How to Temporarily Pause Updates in Windows 10

Ian

While Windows 10 updates are automatic, they can easily be temporarily paused through Settings in Windows 10. When you pause updates, new Windows feature updates won’t be installed for up to 35 days. Pausing updates cannot be repeatedly used, once the time lapses for each pause period, updates will have to be installed before pausing is enabled as an option again. Here's how to pause your updates in Windows 10:

1.   Right click on the Start button, typically found at the lower left corner of the screen, then click on Settings.

2. From the Windows Settings page, from the list of categories, click on the Update & Security option. 

3. From this screen, you can pause for 7 days, or you can select Advanced options to select a different amount of time, up to 35 days.

4. If you select Advanced Options, you can defer updates until a specific date of your choosing, up to 35 days out.

5. If you have Windows 10 Pro, you can also set separate deferment periods for feature updates and quality updates. These deferments are set by a number of days to delay. Feature updates can be delayed up to 365 days, and quality updates can be delayed up to 30 days.

6. There is no need to save or apply your changes, they will take effect immediately.

7. If you want to unpause your updates early, simply open settings, select Update & Security (steps 1 & 2 above) and click the button that says Resume updates