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Is Windows Update annoying you? Take back control in 3 easy steps
One complaint about Windows is near the top of everyone’s list: updates. There are too many updates. They take too long to install. They sometimes fail in ways that cause additional problems. And they always pop up at the most inopportune time.
In most cases, these updates require the computer to be restarted, which happens automatically. You might lose unsaved work or find yourself doing a slow burn as you wait for the update to finish and give you back your PC, so you can join an early-morning Zoom meeting that you’re already late for.
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It doesn’t have to be that way, though. I recommend you set your own update schedule and tell Microsoft to back off until your preferred day. To get started, ensure you’ve installed all available updates (and restarted your computer, if necessary). Then, do the following steps.
How to set up a fast fix for your Windows Update
Microsoft releases monthly security updates for Windows on the second Tuesday of each month (popularly known as Patch Tuesday). Using the default Windows settings, these updates are typically downloaded and installed within 24 hours of their release on Patch Tuesday.
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To tell Windows that you want to wait, go to Settings > Windows Update. Click the arrow to the right of the “Pause updates” menu, and then choose “Pause for 5 weeks”. (This built-in option is available in all Windows editions.)
Choosing the option to pause for five weeks lets you handle update tasks on your own monthly schedule.
Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET
Don’t worry, you’re not really going to pause updates for that long. But this setting ensures that Windows doesn’t try to download and install any updates until you ask it to. And don’t think you can wait forever, either. Once those five weeks run out, Windows Update says “Time’s up!” and installs all available updates in the interest of keeping you safe.
Let’s say you want to wait at least two weeks after Patch Tuesday, so that you can let other people run into problems with an update instead of experiencing those glitches for yourself. Smart! You’re going to do all your update activity on the fourth Tuesday of the month.
In the calendar app you use, set up a recurring monthly event for the fourth Tuesday of each month. The illustration (below) shows what this event looks like in Google Calendar.
Save that reminder and get back to work, comfortable that you’re not going to be bothered until the fourth Tuesday of the month. When that day comes around and you see the reminder, you’re going to quickly check for any known issues with the latest updates. Then wait for a convenient time that day, or at most a day or two later, and perform that month’s maintenance tasks.
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Go to Settings > Windows Update, click “Resume updates”, and install all available updates. Restart your computer and then check Windows Update one more time to ensure that there aren’t any stray updates waiting to be installed. After that process is complete, use the “Pause updates for 5 weeks” menu option to start the countdown clock again.
Use your preferred calendar service to create a repeating reminder to do update tasks.
Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET
Your only responsibility each month is to pay attention when that reminder fires and promptly take care of pending updates. You can hit the snooze button once or twice, but don’t wait too long.
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If you’re working with a device running Windows Pro edition, and you’re comfortable messing with Group Policy settings, you can set things up so those monthly quality updates are automatically deferred. But that approach isn’t necessary and the monthly calendar reminder is all you really need.
And one final setting is worth adjusting, to ensure that you get fair warning before an update is scheduled to restart, as shown in the illustration below. Go to Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options, and then turn on the “Notify me when a restart is required to finish updating” switch, as shown below.
Turn on this option to get a warning when updates require a reboot.
Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET
That step should prevent unpleasant surprises. For extra assurance, use the option just below that switch to define what Windows calls your Active Hours, a daily window of up to 18 hours during which Windows will not restart to install updates.
