How to stop windows update while downloading

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Best Bluetooth Trackers. Best eReaders. Best VPN. Browse All News Articles. Windows 11 Uninstall Clock. Teams Walkie-Talkie. PCI Express 6. Wordle Scams. T-Mobile iCloud Private Relay. This option may be simpler for some depending on how tech-savvy you are, but it is not a permanent solution. Pausing your updates means there is no worry that your PC will go severely out of date as the automatic updates will eventually turn back on by themselves.

To stop automatic updates using the Registry, follow these steps:. Many users have stated that this method does not take affect or work immediately. One albeit strange workaround for this is to open the Settings again and click on Check for Updates. Doing this should force the changes to take effect. Now you should be able to use Windows Update without having to check whether the Windows 10 Upgrade has sneaked into the Optional upgrade list and ticked itself for download.

Another option that might temporarily prevent your Windows 10 PC from updating is to set a metered internet connection, automatic updates will usually not take place. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread. I have the same question 3. Report abuse. Details required :. Cancel Submit. TaurArian MVP. How satisfied are you with this reply? Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site. In reply to TaurArian's post on July 19, Hello, I marked the wifi connection as a metered one.

The same procedure for starting the service. Thanks for your reply. Andre Da Costa Article Author. Windows Update is essentially just another Windows Service and can be turned off in a similar manner to other services. If you are using WiFi to connect your Windows 10 machine to the Internet, you have the option of setting up a metered connection.

In a metered connection, bandwidth is conserved by only automatically downloading and installing priority updates. For some reason, Microsoft only offers this option if you are using a WiFi connection. If you connect to the Internet through an Ethernet cable you will not be able to set up a metered connection. Users of Windows 10 Home edition are out of luck regarding this way of disabling Windows 10 updates.

If you opt for this solution, security updates will still be installed automatically. For all other updates, you will be notified that they are available and can install them at your convenience.

This is the way Windows update worked in the past. Today, Microsoft wants to eliminate the need for novice users to engage in updates, but it has enforced this at the cost of flexibility for more experienced users.