How To Turn Off Windows 10/11 Update?

The most prominent and vexed feature which came with Windows 10 launch was its ability to automatically update itself. Means Windows 10 on your device will automatically install and download the new updates upon its availability.

Pros of Windows 10 Automatic Updates:

There is no denying that automatic updates help the PCs or laptops to enhance their efficiency like it helps improve performance and provide security updates. But still, there are few arguable factors associated with these updates.

Cons of Windows 10 Automatic Updates:

Windows updates can sometimes cause trouble, Operating system may break or may run into system errors, driver incompatibility, application compatible problems, BSoD (Blue Screen of Death), and stuck in a boot loop, etc. There are high chances and in many live cases, Windows 10 have shown to uptake the network or system resources and sometimes contain bugs. This could have negative effects on your tool’s overall performance.

So, in case you are getting more negative outcomes than benefits or you want to use your device un-patched then you can easily disable the automatic updates to keep your workflow going. Depending on Windows 10 version on your computer, you can effortlessly stop the automatic updates on your device. Here is the entire manual that will help you in disabling your Windows 10 automatic updates.

Methods To Disable Windows 10 Automatic Updates

Here, we have mentioned the four methods to help you fully disable the automatic updates on your Windows 10. Follow each and every step to correctly stop the updates, otherwise, it can cause serious problems.

Method 1: Commands/script to disable Windows Update

Open Command Prompt as Administrator, copy these commands given below and paste it into the command prompt (cmd.exe), and press Enter key.

net stop wuauserv
sc config "wuauserv" start=disabled
reg add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Update" /f
reg add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Update\AU" /f
reg add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Update\AU" /v AUOptions /t REG_DWORD /d 2 /f

We have put together a script to disable Windows Automatic Update download this text file and rename it as a *.bat file, then run the script. This script will execute the commands mentioned above and disable Windows Automatic Update (without notification).

Commands Explained

net stop wuauserv

This command will stop the Windows Update service.

sc config “wuauserv” start=disabled

This command will change the startup type of the Windows Update service to disable, this is to prevent the Windows update service from starting again on the next reboot.

reg add “HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Update” /f

reg add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Update" /f  

This command will add a new registry key named “Windows Update”

reg add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Update\AU" /f  

This command will add a key named “AU” under the Windows Update key we have created using the previous command.

reg add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Update\AU" /v AUOptions /t REG_DWORD /d 2 /f  

Command to create a dword entry with value 2. This setting will disable automatic updates, but notification will be shown when an update is available (if the Windows Update service is running, but we have already disabled it).

Follow these methods mentioned below to manually disable Automatic Update.

Method 2: Disable Automatic Updates Through Metering of Network Connection

This is not the most used but an easy method to disable automatic updates. Marking your existing WiFi/hotspot connection as Metered connection will restrict Windows updates download and installation. These settings may also impact other software services/updates. Also, this solution does not work for Ethernet connections in some Windows versions.

1. Open Window settings and select Network & Internet.

2. Select Wi-Fi then select your active connection Wi-Fi/Ethernet connection(name).
3. Click Properties button.

4. Click to turn on Set as metered connection.

Method 3: Pause Automatic Updates For Few Days In Windows Settings

If you do not want to permanently disable the automatic updates and want to stop just a specific one or just for a specific time, you can easily do it from your device settings. To stop the automatic updates, temporarily, follow the steps mentioned below:

Option 1: Pause updates for 7 Days

1. Open Your Windows Settings.
2. Click on Update & Security.
3. Select Windows Update.
4. Click “Pause update for 7 Days” option if you want to stop Automatic updates for 7 days.

Option 2: Pause updates for up to 35 Days

1. Click the Advanced options point

2. Select a date from the drop-down list located under “Pause until“

A “Pause Updates” option will appear on your screen. Under this section, select the drop-down menu and select for how long you want to pause the automatic updates.

After this, the automatic updates will no longer install on your computer until the date/day you specified for a pause limit. When the limit has reached, you would have to update your PC with the latest patch available to use this feature again.
Keep in mind that this setting disables the updates only for thirty-five days. After that, you would have to set the setting again.
Also, You can easily undo it by selecting Resume update on the Windows update page (step 3).

Method 4: Disable Automatic Updates with Group Policy – Windows 10 Pro

This method is for Windows 10 Pro users, not for Windows Home Editions users. Automatic Windows Updates can be disabled through the “Group Policy Editor”.

Follow these steps to disable Windows 10 Automatic Updates

1. Press the Windows logo key + R and type gpedit.msc then click OK.
2. Or you can also Open Start and Search for gpedit.msc and by choosing the first available option to launch the local group policy editor.
3. Then follow this route;
   Computer Configuration> Administrative Templates> Windows Components > Windows Updates.

4. Double Click on Configure Automatic Updates option on the right side.

4. Select the Disabled option to stop the automatic updates on Windows 10.
5. Then Click Apply and OK to confirm.

After this, the system will stop installing new updates automatically. But you can always check for new updates by going to Settings > Update & Security >Windows Update, and selecting the Check for updates option.
If you want to resume automatic updates follow the above-mentioned instructions but choose the Not Configured option at step 5.

Method 5: Disable Automatic Updates With Registry

Back up your registry before performing any changes in the Windows registry.

The following steps here will help you in disabling automatic updates. Follow these in the given manner to prevent any irreversible damage:

Option 1: Update Registry Through Command Prompt

1. Open Command Prompt (cmd.exe) as administrator
2. Copy these commands given below and paste it into cmd.exe

reg add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Update" /f

reg add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Update\AU" /f

reg add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Update\AU" /v AUOptions /t REG_DWORD /d 2 /f

The result will be like this.

Option 2: Edit Registry Through Registry Editor

1. Use the Window logo key + R to open the Run command.
2. Type Regedit.exe in the bar and click OK. The Registry will open up on your screen.
3. Navigate the following route from there:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SOFTWARE>Policies>Microsoft>Windows
4. Select the Windows folder, click New and then click Key.
5. Type Windows Update in the input and click Enter.
6. Right click the Newly created Key -> Select New, and select Key.
7. Name the newly created Key as AU and click Enter.
8. In this newly created key, click on the right side, select the New option, and select DWORD (32-bit) Value.
9. Now again name the newly created key AUOptions and click Enter.
10. In the end, Double-click on the newly created key. Alter its value to 2. This means it would Notify for download and for install. Select “OK“.

Close the registry to complete the disabling task.

These are some methods you can use easily to disable the automatic updates on your Windows 10. Follow the steps here correctly so to prevent any data or system loss. Each method here is manually practiced by us. So, there are no chances to have your window auto-update after following these steps.