Want to turn off or disable Windows Update in Windows 10? Here are thee ways to stop Windows 10 from automatically downloading updates or completely disable Windows Update in Windows 10.

It’s no secret that Microsoft has changed the expected location of many tools and components in Windows 10. Many of the settings have been moved from the classic Control Panel to the new Settings app, and during the process, some of the options have been completely left out.

In Windows 10, Windows Update settings have been moved from the classic Control Panel to the new Settings app. While the traditional Control Panel is still present in Windows 10 and we need to navigate to the classic Control Panel to access many of the settings, some of the familiar Windows Update settings have been completely removed.

In previous Windows versions, we could choose what updates are downloaded and installed. In Windows 10, users have very little control over updates.

If, for whatever reason, you want to turn off or disable Windows Update in Windows 10, follow the given below workarounds.

Method 1 of 7

Pause updates for up to 35 days

Windows 10 lets you pause updates for up to 35 days. That is, you can temporarily pause updates with ease. However, once the 35-day limit is crossed, Windows 10 will have to install available updates before you pause updates again. Nevertheless, this is a good option if you want to stop updates for up to 35 days.

Step 1: Go Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.

Step 2: On the right side, click Advanced options.

Step 3: In the Pause updates section, select a date until which you would like to pause updates.

Method 2 of 7

Pause feature updates for up to 365 days

Features updates are the major updates Windows 10 receives twice a year. Around April and October, Microsoft releases major updates (feature updates) to Windows 10. Here is how to stop them for a year:

Step 1: Open the Settings app. Go to Updates & Security > Windows Update.

Step 2: On the right side, click on Advanced options.

Step 3: In the Choose when updates are installed section, you will see “A feature update includes new capabilities and improvements. It can be deferred for these many days” option. Select a number from the drop-down box. The maximum supported is 365 days.

Method 3 of 7

Use Group Policy to disable Windows Update

In this method, we are going to use the Local Group Policy Editor. Since Group Policy Editor is not present in Windows 10 Home edition, this method is not applicable to Windows 10 Home.

Step 1: Open Local Group Policy Editor. To do so, type Edit Group Policy in Start or taskbar search box and then press Enter key. Alternatively, open Run command box, type Gpedit.msc, and then press Enter key to open the same.

Step 2: Navigate to the following policy:

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update.

Step 3: On the right-side, double-click on the policy labeled Configure Automatic Updates to open its properties.

Step 4: Select the Enabled option. Under Configure automatic updating, select the second option labeled Notify for download and notify for install. Don’t touch the rest of the settings.

Click the Apply button. As mentioned before, this method will not turn off Windows Update, but you will be notified when updates are available to download. You can ignore the alert to avoid downloading and installing updates.

When this policy is enabled, you’ll see Some settings are managed by your organization message under Advanced options of Windows Update.

Method 4 of 7

Disable updates via Registry

If you are on Windows 10 Home, you can disable the automatic update by making modifications to the Registry. Here is how to do that.

Step 1: Open the Registry Editor by typing Regedit.exe in the Start/taskbar search field and then hitting the Enter key.

Step 2: Navigate to the following key:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows

Step 3: Right-click on the Windows key, click New and then click Key. Name it as WindowsUpdate.

Step 4: Now that you have created WindowsUpdate key, right-click on it, click New, and then name it as AU.

Step 5: Now, right-click on the AU key, click New and then click DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it as NoAutoUpdate.

Step 6: Double-click on NoAutoUpdate and then change its value data from 0 to 1 to disable automatic updates.

Note that this disables automatic updates only. You can manually check for updates by clicking the Check for updates button in Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update page.

Method 5 of 7

Disable Windows Update service permanently 

This is the best method to completely disable Windows Update in Windows 10. In this method, we will disable the service responsible for checking, downloading, and installing updates for Windows and other programs including Windows Defender.

Step 1: Type Services in Start menu or taskbar search box and then press Enter key. Alternatively, you can type Services.msc in Run command box and then press Enter key to open Services.

Step 2: Here, look for the service named Windows Updates. Right-click on it and click Properties to open Windows Update Properties dialog.

Step 3: Here, change the Startup type to Disabled. Click the Apply button and then reboot your computer. That’s it!

From here on, Windows 10 will not be able to check for updates. Good luck!

Method 6 of 7

Use Windows Update Disabler

Over the past few years, a bunch of applications has been released to help Windows 10 users block updates. One of them and probably the best of the lot is Windows Update Disabler. With Windows Update Disabler, you can disable the updates in Windows 10 with a click.

Download Windows Update Blocker

Method 7 of 7

Change your network type to Metered

This solution is no longer effective as Windows 10 now download priority or critical updates when on a metered connection.

By default, Windows 10 doesn’t download all updates when you’re on a metered connection. It downloads only priority updates when on a metered connection. You can make use of this by setting Metered connection property to your network connection.

To set a network as metered, do this:

Step 1: Navigate to Settings app > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi.

Step 2: On the right side, you can see the Wi-Fi network name (SSID) that your PC is connected to. Click on it.

Step 3: In the Metered connection section, turn on the Set as the metered connection option.

For ethernet connection, refer to our how to set an Ethernet connection as a metered network in Windows 10 guide for step-by-step instructions.