4 Easy Ways to Pause Windows 10 Automatic Updates (How To)

Did you know that you can pause automatic Windows updates on Windows 10?

By default, your Windows 10 computer updates itself automatically in the background. These updates include general, security, feature, and driver updates. While automatic updates help keep your computer secure and up-to-date with the latest patches, they can also cause problems.

For instance, when you’re actively using the internet, Windows updates downloading in the background can slow things down and make browsing a pain. If you’re on mobile data, these updates can also quickly drain your data plan and become costly. On top of that, Windows might restart at an unexpected time to install updates if active hours aren’t configured.

Fortunately, you can pause automatic updates in Windows 10 easily. In this tutorial, I’ll show you four simple methods to pause updates so you can take control of Windows updates. Let’s get started.

1. Pause Automatic Update on Windows 10 Using Settings

The Settings app on Windows 10 allows you to pause all updates (feature, improvement, and security updates) for up to 35 days. Here’s how to do it.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Click the “Update & Security” option.
3. Go to the “Windows Update” tab.
4. Click the “Pause updates for 7 days” option.
5. To increase the number of days, press the option again.
6. You can increase the number of days up to 35 days.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, open the Settings app either by searching for it in the Start Menu or by pressing the keyboard shortcut “Windows key + I“. Alternatively, you can also open it via Command Prompt or PowerShell.

In it, go to “Update and Security” -> “Windows Update” page. On the right page, click the “Pause updates for 7 days“. This action will pause the updates for 7 days.

As I said earlier, you can pause updates in Windows 10 for up to 35 days. To extend the pause, simply click the option again. Each click adds 7 days to the pause period, up to the maximum limit of 35 days.

If you want to pause updates up to a specific date, you can do that too. For that, click the “Advanced Options” button on the same page.

Next, select a date from the drop-down menu under the “Pause Updates” section. Again, just like before, the upper limit is 35 days.

That is it. With that, you’ve paused automatic updates. After the selected number of days, Windows 10 will automatically download and install all the available updates.

2. Pause Windows 10 Automatic Updates Using Command Prompt

If you want to pause automatic updates for very short periods of time, like for a few minutes or hours, then the best way is via Command Prompt. To do it, all you have to do is stop update services such as Windows Update service, Background Intelligent Transfer service, and Delivery Optimization service. Here’s how to do it.

1. Press the Start button on your keyboard.
2. Search for “Command Prompt“.
3. Right-click on Command Prompt and select “Run as Administrator“.
4. Run the following commands one after another.
   net stop wuauserv
net stop bits
net stop dosvc
5. With that, automatic updates are paused on Windows 10.
6. To resume automatic updates, restart your computer.

Detailed Steps

First, open the Start menu. Next, search for “Command Prompt“, right-click on the top result, and select the “Run as Administrator” option. This opens Command Prompt with admin rights.

In it, run the following commands one after another.

net stop wuauserv
net stop bits
net stop dosvc

These commands stop the Windows Update service, Background Intelligent Transfer service, and Delivery Optimization service.

Once done, automatic updates are paused on Windows 10.

To resume updates, restart your computer. Alternatively, run the following command in the admin Command Prompt window.

net start wuauserc
net start bits
net start dosvc

3. Turn on Metered Connection to Pause Automatic Updates on Windows 10

Enabling metered connection on a network automatically pauses Windows updates. This method is very helpful when you are using a hotspot with a limited data plan. Here’s how to do it.

1. Open Settings using the “Windows key + I” shortcut.
2. Click the “Network & Internet” option.
3. Go to the “Status” tab.
4. Click the “Change connection properties” option on the right page.
5. Turn ON the “Set as metered connection” toggle.
6. With that, metered connection is enabled and automatic updates are paused.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, press the “Windows key + I” or search for “Settings” in the Start menu to open the Settings app on Windows 10.

Click the “Network and Internet” option and then go to the “Status” tab on the sidebar. Next, click the “Change connection properties” link under the “Network Status” section on the right page.

Now, scroll down a bit and turn ON the “Set as metered connection” toggle.

That is it. You’ve successfully enabled a metered connection and paused Windows 10 updates.

When you want to resume automatic updates, turn OFF the “Set as metered connection” toggle.

4. Turn ON Flight Mode to Pause Automatic Updates

If you don’t need an active internet connection, you can turn on Flight mode to temporarily pause automatic updates. However, this method only works for wireless connections. If you’re using a wired connection, such as Ethernet, it won’t work.

4.1 Using Quick Settings Panel:

1. Click the “Notifications” icon on the taskbar.
2. Turn ON the “Flight mode” button.
3. Once enabled, the Flight mode button will appear highlighted.
4. With that, the automatic updates are paused.

To resume automatic updates, click the “Flight mode” button again. This will turn off the flight mode.

4.2 Using the Settings App

1. Press “Windows key + I” to open Settings.
2. Click the “Network & Internet” option.
3. Go to the “Flight mode” tab on the sidebar.
4. Turn ON the “Flight mode” toggle.
5. With that, flight mode is enabled and the automatic Windows 10 updates are paused.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, open the Settings app either by searching for it in the Start Menu or by pressing the keyboard shortcut “Windows key + I”.

Go to “Network & Internet” -> “Flight mode“. On the right panel, toggle the switch under “Flight mode” to On to turn on flight mode.

That is it. You’ve enabled the flight mode and paused Windows 10 automatic updates.

To resume updates, turn off the flight mode

Wrapping Up — Pausing Automatic Updates on Windows 10

In conclusion, there are four easy ways to pause automatic updates on Windows 10. The Settings app method is the quickest and works in most cases, letting you pause updates for a specific number of days. However, if that doesn’t work for you or if your use case is temporary, you can use one of the other methods: Command Prompt, setting a metered connection, or enabling flight mode.

If you want, you can also completely stop automatic updates on Windows 10. This is helpful if you don’t want to ever update Windows 10 automatically.

If you have any questions, comment below and I’ll be happy to assist. Windows 11 users follow this guide—pause automatic updates on Windows 11.