Microsoft’s Free Windows 10 Upgrade Offer is perhaps the most generous offer the company has ever made with a new software upgrade. Anyone who owns Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 can take advantage of the Windows 10 Upgrade offer and have it running on their old laptop, desktop or tablet within hours. Something unprecedented. For some it is undesirable.
No matter how much you plan for a software upgrade to be painless, anything will happen. The hardware requirements for Windows 10 are the same as Windows 8 and Windows 7, but that doesn’t mean everything works flawlessly. Some have reported that their printers no longer install after an upgrade or software they rely on every day. Initially, Microsoft only upgraded those actively seeking software refresh. Yes, you can go back to your previous version of Windows after the upgrade, but that’s not enough. Some don’t want to risk installing a new operating system on their device at all.
Instead, they want a way to block the Windows 10 update and mute the Free Windows 10 Upgrade Offer that won’t stop them trying to divert their attention from the Taskbar.
Here is how to stop free Windows 10 Update on your system.
Before You Begin
Before we begin, it is important that you understand the consequences of stopping the Windows 10 Upgrade. Windows 10 is completely free to download and will receive free upgrades over time. In Windows 7 and Windows 8, it’s not the best idea to stop the upgrade unless you have a feature you can’t live without, like Windows Media Center.
This is because Windows 7 and Windows 8 do not have their own long, always-updating lifecycles. Support for both operating systems will expire at the end of the term. When they do, you become more vulnerable to internet threats that could put your personal information at risk.
As for the reasons not to upgrade. Initial reports of Windows 10 explicitly tracking users have not been disproved by Microsoft. You can disable the Cortana personal assistant and the operating system has controls to avoid location sharing. If privacy is somewhat exaggerated with any software upgrade like this, it’s legit.
Stopping Free Windows 10 Upgrade
Microsoft has built its Free Windows 10 Upgrade Offer so far into Windows 7 and Windows 8 that there’s no real way to get rid of it without a software upgrade. For example, there is no toggle you can press to ignore permanently. You will need to download some extra pieces of software to your device to completely suppress it.
never10
It is called a simple and easy to use software utility to stop free Windows 10 update. never10. Developed by Gibson Research, not really much. The utility kills the upgrade with the push of a button. There is nothing to configure.
Never10 cannot be uninstalled after ending the upgrade offer, but if you decide you want to upgrade, it’s a good idea to keep it around. Lots of people report having a great experience with this tool.
GWX Control Panel
aptly named GWX Control Panel It has very rich features. (GWX stands for “Get Windows 10”). The app itself is not that attractive, but it does its job very well.
Once installed, you’ll receive a breakdown of how your system has been modified to accommodate the Free Windows 10 Upgrade Offer. A breakdown shows whether the offer icon is enabled and how much space Windows Update is using on your system to store the upgrade if you decide to take advantage of it.
It then gives you the option to start undoing every change it lists. There is a button to disable the icon that always pops up asking you to download the operating system. Another button lets you quickly delete anything Windows Update has downloaded to your system. This option is a life saver, Windows 10 download can take up to 4.8GB on a single device. That’s a lot of space.
You will want to click the button to ensure that you and no one else in your household accidentally proceeds with the upgrade. You will also want to click the button.
The GWX Control Panel can be configured to monitor your device and make sure none of these settings are by chance, it’s just a virus scanner, but I’d say that might be overkill at this point. Only enable this if you suddenly find yourself looking at the upgrade offer again without warning.
Again, keep GWX installed so you can reverse the decision in the future.
Good luck with stopping the free Windows 10 Update. We hope this helps.
