This guide describes how to disable Windows 10 automatic updates (i.e., install updates).

By default, Windows 10 automatically checks for updates, downloads and installs them, and disabling updates becomes more difficult than in previous versions of the operating system. However, it is possible to do this: using functional system administration tools or third-party programs. In the instructions below – how to altogether disable system updates, if you need to disable the installation of a specific KB update and remove it, you will find the necessary information under. How to uninstall an update Windows 10 update.

In addition to disabling Windows 10 updates completely, the instructions also show how to disable a specific update causing the problem or, if needed, a significant update, like Windows 10 1809. October 2018, without undermining the installation of security updates.

How to turn off Windows 10 automatic updates but allow manual updates to be installed.

With the release of Windows 10 version 1709 Fall Creators Update, 1803 April Update (still at version 1809), many ways to disable updates have stopped working: Windows Update service turns on (Update 2018:more a way to fix this problem and disable Update Center, more in the tutorial), blocking in the server is not working, tasks in task scheduler are automatically triggered from time to time, registry settings do not work for all OS versions.

However, there still exists a way to disable updates (in any case, automatic search, computer download, and installation).

In Windows 10 tasks, there is a Scan task schedule function (under UpdateOrchestrator section), use C: Windows System32 UsoClient.exe system program, regularly check for updates, and we can make it work. However, malware definition updates for Windows Defender will continue to be installed automatically.

Disable job scan schedule and automatic updates

For the Schedule Scan task to stop working and, therefore, Windows 10 updates no longer being checked and downloaded automatically, you can set a ban on reading and executing the UsoClient.exe program. Otherwise, the task will not work.

The procedure will be as follows (to perform the actions, you must be an administrator in the system)

  1. Run a command prompt as administrator. To do this, you can start typing “ Command Line ” in taskbar search, then right-click on the found result and select “ Run as administrator “.
  2. At the command prompt, enter the command. 
     takeown /fc:windowssystem32usoclient.exe / a

    And press Enter.

  3. Close the command prompt, go to the C: Windows System32 folder, find the usoclient.exe file, right-click on it and select “ Properties ”.
  4. On the Security tab, click the Edit button.
  5. Select each item in the ” Groups or Users ” list from the list one by one & uncheck all the boxes in the ” Allow ” column below.
  6. Click “ OK” and confirm the permission change.
  7. Restart the computer.

After this update, Windows 10 won’t be installed (and detected) automatically. However, if you want, you can check for the updates and set them up manually in ” Settings ” – ” Update and Security ” – ” Windows Update “”.

If desired, you can return the permissions to use the usoclient.exe file from the command line on the command line running as administrator:

 icacls c:  windows  system32  usoclient.exe / reset

(however, licenses for TrustedInstaller will not be returned, nor will the file’s owner be changed). Note: Sometimes, when Windows 10 tries to access the usoclient.exe file, you may receive an ” Access Denied ” error message. Steps 3-6 described above can be done on the command line using icacls. Still, I recommend the visual path since the list of groups and users with permissions can change when the OS is updated ( and you should specify them manually in the command line).

Update March 2018: in the comments providing another, possibly workable, I have not personally tested:

There’s another idea that automatically disables the Windows Update service, that’s essential. Windows 10 includes Windows Update. In Computer Management – Utilities – Event Viewer – Windows Logs – System, information about this is displayed while indicating that the user has enabled the service (yes, just turned off). Hood, there is one fact, goes further. Create a batch file to stop the service and change the startup type to Disable disable:

 net stop wuauserv 
sc config wuauserv start = disabled

Hood, batch file is created. Now create a task in Computer Management – Utilities – Task Scheduler.

  • Triggers. Journal: System. Source: Service Control Manager.
  • Event ID: 7040. Actions. Run our batch file.

The rest of the settings are at your disposal.

Also, if you recently had to install the upgrade assistant to the next version of Windows 10 and you need to stop it, pay attention to the new information in the section Disable upgrades to Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (1709 ) and April Update (1803) »More in this tutorial. And one more note: if you can still get it right (and in 10-ke, that gets harder and harder), check out the comments for the tutorials – it’s also informative. benefits and additional methods.

Disable Windows 10 Update

This method works not only for Windows 10 Professional and Corporate but also for the home edition (if you have a Pro, I recommend using the local group policy editor, described later). It includes disabling update center service. However, starting with version 1709, this method has stopped working in the described form (the service turns itself on from time to time).

After disabling the specified services, the OS will not automatically download updates and install them until you turn them back on. Recently, Windows 10 Update started to turn itself on, but you can skip it and turn it off forever. To disconnect, do the following steps.

  1. Press the Win + R keys (Win – the key with the operating system logo), type services.msc in the Run window, and press Enter. The Services window opens.
  2. Find the Windows Update service in the list of (Windows Update), double-click it.
  3. Click ” Stop “. Also, please set the field ” Startup type ” to ” Disabled “, apply the settings.
  4. If this is the case, after a while, the Update Center will re-enable. To prevent this from happening after applying parameters, go to the ” Login ” tab, select ” With account” and click ” Browse “.
  5. In the next window, click ” Advanced “, then click ” Search ” and select the user in the list without administrator rights.
  6. In the window, delete the password, confirm the user’s password (he has no password), and apply them.

An automatic system update will not happen: if necessary, you can restart similarly to Update Center service, and the user change from there launch is done with the system account.