Here’s how to delay Windows updates and tell Microsoft to leave you alone

Whether you’re still using Windows 10 or have since upgraded to Windows 11, Microsoft provides annual updates and monthly security patches. (Check out the release information for Windows 10 and Windows 11.) This schedule ensures you get new features while maintaining the security of your computer.

Unfortunately, major updates can also cause problems. A version of Windows 11 released in August 2023 resulted in many users seeing a blue screen of death. A July 2022 Windows 10 security patch appeared to render many printers inoperable. An April 2021 patch caused performance issues for PC gamers on Win 10 until a fix was released.

In the past, Microsoft has forced updates regardless of whether you were ready for them or not. Since 2019, these updates are no longer pushed as hard as they used to be. Instead of installing large feature updates automatically, you’ll see an option in Windows Update settings that allows you to download the update at your convenience.

So if you prefer to wait until new features are properly tested and any bugs are fixed, you can delay pending updates. How long you can delay the update depends on which version of Windows you are running. However, if the operating system version you are currently using is no longer supported, you will need to upgrade.

How to pause updates in Windows

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You have several options for delaying updates, large and small. The easiest option is to assign them a seven-day break, which you can do through Settings. Windows 10 users should open Update & Security > Windows Updatewhile Windows 11 allows you to open directly Windows update.

(Source: PCMag / Microsoft)

If you’re not ready to update your computer yet, click Pause updates for 7 days button (it says Take a break for 1 week under Windows 11). This will change that Check for updates button to Continue updates. Windows also indicates when updates will resume.

(Source: PCMag / Microsoft)

You can pause updates in both versions of the operating system for up to 35 days. In Win 10, click Pause updates for 7 days up to five times for a total of 35 days. You can also click Advanced options and pause updates until a specific date. Open that Select date Drop down menu below Pause updates and select a date within 35 days of the current date.

(Source: PCMag / Microsoft)

Windows 11 users can click the drop-down menu next to Take a break for 1 week Click the button and select how many weeks (up to five weeks) to pause updates. Note that you can only pause updates after seven days if you are not enrolled in the Windows Insider program.

How to change active hours in Windows

(Source: PCMag / Microsoft)

Instead of pausing updates, you may simply need to tell Windows when to install updates by changing your active hours. Open on Windows 10 Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and click Change active hours to determine when updates should not be installed. You can have Windows automatically adjust active hours based on your specific activity. Otherwise, click Change to set a custom start and end time.

(Source: PCMag / Microsoft)

Windows 11 users can go to Windows Update > Advanced Options and open it Active hours fall down. Sentence Adjust active hours To Automatically to change active hours based on your specific activity. Set it to Manually to set a custom start and end time.

(Source: PCMag / Microsoft)

Once the active hours are set, no updates will be installed during this time to avoid disturbing you. Of course, updates are installed outside of business hours, so this is more for convenience than to solve any performance issues.

How to delay updates for 365 days

(Source: PCMag / Microsoft)

Those with Windows 10 or 11 Pro, Enterprise or Education have a delay feature that allows you to delay all updates for up to 365 days after they are released. This allows companies to test important feature updates on a few computers before rolling them out to the rest of the company. However, it was hidden in the Local Group Policy Editor.

Open the Start menu, type “Group” and click Edit group policy. Go to in the left sidebar Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update > Windows Update for Business. For this guide, you should focus on two options here: Select “When preview builds and feature updates are received.” And Select “When quality updates are received.”.

(Source: PCMag / Microsoft)

Preview builds and feature updates are the big version changes, while quality updates are the smaller security patches that you receive more regularly. We recommend not delaying quality updates. However, you can delay feature updates for up to 365 days by double-clicking the appropriate option and setting it to Enablesand changing the number of days in Options Crate.

(Source: PCMag / Microsoft)

You can also return to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update in Local Group Policy Editor and open it Configure automatic updates. In the new window, click Enablesand then select Configure automatic updating Drop down menu and select Notify for download and automatic installation to ensure that Windows notifies you about downloading and installing updates and does not do so automatically.

(Source: PCMag / Microsoft)

Of course, the longer you put off updates, the longer you miss out on new features. Therefore, this is best for mission-critical machines that you cannot afford to lose. You can then test the update on a secondary computer (if you have one) to see if it is stable enough for your daily work and update your other computers accordingly.

If you ever install an update and it messes something up on your computer, there are several ways Windows can roll back until a fix is ​​issued.