It’s good that you can stop Windows 10 automatic updates. The OS can be more frustrating for some people to use every day if they can’t.
Everyone should keep their computer up to date, but automatic updates are cumbersome. Downloading them can slow down your computer’s internet connection to a crawl when you need to load a site as fast as possible. Installing updates also takes time, and if you’re late for a conference call or your college class is about to start, you may not have time to spare.
Older versions of Windows 10 allowed you to manually install Windows 10 updates. However, Microsoft has removed this capability in Windows 10 for most users. Windows 10 Home automatically installs all updates. Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise hide the option to install updates when you’re ready.
Here are some ways to stop Windows 10 automatic updates on your system.
Stop Windows 10 Automatic Updates by Pausing
If Creators Update is on your Windows 10 PC, you can temporarily stop Windows 10 automatic updates.
Open the application.
Click .
Then click on it.
A switch at the bottom of the window lets you pause updates for about a week. Microsoft has changed this amount several times, so what you see on your computer may be slightly different. For example, the computer we are using for this tutorial can only pause updates for 7 days at a time.
Note that this is only a temporary toggle to avoid updates while you’re on vacation. Windows 10 will turn updates back on without asking you to do so, and you won’t be able to disable them for another week.
Switch to Metered Connection to Stop Windows 10 Automatic Updates
Metered Connections is another trick you can use to stop Windows 10 Automatic Updates. This works because Windows 10 doesn’t download software updates if it believes it has insufficient bandwidth.
Open the application.
Click .
Click .
The Metered Connection switch is at the top of the window, if you turn it your Windows 10 PC will not try to download new updates while connected to your Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, this trick to stop Windows 10 automatic updates won’t work for all types of internet connections. Windows 10 now knows you are using a broadband connection or hotspot. With this information, the operating system disables the Metered Connection switch for broadband users.
Use 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 do not have a backup of the files on your computer, do not use this method to stop updates. Also, if you’ve never used the Windows Registry before, you’ll want to avoid this method. Making changes here can destroy your copy of Windows 10.
Press the and keys on your keyboard at the same time.
Add to the field. click
go
In the Windows folder in the list on the left side of the Registry Editor. Hover and select in the menu
You should name your new Registry key. Tap your keyboard.
in the key you created. Select and select .
Give the key you just created a name. Tap on your keyboard.
Right-click on the right side of the switch. Select and .
Name this Key AUOptions. Tap your keyboard.
Double-click the key you just created. Add it to the field in the popup window. Click .
Value 2 allows your computer to check for Windows 10 Updates, but only install them when you tell them to.
Upgrade to Windows 10 Professional to Stop Windows 10 Automatic Updates
If you want 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. So this is only a recommended fix if you already have a Pro installed.
Press the key. Type you are your window and click.
Open
Next, open the policy rule in the right-hand pane of the policy editor.
Click to open the Group Policy you just changed.
Now select the policy you want to turn on under. There are different policies for each situation. For example, you can turn them off completely or set your computer to notify you when new updates appear.
Choose .
Choose .
