Categories: TECH

Windows updates are no longer mandatory, but there’s a catch

Windows updates always feel a little forced and intrusive. Frequent updates coupled with the requirement to download all updates and update your computer before restarting or shutting down not only disrupts your workflow, but also prevents you from working more efficiently. But that’s about to change as Microsoft announces new features that will make forced Windows updates a thing of the past.

Windows users can pause updates for up to 35 days (Microsoft)

Shweta Ganjoo is the Chief Content Producer at HT Tech. She has over 10 years of experience in the technology space, during which time she focused on consumer technology devices, artificial intelligence, social media, gadgets and technology policy, providing authoritative and reader-centric insights into India’s rapidly evolving digital ecosystem.

She started her career in the early 2010s, building a solid foundation in digital-first reporting as India’s tech scene expanded rapidly. Over the years, she has played a key role in scaling editorial content and audience engagement, working with leading media organizations such as India Today Tech, Indian Express Group and Techlusive. At HT Tech, she combines newsroom leadership with hands-on reporting experience to drive product recommendation coverage.

Her expertise spans smartphones, wearables, smart home devices, artificial intelligence and social media ecosystems, as well as regulatory developments shaping the technology industry. Shweta is known for her analytical approach to product reviews and news coverage based on practical testing and real-world usability. She conducts industry interviews, tracks emerging technology trends, and crafts research-backed stories using verified sources and expert opinions. She holds a master’s degree in mass communications, which complements her professional experience in digital journalism and content strategy and is consistent with her technical academic background. Shweta follows a reader-first editorial philosophy that prioritizes accuracy, transparency and fact-checked reporting to deliver reliable, insightful and useful insights.

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Pause Windows Updates Indefinitely

First, Microsoft announced that PC users will be able to pause Windows updates when the company rolls them out and install them later at a convenient time. For example, they can now schedule PC updates while traveling or on weekends when they are not busy with meetings or studying. However, users can pause Windows Updates for up to 35 days at a time. When this 35-day window expires, users can pause updates for another 35 days.

This is an interesting point. The company has no limit on how many times users can pause updates. In short, Windows PC users can indefinitely pause updates to their PCs for 35 days at a time.

How to pause updates on Windows PC

Windows 11 users can pause updates on their PC in the following ways:

Step 1: Select “Start” from the main menu.

Step 2: Click on the Settings option.

Step 3: Click on the “Windows Update” option.

Step 4: Choose how long you want to pause updates – done!

Shut down and restart your computer without installing updates

Another pain point for Windows users is the inability to restart or shut down the computer without installing Windows updates. Microsoft is also fixing this issue. The company has provided separate shutdown and restart options for Windows users, allowing users to perform these actions without being forced to download and install updates immediately. This comes in handy when the user is in a hurry.

With this, users will now get a total of 6 options – Lock, Sleep, Update & Shutdown, Shutdown, Update & Restart and Restart – instead of the standard four options, making updates simpler and more convenient.

Update your PC multiple times a month – no more

Finally, Microsoft often releases updates to Windows PC users multiple times a month, which can be frustrating. To simplify this experience, Microsoft is unifying the update experience to reduce the number of reboots users see each month.

The company says it is coordinating driver, .NET and firmware updates to align with monthly quality updates, which will reduce the update experience to one reboot per month. All these updates will be downloaded in the background and await coordinated installation and reboot. After downloading all these updates, or using the next Windows quality update, the user can decide to install the updates and restart the computer. Alternatively, they can pause installation until later in the 35-day period, or re-pause updates.

Availability

As far as availability is concerned, Microsoft says the updates are rolling out to Windows users in the Dev channel and regular users will get them soon.

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