Set your Windows 10 Internet connection as metered If you’d like to put a stop to that as well, read on to find out how you can stop automatic download and installation of Windows 10 updates.

It will still download and install updates in the background, as usual. Note that the two can’t be more than 12 hours apart.įrom now on, Windows 10 will only automatically restart itself outside of those hours.

In the dialog box that presents itself, pick a start time, and an end time.

Under Update Settings, click Change active hours.

Open the Start Menu, and click the Settings gear icon.Here’s how to set active hours for your Windows 10 device– If you need a longer period, you’re probably working too much anyway. The only catch is that active hours can be between 1 and 12 hours. During this time, Microsoft won’t automatically restart your Windows 10 system, saving you from embarrassing yourself while you’re at a presentation, collaborating with people, or doing other grown-up things.Įssentially, setting active hours is the easiest way to take matters into your hands with Windows 10 updates, while still ensuring complete safety of your system. Set active hours for your Windows 10 deviceĪctive hours are meant to convey the time you usually use your device. Thankfully, there are still some ways to prevent Windows 10 from updating your OS whenever it feels like, as detailed below.

You might prefer to have the download happen when you're in office, rather than use up your Fair Usage Policy (FUP) at home. However, sometimes we might have good reason to delay an update - for example, you might get cheaper data rates at night, and thus want the download to take place only then. It’s a big push for the company, with last year’s Windows 10 Anniversary Update rendering a couple of methods that disabled automatic updates redundant. Windows 10 not only checks for updates, but downloads and installs them as and when they are available, making the process convenient and the OS safe for everyone. That’s why, starting with Windows 10, Microsoft chose the slightly controversial route of enabling updates by default. Most people tend to be lazy with keeping their desktop OS up-to-date, even though it can present a huge security risk.

Stopupdates windows software