It is important to know how to configure Windows Update in Windows 11 because there are new options and updates will be very important in this OS. So, we analyze it and give you our advice for the day to day.
With the number of vulnerabilities, exploits and ransomware , it is important to have Windows Update well configured because it is a very useful tool for the user. Microsoft is releasing update packages for users to keep their computers protected, so you have to have it ready. This time, we delve into what’s new, options, and settings in Windows 11.
Index of contents
- Windows Update in Windows 11: what’s new
- Configure Windows Update in Windows 11
- Disable Windows Update in Windows 11
Windows Update in Windows 11: what’s new
As always, we can access Windows Update through the configuration menu or by searching for it from the start menu. It is true that now Windows 11 offers by default a search engine in the taskbar for this task, but I have removed it because I do not like having many icons in this space.
We will have a much more simplified interface that has received a facelift compared to Windows 11, but the main options remain the same, we put the before and after (Windows 10 on the left and Windows 11 on the right).
Now Windows Update is the last option in the left column, and the whole look has been revamped (although the Windows font remains the same). We will enjoy the 4 main options :
- Pause updates. We can pause them for up to 5 weeks.
- Update history. Here we find little novelty, simply register the updates that we have installed.
- Advanced options. We found new features, having more options than in the Windows 10 edition. We can configure Windows Update more thoroughly in Windows 11:
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- Updates to other Microsoft products.
- Give top priority to Windows Update and update automatically after downloading the update, even when we are using the PC.
- In the case of tablets or laptops that make use of mobile data from a SIM, we can allow or prohibit it.
- The active hours of Windows 10 are included within the advanced options: this function is not lost, but it is organized differently.
- Additional options, which include optional updates, while the others have to do with the overall system.
- Windows Insider program. This function is displayed within Windows Update to receive updates before other users (who are not in the program). We remind you that Insider is a beta tester program in which we will receive updates before, but because these are not final but are being tested before finally launching. In Windows 10 we had this option apart, not within Windows Update.
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That said, we are going with the novelty that has caught my attention the most: being able to limit the download speed and bandwidth to be able to manage our connection.
In this sense, we can configure the download bandwidth that you want to assign to Windows Update so that the relevant updates are downloaded. I find this option extremely useful because, sometimes, web pages or programs that use the network may load slowly and we do not understand why.
In the case of the Windows 11 Pro version , we can choose to download the same update on other computers that are connected to the local network to simplify the process.
Configure Windows Update in Windows 11
Little has changed the way of configuring this update tool, and that is that our options are summarized in:
- Pause or not updates. Unless you want Windows updates to not bother you for a while, don’t activate it.
- Download existing updates. Normally, Windows will do this by default, but you can access Windows Update in Windows 11 and immediately download whatever is available. This has not changed from Windows 10.
- Set the active and non-active hoursso that Windows differentiates when it may be more advisable to update (not active) because it will understand that we are not busy using the system.
- Restart as soon as possiblewith “update me”.
- Notify when a reboot is requiredto finish the update (on / off).
- Enable the download of updates when we use mobile data.
- Active hours,being able to configure them manually or automatically.
- Optional updates.
Disable Windows Update in Windows 11
Yes, it is possible and we are going to show you how to do it; not without first telling you and discouraging this operation because you will unprotect the equipment. So why do we show it? Because it is a possibility that many seek in the same way and that we provide you with information on how to do it.
Here are the steps to disable Windows Update in Windows 11 :
- We press Windowskey + R , we write msc and we give OK.
- We look for ” Windows Update” (it is at the end), we double-click it and press ” Stop ” and we open the drop-down that says ” Startup type “. We are going to set it to «Disabled.
- You give it to apply, accept and restart the PC .
This should work, but if you want to “finish” with Windows Update in Windows 11, we would have to go to the Registry and edit it.
- We open the start menu and look for regedit.
- After opening the Editor, we follow this path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Windows \ WindowsUpdate
- If there is no Windows Update folder, create it by right-clicking on the displayed Windows folder.
- In the section on the right (which shows the inside of the selected folder), we right click and create a DWORD value(32-bit). We are going to call it “NoAutoUpdate” and set its value to 1 (you can set it by right clicking on the created DWORD).
- You restart the PC.
We hope this information has been helpful to you. If you have any questions, you can comment below and we will answer you right away. You can also contact us through our social networks.
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What do you think of the new Windows Update? Do you miss any improvement? What would you change?
