How to Turn off Automatic Updates in Windows 10/11

How to Turn off Automatic Updates in Windows 10 / 11

About Windows 11 | Windows 10 Troubleshooting | Replacing an Older Computer | Upgrading to Windows 11

To stop Windows 10 from automatically updating your computer apply the steps below in this order. This is not a 100% guaranteed fix, but many customers report that is works successfully. There are 4 places to change settings:

1- GROUP POLICY EDIT

• By default, Microsoft has disabled the choice  to turn OFF automatic Windows updates.
• You can edit the Group Policy following the instructions below.
• This will NOT work in the Windows 10 Anniversary Edition.
• If you disable automatic updates, it is recommended that you check manually for security updates at least once a month.

There are two settings to change in this portion of the fix:

1. Access the Group Policy Editor by clicking on the Start menu and in the run box type: gpedit.msc
2. A box like the one below will appear, it looks the same for Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 10, Windows 11.
3. ​Navigate to :  Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update.
4. Double click on Configure Automatic Updates, right click to edit that item and choose Disable.

1. ​In the left column under navigate to: USER Configuration \Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update.
2. ​Double click on the WIndows Update folder. on the RIGHT side you will see an option to “Remove access to use all Windows Update Features“
3. Double click, and Enable that setting. Note the warning message on the right. “This setting allows you to remove access to Windows Update”.  It will disable the link to the shortcut on the start menu for Check for Updates

2- Registry Edit – Advanced Users only!

If you do not know what the registry is or how it works, stop and do not change any settings.

1. Click on Start menu or hit the Windows Key and type in REGEDIT to open the registry editor.
2. Browse to : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU
   NOTE:  If the AU folder does not exist, create it by RIGHT clicking on the WindowsUpdate folder and add new KEY. Then name it AU.
3. ​Now In the AU (Auto Update) folder, create a new KEY on the right side in the white space, RIGHT click, NEW / DWORD (32Bit) Value
4. Name the new key NoAutoUpdate and press Enter. See image below.
5. ​Double-click the newly created key and change its hexadecimal value data using one of the following options:
   0 – Auto download and install all updates (default setting)
   1 – Disables Auto update Feature
6. It should look like the image below.
7. Click OK and close the registry editor. Reboot the computer for it to take effect.

After tweaking the Registry, when new updates become available, you’ll receive a notification in Action Center, but updates won’t download and install until YOU are ready and do the following:

Open Settings / Update & security / Windows Update / Click the Download button.

3- Windows Update Settings

1. Go to Control Panel and search for Windows Update.
2. Click on Advanced Options at the bottom
3. UNcheck “Give me updates for other Microsoft products when i update Windows”
4.  At the bottom turn OFF Pause Updates
5. UNCheck “Enabling this policy will automatically download updates…”
6. Click on Delivery Optimization turn OFF “Allow downloads from other PC’s”
7. Go BACK one screen and click Privacy Settings at the bottom. UNcheck everything on that page
8. REBOOT your computer.

4- Disable the Update Service

Disable the wuaserv service in Windows 10 following these steps below. Note this will disable the service responsible for checking, downloading and installing updates for Windows and other programs including Windows Defender. It is recommended to perform updates for security and Windows Defender (if you use this built in antivirus program) manually at least once a month.:

1: Click on START menu and type Services in Start menu or taskbar search box and then press Enter key.

2: Look in the right column and scroll down to Windows Update and double click on it.

3: The box below appears, change the Startup type to Disabled. Click Apply button and then reboot your computer.

Also see Windows 10 Troubleshooting Page for more

If your computer automatically reboots after a Windows 10 Update, you may be able to turn that off. See How.

How to Disable Customer Experience Program from Rebooting my Computer

This prevents your computer from shutting down all programs and auto rebooting in the middle of the night!

1. Hit the Windows logo key on the keyboard, type: “edit group policy“. Select the top most search result.
2. Navigate to the following path from the left side of the panel to: Computer configuration >Administrative Templates > System > Internet Communication Management.
3. From right side of the panel double click on: Turn off Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program. (See pic below)
4. Click on the Disable radio button from the window and select Apply and OK.
5. It should look like the picture below, then close the window and reboot your computer.

Multiple Display Computers