Widows "pause updates" is defaulting to one week pause every day. I can not stop the pause

Tim Gleason 0 Reputation points
2026-10-09T20:48:27.71+00:00

I can not turn off the "pause updates" feature in Windows. It defaults to pausing 1 week every day.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Windows update
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  1. AI answer

    2026-10-09T20:48:39.7433333+00:00

    In Windows 11, updates cannot be turned off permanently, but a pause can be resumed manually.

    Try this first:

    1. Open Start > Settings > Windows Update.
    2. Look for Resume updates and select it.
    3. After resuming, Windows will check for updates again and download/install the latest available updates.

    If the pause does not clear, the Windows Update service may not be running correctly. A Microsoft Q&A accepted answer suggests starting the Windows Update service:

    • Open an elevated Command Prompt or Terminal and run:
      • Net Start wuauserv

    Or in elevated PowerShell:

    • Set-Service -Name wuauserv -StartupType Automatic
    • Start-Service -Name wuauserv

    If the Pause updates option is missing or keeps reappearing, a policy can remove or control access to that feature. On supported editions, the policy Remove access to "Pause updates" feature maps to SetDisablePauseUXAccess.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  2. Dio Xavier 297K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-10-09T21:07:00.2833333+00:00

    Hello,

    Welcome to the Microsoft Windows Community.

    Good afternoon. I understand you are unable to disable the Windows Update pause—is that correct? If so, press Win+X -> Command Prompt (Admin) or Terminal (Admin) and paste the commands below, one by one, pressing Enter after each:

    net stop wuauserv

    net stop bits

    net start bits

    net start wuauserv

    Restart your computer and check if the issue is resolved. If not, press Win+X -> Terminal (Admin) and paste the commands below, one by one, pressing Enter after each:

    Set-Service -Name wuauserv -StartupType Manual

    Start-Service -Name wuauserv

    Set-Service -Name BITS -StartupType Automatic

    Start-Service -Name BITS

    Restart your computer again and let us know the result.

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