How To Disable Automatic Driver Updates Windows 11 & 10

Windows installing the wrong or outdated drivers? Here’s how to disable automatic driver installation in Windows 10 and 11.

When it comes to Windows updates, a couple of things often bug users. One is automatic updates, which you can pause, and the other is automatic driver installation. For the most part, automatic driver installation works fine. For instance, other than the graphics driver, I haven’t installed any drivers manually for years—Windows automatically handled them for me.

However, there are situations where automatic driver installation causes issues, such as buggy, wrong, or outdated drivers. If you’re facing these problems, here’s how to disable automatic driver updates in Windows 11 and 10. Let’s get started.

Before You Begin

The following methods and steps work both in Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Administrator rights are required to disable automatic driver updates.
Before proceeding, please create a system restore point, just to be safe.

1. Disable Automatic Driver Updates From Device Installation Settings

You can easily stop Windows from automatically updating your drivers using the Device Installation Settings. However, this is not a strict restriction. If Windows determines that a driver update is essential for system functionality, security, or stability, it may still install the update. This method is useful for those who want to prevent unnecessary updates without completely blocking driver updates.

Open the Start menu.
Search and open “View advanced system settings“.
Go to the “Hardware” tab.
Click the “Device Installation Settings” button.
Select the “No (your device might not work as expected)” option.
Click the “Save changes” button.
Restart your computer.
After restarting, automatic driver updates are disabled.

2. Disable Automatic Driver Updates via Group Policy

Note: Group Policy is only available in Pro and Enterprise editions. If you are using a Home edition, follow the registry method.

Using the “Do not include drivers with Windows Update” policy, you can easily disable automatic driver updates on Windows 11 and Windows 10. Here’s how.

Press “Windows key + R” to open the Run dialog box.
Type gpedit.msc and press Enter to open Group Policy.
Go to the “Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update > Manage updates offered from Windows Update” folder.
Double-click the “Do not include drivers with Windows Update” policy.
Select the “Enabled” option.
Click “OK” to save the changes.
Restart your computer.
After restarting, automatic driver updates are disabled.

3. Disable Automatic Driver Updates via Registry Editor

Note: Before proceeding, I strongly recommend you back up the registry.

By changing the “ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate” value in the Registry Editor, you can disable automatic driver installation. Here’s how:

One-Click Method

For those who don’t want to edit the registry values manually, I’ve created a one-click solution that enables or disables automatic driver updates. To start off, download the one-click zip file.

After downloading the zip file, extract it to your desktop (right-click on the file and select “Extract all”), right-click on the “disable-automatic-driver-updates.reg” file, and select “Merge.”

Click the “Yes” button twice and you are done.

After merging the reg files automatic driver updates are disabled.

To enable automatic driver updates, right-click on the “enable-automatic-driver-updates.reg” file and select “Merge”.

Manual Method

Press “Windows key + R” to open the Run dialog box.
Type regedit and press Enter to open Windows Registry.
Go to the “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows” folder.
Right-click the “Windows” folder on the left sidebar.
Select the “New > Key” option.
Set “WindowsUpdate” as the folder name.
Right-click on the “WindowsUpdate” folder.
Select the “New > DWORD (32-bit) value“.
Name the value as “ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate“.
Double-click on the new value.
Type “1” in the value data field.
Click “OK” to save the change.
Close the Registry Editor.
Restart your computer and the automatic driver updates are disabled.

Take Control Of Drive Updates in Windows – Conclusion

In conclusion, there are three ways to stop automatic driver updates in both Windows 11 and Windows 10.

If you don’t want strict restrictions and just want to avoid unnecessary driver updates, use the Device Installation Settings method. This option works on all editions—Home, Pro, and Enterprise. To enable automatic updates again, simply select the “Yes” option.

For users who want to fully block automatic driver updates, the Group Policy method is the most effective, but it’s only available in Pro and Enterprise editions. If you’re using Windows Home, the Registry method is your best alternative.

To enable automatic driver updates via Group Policy, select the “Not Configured” option. For the Registry method, either change the “Value Data” to “0” or delete the “ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate” value.

If you’re facing issues with a specific driver update, such as the graphics card, you can disable automatic driver updates for that specific hardware device. Just follow the linked guides to learn more.

If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.