How to stop windows update downloading windows 10
How to Disable Windows 10 Update in Every Way
«Every time I try to shut down my computer, I was forced to update my Windows 10. But I really don’t want to update my operating system because the automatic update might take up the system and network resources. Is there anybody who can help me solve this problem and disable Windows 10 update? Thanks in advance.»
All solutions to disable Windows 10 update:
Whenever you are faced with Windows 10’s automatic update notification like:
What would you do? Here, we have the following solutions.
How to Disable Windows 10 Update
Follow the methods below to disable Windows 10 update correctly.В
Solution 1. Disable Windows Update Service
Understand the limitations of this method. While disabling the automatic update service will temporarily halt any Windows 10 cumulative updates, the service will re-enable itself after a certain amount of time. Here are the directions:
1. Press the Windows logo key + R at the same time to invoke the Run box.
2. Type services.msc and press Enter.
3. Scroll down to Windows Update, and double-click it.
4. In Startup type, select «Disabled». Then click «Apply» and «OK» to save the settings.
To disable Windows Update:
Step 1. оњљ DOWNLOAD EaseUS Tools M for free and install it on your computer.
Step 2. Launch EaseUS Tools M and go to «System Update Management».
Step 3. The tool will detect the status of the Windows Update service automatically. If Windows Update is currently enabled, click «Disable» to stop the service.
Step 4. If you want to check whether you have disabled the service automatically, go to «Start» > type «Services» > right-click «Services» and choose «Run as administrator».
Step 5. In the list of services, find and right-click «Windows Update» > «Properties». In the «Service status» section, you should see the service has been stopped.
Solution 2. Change the Setting of the Group Policy Editor
The Group Policy feature is not available in the Home edition. So, only when you run Windows 10 Professional, Enterprise, or Education, you can use the Group Policy Editor to change the settings to prevent Windows 10 from automatically updating. The group policy editor will notify you of new updates without automatically installing them.В
Note: If you need to update your Windows version later, you can repeat the steps above, then select Enabled to turn on this feature, so that you can continue to download the updates.
Solution 3. Meter Your Network Connection
Understand that this method won’t work for Ethernet connections. You can only disable automatic updates by using this method on a Wi-Fi connection. If your computer is connected to WiFi, you can try this to stop Windows 10 automatic updates.В
1. Click the Start button at the bottom left on your desktop, then click the «Settings» app.
2. Click «Network & Internet».
3. Click WiF in the left pane, then click the name of your Wi-Fi connection.
4. Click to turn on Set as metered connection.
Solution 4. Change the way of Windows 10 Updates Using Registry
Extra Tips: Editing the registry is risky, and it can cause irreversible damage to your installation if you don’t do it correctly. It’s recommended that you make a full backup of your computer before proceeding. All you need to do is use thisВ backup software to back up your data in three steps:
Support Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP
Step 1. Launch EaseUS Todo Backup software and then choose «File Backup», «Disk/partition Backup» or «System Backup» for different backup purpose.
Step 2. Choose the system, disk partition, files or apps that you want to back up. Then select a destination where you want to store the backup file.
Step 3. Click «Proceed» to start the data backup process.
With a backup at hand, now it’s safe to customize a Windows 10 update without receiving any forced updates on your computer. Here’s how to make the change in Registry:
1. Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command.
2. Type regedit, and click OK to open the Registry.
Browse the following path:
3. Right-click the Windows (folder) key, select «New» and then click «Key».
4. Name the new key «WindowsUpdate» and press «Enter».
5. Right-click the newly created key, select «new», and click «Key».
6. Name the new key AU and press Enter.
Inside the newly created key, right-click on the right side, select «New», and click on «DWORD (32-bit) Value».
7. Name the new key AUOptions and press Enter.
Double-click the newly created key and change its value to 2. It’s for «Notify for download and notify for install». Click «OK».
8. Close the Registry to complete the task.
Using this value prevents Windows 10 from downloading updates automatically, and you’ll get a notification when new updates are available. In this way, you can avoid any auto Windows 10 update effectively.
That’s how you could make an attempt to disable Windows 10 update in every way. Each method has been proved to work as long as you wish to turn off all the automatic updates in Windows 10.
How to stop a Windows 10 update
By Alex Blake 10 August 2019
Put updates on hold
Welcome to our guide on how to stop a Windows 10 update. Updating your PC is an important part of maintaining its general health and wellbeing. Windows 10 updates often contain fixes for critical problems, and installing them can keep your PC running smoothly.
But there are times when you may not want to install an update. A frequently used program of yours may not be compatible with the latest update; in that case, you may want to defer the update until you can find a suitable alternative.
So how do you stop a Windows 10 update? While you can’t stop it installing forever, there are ways to delay it for a while. In this guide, we’ll show you how it’s done.
1. Pause automatic updates
Click the Start menu, then the Settings cog. Now go to ‘Update & Security’, click ‘Windows Update’ on the left-hand side, then click ‘Advanced options’. Under ‘Pause Updates’, toggle the switch to ‘On’. This will pause Windows updates for 35 days, but you’ll need to download the latest updates once that period is over if you want to pause further updates.
You can also choose to defer feature updates by up to 365 days and quality updates (which contain important security fixes) by up to 30 days. Once these periods are up, you’ll need to download updates before you can defer them again.
2. Meter your network connection
This is another simple thing to try. Click Start, then click the Settings cog. From here, click ‘Network & Internet’, then click ‘Wi-Fi’ in the left-hand column, then the name of your Wi-Fi connection. Scroll down to the ‘Metered connection’ section and toggle the ‘Set as metered connection’ switch to ‘On’.
This tells Windows 10 that you’re on a limited data plan, with the result that it won’t automatically push updates to you (although you can still manually install them). However, if you’re on an Ethernet connection this method won’t work, so you’ll have to try one of the other methods in this guide.
3. Prevent a downloaded update from installing
Once an update has started installing, you shouldn’t stop it – doing so can be potentially dangerous for your PC. However, if Windows 10 has downloaded an update but hasn’t started installing it yet, you can still stop it.
In the Windows 10 search bar, type ‘Security and Maintenance’, then click the first result to bring up the control panel window. Click the ‘Maintenance’ title to expand it, then scroll to the ‘Automatic Maintenance’ section. Click ‘Stop maintenance’ to halt the update.
If you change your mind and want to restart the update, simply click ‘Start maintenance’.
4. Disable the Windows Update startup service
In the Windows 10 search bar, type ‘Services’. Right-click the top result and select ‘Run as administrator’. Scroll down the list until you reach the Windows Update entry. If the ‘Status’ column says «Running», right-click the Windows Update entry and click ‘Stop’.
Now, right-click it again and click ‘Properties’. In the resulting menu, under ‘Startup type’, choose ‘Disabled’, then click ‘OK’.
This will prevent Windows Update from automatically installing updates. If you still want to prevent automatic updates but want to give yourself the opportunity to install updates manually, select ‘Manual’ from the drop-down menu instead.
5. Disable updates using Group Policy
This involves a getting your hands a little dirty, but is easy enough. Type ‘gpedit.msc’ into the Windows 10 search bar and click the first result. Now navigate to the following path using the left-hand pane: ‘Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update.’ In the right-hand window, double-click ‘Configure Automatic Updates’.
This will open a new window. In the top-left corner, click ‘Disabled’, then click ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’. This will prevent Windows 10 from automatically downloading and installing updates, although you can still manually look for updates by opening Windows Update.
6. Limit updates using Group Policy
Alternatively, you can choose to limit Windows updates instead of disabling them. As in step 5, open gpedit.msc, navigate to ‘Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update’ and double-click ‘Configure Automatic Updates’. This time, instead of ‘Disabled’, click ‘Enabled’.
In the ‘Options’ box on the left-hand side, click the top drop-down box and choose from one of the following four options:
The ‘Notify for download and auto install’ option is the closest to disabling automatic downloads.
7. Disable updates using the Registry
Before dabbling in the Registry, make a backup of anything important, as making a mistake can cause problems for your PC.
Now, type ‘regedit’ into the Windows 10 search bar and click the top result. Navigate to the following path in the left-hand column: ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Policies > Microsoft > Windows’.
Right-click on the Windows folder and click ‘New > Key’. Name it ‘WindowsUpdate’ and press ‘Enter’.
Right-click in this and click ‘New > Key’, then name this entry AU and press ‘Enter’. On the right-hand side of this entry, right-click and click ‘New > DWORD (32-bit) Value)’. Name this entry ‘NoAutoUpdate’ and press ‘Enter’.
Once you’ve created this, double-click the new entry and change the 0 to a 1 in the ‘Value data’ box. Click ‘OK’ and restart your PC.
8. Limit updates using the Registry
You can limit Windows updates instead of disabling them in the Registry. To do so, follow step 6 above up to and including the point where you have created the AU entry.
Right-click the blank space on the right and click ‘New > DWORD (32-bit) Value’. This time, name the entry AUOptions (instead of NoAutoUpdate) and press ‘Enter’.
Double-click the entry; in the “Value data” box, delete the 0 and replace it with either 2, 3, 4 or 5.
These correspond to the numbers in step 5, meaning you’ll get the following results:
How to Stop Windows 10 Update Permanently [MiniTool Tips]
By Tina | Follow | Last Updated March 12, 2021
Summary :
Windows always installs the updates when you are trying to shut down your computer or laptop. In general, it is a troublesome issue for most users and many users wonder whether there is a way to disable Windows 10 update permanently. In this post, we will show you how to stop Windows 10 update with several effective solutions.
Quick Navigation :
The Issue of Windows 10 Automatic Update
Nowadays, many computer users complain that Windows always automatically installs some updates. And they want to know whether there is any solution to disable Windows 10 update permanently because some extra problems will occur after Windows update. For example, Windows update may give rise to data loss.
You must be eager to know the way to recover lost files after Windows update if you find needed files disappear after the update is finished.
Thus, do you know how to stop Windows 10 update? If no, this post will show you how to stop Windows 10 update permanently with 7 effective solutions. So, just keep on your reading.
Quick Video
Solution 1. Disable Windows Update Service
In order to stop Windows 10 update, you can try to disable Windows Update service which automatically downloads and installs the Windows 10 updates over the Internet. And in the following part, we will show you how to stop Windows 10 Update Assistant with step-by-step guide.
Step 1: Open Service window
Step 2: Disable Windows Update service
After you have finished all steps, you can restart your computer to take effect to stop Windows 10 update.
This post shows how to fix the error that we could not complete the install because an update service was shutting down.
Solution 2. Change the Group Policy
As for how to stop Windows 10 update, you can try to change the Group Policy. And the following steps will show you how to change the Group Policy in detail.
Step 1: Open the Local Group Policy Editor
Step 2: Find out the Configure Automatic Updates
Step 3: Configure automatic updates
When you have finished all the above steps, you can reboot your computer to turn off Windows 10 update.
Troubled by the issue Windows Updates cannot currently check for updates? This post shows 4 solutions to fix Windows update failed problem.
Solution 3. Change the Registry to Stop Windows Update
Now, we will show you the third solution to how to stop Windows 10 auto update. As a matter of fact, you can try to disable Windows 10 update registry to solve this problem. The following contents will show you the detailed steps.
However, one important thing you need to know is that changing registry is pretty risky since it may give rise to irreversible damage to your computer if you operate incorrectly. Thus, you had better create a system image before proceeding.
To back up Windows 10, you can try the professional Windows backup software – MiniTool ShadowMaker.
After having backed up the Windows 10, you can go on to change the Registry.
Step 1: Open the Registry Editor
Step 2: Find out Windows folder
Navigate to the Windows folder based on the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
Step 3: Create the new AU key
Step 4: Create the AUOptions
Step 5: Change Value
After that, you can restart your computer to take effect and to stop Windows 10 update.
Solution 4. Disable Windows Update Tasks
In order to stop Windows 10 Update, you can try to disable Windows Update Tasks in Task Scheduler. We will show you how to disable Windows Update Tasks with step-by-step guide.
Step 1: Find out Windows Update in Task Scheduler
Step 2: Disable Windows Update
After that, you can close the Task Scheduler window and then you have successfully stopped Windows 10 update.
Solution 5. Meter Network Connection
As to how to stop Windows 10 update in progress, you can try to meter your network connection. But please note that this method only works on a Wi-Fi connection. So, it is not working for an Ethernet connection.
And now, we will show you how to meter the network connection to stop Windows 10 update.
Step 1: Select the Network & Internet
Step 2: Meter your network connection
In this way, you can disable Windows 10 update since it required massive network connection.
Solution 6. Pause Windows Update for 35 Days
In this part, we will show how to stop Windows update in Windows 10 by pausing Windows update for 35 days. So if you want to disable Windows 10 update temporarily, you can try this way.
Step 1: Open Update & Security
Step 2: Pause Windows Update for 35 days
After that, this function enables you to stop Windows 10 update for 35 days. However, after the pause limit is reached, you’ll need to install the latest updates before you pause updates again.
Solution 7: Restore Windows 10 to Previous Version
At last, there is an available solution for you to stop Windows 10 auto update. It is to go back to previous version with the backup image. The precondition of this solution is that you have created a system image in advance.
In this way, you can go back to the previous version with this backup image even though you have updated your computer to the latest version.
Useful Suggestion
From above solutions to how to stop Windows 10 update, you can find that the system backup image is important since it can help you to keep your data safe and even help you to restore your computer to an earlier state.
Thus, do you know how to create a system image?
In fact, to back up Windows 10, you can take advantage of a piece of professional PC backup software. Thus, MiniTool ShadowMaker is strongly recommended.
MiniTool ShadowMaker is a backup tool which can help you to back up the files, folder, disks, partitions and the operating system. It helps you to perform some recovery solutions with the backup images.
And it is also a piece of file sync software which can effectively keep your data safe.
On top of that, MiniTool ShadowMaker is also a clone tool which can help you to clone OS from HDD to SSD without data loss.
Therefore, with so many powerful features, try MiniTool ShadowMaker Trial immediately or purchase an advanced version.
And now, we will show you how to back up the operating system.
Step 1: Launch MiniTool ShadowMaker
Step 2: Choose Backup Source
Step 3: Choose Backup Destination
Step 4: Start to back up
Step 5: Create bootable media
When all steps are finished, you have successfully created the system image and bootable media. When you want to go back to previous Windows 10 version, try this system image.
Bottom Line
To sum up, this post has introduced 7 solutions to how to stop Window 10 update. If you need to disable Windows 10 update permanently, try these solutions.
If you have any better solution to how to stop Windows update in Windows 10, you can share it on the comment zone.
And if you have any problem with MiniTool program, please feel free to contact us via the email [email protected] and we will reply to you as soon as possible.
How to Disable Windows 10 Update Permanently FAQ
For more information, you can refer to the above part.
To turn on automatic update for Windows 10, you can follow on the below instructions.
You can read the post Two Efficient Ways to Do Windows Update from Command Line to learn more instructions.
To know the version of Windows, you can check that through the Windows Settings.
Of course, you can also read the post What Version of Windows Do I Have? Check Version and Build Number to more ways to check Windows version.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Position: Columnist
Tina is a technology enthusiast and joined MiniTool in 2018. As an editor of MiniTool, she is keeping on sharing computer tips and providing reliable solutions, especially specializing in Windows and files backup and restore. Besides, she is expanding her knowledge and skills in data recovery, disk space optimizations, etc.
On her spare time, Tina likes to watch movies, go shopping or chat with friends and enjoy her life.