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How to Stop Windows 10 Automatic Updates

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It’s a good thing that you can stop Windows 10 automatic updates. The operating system might be more frustrating for some people to use every day if they couldn’t.

Everyone should keep their PCs updated, but automatic updates are troublesome. Downloading them can slow your PC’s internet connection to a crawl when you need to load a site as quickly as possible. Installing updates also takes time, and you may not have time to spare if you are overdue for a conference call or your college lecture is about to start.

Past versions of Windows 10 allowed you to manually install Windows 10 updates. However, Microsoft took away that ability in Windows 10 for most users. Windows 10 Home installs all updates automatically. Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise hide the option to install updates when you are ready.

Read: 10 Windows 10 Creators Update Problems & Fixes

Here are some ways to stop Windows 10 automatic updates on your system.

Stop Windows 10 Automatic Updates by Pausing Them

If the Creators Update is  on your Windows 10 PC, you can stop Windows 10 automatic updates temporarily.

Open the Settings app.

Click on Update & Recovery.

Then click on Advanced Options.

A switch at the bottom of the window allows you to pause updates for around a week. Microsoft has changed this amount a few times, so what you see on your PC might be slightly different. For example, the PC we’re using for this tutorial can only pause updates for 7 days at a time.

Note that this is only a temporary switch to prevent updates while you are on vacation. Windows 10 will turn updates back on without you prompting it to do so, and you can’t disable them again for another week when it does.

Switch to a Metered Connection to Stop Windows 10 Automatic Updates

Metered Connections are another trick that you can use to stop Windows 10 Automatic Updates. This works because Windows 10 doesn’t download software updates if it believes bandwidth is scarce.

Open the Settings app.

Click on Network & Internet.

Click on Change Connection Properties.

The Metered Connection switch is at the top of the window, if you flip it, your Windows 10 PC will not try to download new updates when you are connected to your Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, this trick to stop Windows 10 automatic updates doesn’t work for every kind of internet connection. Windows 10 now knows when you’re using a broadband connection or a hotspot. With that information, the operating system disables the Metered Connection switch for broadband users.

Use the Registry Editor to Stop Windows 10 Automatic Updates

Your computer’s Registry allows you to change a lot about it, including whether it installs Windows 10 automatic updates. If you don’t have a backup of the files on your PC, don’t use this method to stop updates. Also, you want to avoid this method if you’ve never used the Windows Registry before. Making changes here can ruin your copy of Windows 10.

Press the Windows key and the R key on your keyboard at the same time.

Add Regedit into the field. Click Ok.

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows

Right-click on the Windows folder in the list on the left side of the Registry Editor. Hover over New in the menu and select Key.

You should name your new Registry key WindowsUpdate. Tap Enter on your keyboard.

Right-click on the key you created. Select New, and select Key.

Name the key you just created AU. Tap Enter on your keyboard.

Right-click on the right side of the key. Select New and D-WORD.

Name this Key AUOptions. Tap Enter on your keyboard.

Double-click on the key you just created. Add 2 to the Value Data area in the pop-up window. Click Ok.

Value 2 lets your PC check for Windows 10 Updates, but only install them when you say so.

Upgrade to Windows 10 Professional to Stop Windows 10 Automatic Updates

If you’re willing to spend some money to fix the problem, you can upgrade to Windows 10 Professional and stop Windows 10 Updates using Group Policy. Note that this is a very expensive solution for this problem. Windows 10 Pro upgrades cost $99 from the Windows Store. That’s why this is only a recommended fix if you have Pro installed already.

Press the Windows Key and the R key. Type gpedit.msc into you’re the window and click Ok.

Open Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates \Windows Components\Windows Update

Next, open the Configure Automatic Updates policy rule in the pane on the right side of the policy editor.

Click on Enabled to turn on the Group Policy you just changed.

Now select the policy you’d like to turn on under Configure Automatic Updating. There are different policies for every situation. For example, you can turn them off completely or set your PC to let you know when new updates appear.

Select Apply.

Select Ok.

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Pingback: How to Stop Windows 10 Automatic Updates - Gisttrendz

  2. Pingback: How to Stop Windows 10 Automatic Updates | Androiddrips

  3. Rob

    10/15/2017 at 4:17 am

    Every situation my ass. Disable maybe…

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