By now, you likely have noticed that Windows 10 doesn’t offer an easy way to temporarily stop updates from being installed. This means that there is no official way out there to temporarily prevent Windows 10 from installing new updates.
Although one can always use our how to pause Windows Update downloads in Windows 10 guide to pause updates that are being downloaded, the method requires you to stop some services. Moreover, the method is not for novice users as it involves executing commands in Command Prompt.
Delay or defer Windows Updates in Windows 10
The good news is that there is finally a Pause Updates option in Windows 10. Yes, in Windows 10 Creators Update (14997 and above) builds, you can pause Windows Updates.
When you pause Windows Updates in Windows 10, Windows 10 will not download and install currently available updates for Windows 10 for up to 35 days. This means you can postpone Windows 10 Updates for up to five weeks.
According to Microsoft, the Pause Update feature will only stop Windows Updates from being installed. This means other updates that are being served via Windows Update service will continue to be downloaded. For instance, automatic driver updates and Windows Defender definition updates will continue to be downloaded even when the Pause Update option is turned on.
In addition to that, you can use the Pause Update feature to temporarily pause updates that are currently being downloaded.
The Pause Update feature comes in handy for users who would like to wait and watch before installing Windows Updates. Microsoft likely introduced this Pause Update functionality after millions of Windows 10 users experienced issues post installing an update a while ago.
NOTE: To troubleshoot Windows Updates issues, use the Windows Update troubleshooter built-in to Windows 10.
Important: We don’t recommend you Pause Update in Windows 10 unless there are issues with recent updates. It’s always a good idea to have the latest updates installed.
Postponing Windows Updates in Windows 10
This method works only in 14997 or later builds of Windows 10 Creators Update.
Step 1: Open Settings. Navigate to Update & security > Windows Update.
Step 2: Under the Update settings section, click Advanced options link to open the Advanced update settings page.
Step 3: Here, turn on Pause Updates to temporarily pause available updates from being installed for up to 35 days. As you can see in the picture, this will pause only Updates for Windows 10 and not for other components like Windows Defender.
As you can see in the picture below, if you turn on Pause Update when Windows 10 is downloading updates, it will pause the download as well.
You might also like to clear the Windows Update cache to troubleshoot Windows Update issues in Windows 10.
