 3dfx Voodoo, and seeing Lara Croft in 3D for the first time. He'due south very glad hardware has advanced as much every bit it has though, and is specially happy when putting the latest One thousand.2 NVMe SSDs, AMD processors, and laptops through their paces. He has a long-lasting Magic: The Gathering obsession only limits this to MTG Arena these days.