Keeping the operating system up to date is essential to get the latest features as well as protect your system from security vulnerabilities. However, it does not make sense to frequently update the system every few days or weeks. You need to update the system during appropriate time so that it does not affect your working schedule. In this article, we will explore the possibilities of scheduling OS updates in Windows 11 PC.
Scheduling OS Updates
Microsoft will automatically update your Windows and you can disable the automatic updates using various options as explained in our earlier article. You will see the notification bugging to restart the system for updating the OS.
1. Schedule Windows Updates Using System Settings
Though these update restart notifications are annoying, unfortunately, there are no simple settings to select the time and schedule OS level updates in Windows. All you can do is to tweak set of options and avoid the system restart during busy working time. Good thing is that it is a one-time setup in Windows and the system will follow the setup for all further updates.
Delay Windows Updates
Right-click on the Start menu and select “Settings” to open Windows Settings app. Go to “Windows Update” section from the left sidebar where you can find and install available updates.
- Turn off “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” option under “More options” section. This will avoid Microsoft to push non-security and bug fixing updates to your device on priority basis.
- Click on the dropdown against “Pause updates” option and select the time frame to delay all system updates. You can select from 1 week to 5 weeks for delaying updates.
In both the cases, you can any time manually click the “Check for Updates” button to install the pending updates.
Setup Restart Time and Notification
- Now, click on the “Advanced options” under “More options” section. Turn off “Get me up to date” option to avoid system restart during active hours.
- Turn on “Notify me when a restart is required to finish updating” option to get a notification before system restart.
- By default, Windows will automatically set the active hours based on your system usage. Expand “Active hours” section and select “Manually” from the dropdown against “Adjust active hours” option.
- Set the start and end time (within 18 hours gap).
During the set active hours, Windows will not restart the system for updating the OS. However, you will still get notifications and the update will be installed outside the active hours.
2. Schedule Update Using Group Policy Editor
Local Group Policy Editor is a system app that comes with Windows Pro, Enterprise and Student editions (not with Home editions). It is super easy to schedule updates using this app.
- Press “Windows Logo + R” keys to open Run dialog box.
- Type gpedit.msc in the box and press enter to open Local Group Policy Editor app.
- Navigate to “Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Updates > Manage end user experience” section.
- Find and double-click on “Configure Automatic Updates” policy on the right pane.
- Select “Enabled” option and then select “4 – Auto download and schedule the install” option under “Configure automatic updating” section.
- Select Scheduled install day, Scheduled time and week options.
- Click “Apply” and then “OK” buttons.
This will run the automatic Windows updates as per the scheduled day / time.
3. Schedule Using Update Manager for Windows
There is also a cool third-party app called Update Manager for Windows available for disabling automatic Windows updates and scheduling it with a custom time. However, the app available in Microsoft Store does not work and you need to download the app from the GitHub page.
Simply extract the downloaded ZIP file and open the wumgr.exe application file (you can open it from the Downloads folder).
If prompted, confirm the action by clicking the “Yes” button on User Action Control pop-up.
Click the refresh button to check any available Windows updates. Go to “Auto Update” tab and select “Schedule Installation” option. Choose your schedule like daily, weekly or monthly and set the desired time. You will be prompted to reboot the system for the changes to take effect. After restarting the system, Windows OS updates will happen as per the scheduled time (if there are updates available at that time).
Alternatively, you can also disable Windows Update (WU) server and disable all automatic updates. In this case, the app will completely remove the “Windows update” section from the settings app.
