Despite the fact that updates themselves are necessary and useful, frequent updates can be annoying with their importunity. Especially when in the midst of work, the computer requires a reboot. In addition, they load the Internet channel and take up disk space.
From a security point of view, it is still recommended not to prohibit Windows from installing updates. However, some users prefer to disable automatic checking of updates and just periodically install them manually. For example, only those that eliminate critical vulnerabilities. Such an approach has the right to life.
If you've ever tried disabling auto‑updates, you probably know that it doesn't help for long. There are a lot of different methods of disabling through the system registry, security policy, services or task scheduler, but whichever one you choose, after a certain time Windows will prompt you to update again.
Unfortunately, there is no 100% reliable way to completely disable automatic verification and installation of updates. Due to the fact that Microsoft is constantly changing the administration settings, all existing methods quickly become irrelevant. But there is a way out.
If you generally don't mind updates and just want to turn them off for a while so that they don't distract from work, then it's easy to implement with standard tools. This is quite safe, and even if you forget to turn the function back on, Windows itself activates it after some time. Depending on the OS version, the pause can be from one to five weeks.
Right-click on the "Start" button and select "System".
Go to the "Windows Update Center" section in the side menu and click "Pause for ...", selecting the desired period.
If you need to check updates earlier than the deadline, go to this menu again and click on the "Resume updates" bar.
Open Options from the Start menu.
Next, go to the "Update and Security" section.
Click "Suspend updates for 7 days.". Unfortunately, it is impossible to make a big pause.
If necessary, you can also resume updates here by clicking on the button of the same name.
For these purposes, it is most convenient to use special utilities. For example, Windows Update Blocker. This application does exactly what is indicated in the name — it completely blocks all update mechanisms. Everything happens in a couple of clicks, while the settings are just as easy to get back. And if Microsoft makes some changes over time and Windows offers to update, it will be enough to launch the application and disable the function again.
Download Windows Update Blocker from the official website. The utility does not require installation. Just open the zip archive and run the Wubx64 file with a double click. On older PCs, you may have to use the Wubx32 file.
The current status of Windows auto-updates will be shown in the window on the right.
Select "Disable updates", check the box "Protect Service settings" and click on the "Apply" button.
Wait a few seconds for the settings to take effect and the status icon on the right will change to "Disabled".
After that, when trying to check the available updates, Windows will give an error, allowing you to make sure that they are really deactivated.
Now updates won't bother you. When you need to install them, it will be enough to run the utility again, select "Enable updates" and click "Apply".
This material was first published in December 2017. In April 2023, we updated the text.
