Windows Update: FAQ

Here are a few things you can try if you're having trouble installing updates:

• Make sure that your device is connected to the internet. Downloading updates requires an internet connection.

• If you’re connected the internet, try to install the updates manually. Select Start  > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update , and then select Check for updates. 
  
  Check for updates

The time required to download updates primarily depends on internet connection speed, network settings, and update size. Make sure your device is plugged in and connected to the internet to download updates faster.

You can’t stop updates entirely—because they help keep your device safe and secure, updates will eventually need to be installed and downloaded, regardless of your update settings. Here's how to temporarily pause updates from being downloaded and installed. Note that after the pause limit is reached, you'll need to install the latest updates before you can pause updates again.

In the Windows 10 November 2019 Update (version 1909) or later, or in Windows version 1809 for Pro or Enterprise, select Start  > Settings > Update & Security  > Windows Update . Then choose one of the following options:

• Select Pause updates for 7 days.

• Select Advanced options. Then, in the Pause updates section, select the drop-down menu and specify a date for updates to resume.

To finish installing an update, your device will need to restart. Windows will try to restart your device when you're not using it. If it can't, you'll be asked to schedule the restart for a more convenient time. Or, you can schedule anytime by following these steps:

1. Select Start  > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update .

2. Select Schedule the restart and choose a time that's convenient for you.

You can set active hours to make sure automatic restarts for updates only happen when you're not using your device. Keep your PC up to date with active hours.

Try deleting files you don’t need, uninstalling apps you don’t use, or moving files to another drive like an external USB drive or OneDrive. For more tips on freeing up disk space, see Free up drive space in Windows.

We recommend keeping devices like laptops and tablets plugged in when you’re not using them. This way, if updates are installed outside active hours, your device will have enough power to complete the installation. Windows updates don’t consume more battery than other typical system processes.

An update history is available so you can see which updates were installed, and when. You can also use this list to remove specific updates, although we don't recommend this unless it's necessary.

Select Start  > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update  > View update history .

View update history

For more info about what’s included in updates for Windows 10, see Windows 10 update history.

We don’t recommend that you remove any installed updates. However, if you must remove an update, you can do so in update history. Please note that not all updates can be removed.

1. Select Start  > Settings  > Update & Security  > Windows Update   > View update history  > Uninstall updates.

2. Select the update you want to remove, then select Uninstall.

Feature updates are typically released once per year and include new functionality and capabilities as well as potential fixes and security updates. To help keep devices on a supported version of Windows, Windows Update automatically initiates a feature update for devices before—or as they are approaching—end of servicing. Automatic updates allow your devices to continue to receive the monthly updates that are critical to security and ecosystem health.  

This approach has been successfully applied for many years with Windows 10. Automatic feature updates are offered only to consumer devices and non-managed business devices running Windows 10. Updates will install automatically, but you can Keep your PC up to date with active hours for your device to restart and complete the update. 

Quality updates are more frequent and mainly include small fixes and security updates. Sometimes quality updates do include new features. Windows is designed to deliver both kinds of updates to devices through Windows Update. To receive monthly updates, you must be on a supported version of Windows. The last feature update for Windows 10 is version 22H2.

To double check that your device is up to date, open Settings  > Update & Security  > Windows Update  and see your update status and available updates.

Check for updates

To find which version of Windows you're running, see Which version of Windows operating system am I running?

Reserved storage is not automatically turned on by Windows in any update scenarios. It is only turned on for new devices with the Windows 10 May 2019 Update (version 1903) or later preinstalled, or on devices with a clean install.

Windows 10 is the most secure Windows ever, and we recommend you stay updated to protect your PC from security risks and to keep it running smoothly. However, you can temporarily pause updates as well as schedule a restart to install updates at a time that's convenient for you.
Learn how to temporarily pause updates
Find out how to schedule a restart to install updates at a convenient time

Monthly quality updates on Windows 10 are quite small and have a minimal impact on data usage. Feature updates typically happen twice per year, and you can control when to install them. They require more data but are less frequent.

If you’re on a metered connection, some updates for Windows won’t be installed automatically. Metered connections in Windows