Stop Automatic Updates download in Windows 10

Earlier, Windows allowed it’s users to have control over downloading and installing the updates and allowed the users to download and install them automatically or not with a couple of more options as shown in below:

Install updates automatically (Recommended)
Download Updates but choose when to install them
Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them
Never check for updates (Not Recommended)

However, in Windows 10, it checks for any available update and downloads and install them automatically and the users have absolutely no control over this (Home editions of Windows 10). You don’t have an option in the Control Panel or the Settings app in Windows 10 as compared to the earlier versions of Windows. The control that users had over Windows Updates earlier allowed the users to the defer updates until they had enough time or adequate internet speed to download and install them or to have them downloaded automatically and then install them at a suitable time.

According to Microsoft, this allows them to provide the updates in two different methods to two different types of users/clients.

The Home and Professional users have no control over downloading and installing updates and they download and install automatically even if the user doesn’t wants and is working on something else. This often makes the computer slow. Also, the updates download in the background making the other downloads and browsing slower. The users can only defer the restart but nothing else.

Thus, you are stuck with these updates downloading and installing automatically using up your computers resources. Many users want to stop these automatic downloads and installs and do that when they are free while many just want the liberty to download and install update(s) when they want and not when Microsoft pushes it.

However, since there isn’t a direct option to control these updates, here is a workaround for the same.

Stop Automatic Updates in Windows 10

If the version of Windows 10 you are running has Group Policy, you can easily change it’s settings using the Group Policy Editor. To do so, just press the Win+R key combination to bring up the Run window and type in gpedit.

Now, navigate to the following policy setting:

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

Now, on the right-side, double-click on Configure Automatic Updates and change its settings accordingly.

If the above method doesn’t works for your version of Windows 10 (Windows 10 Home), you can set your internet connection as a metered one and Windows will not download the updates automatically. To do so –

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Click on Network & Internet.
3. Under the WiFi section, click on the Advanced options.
4. Now just turn on the Set as metered connection option to set the connection as a metered one.

After setting your connection as metered, when you will open the Windows Updates, you will get the option to check for updates. You can click that and download and install updates whenever you feel like.