English-only support.
Windows 11 cannot be stopped from updating entirely. Updates eventually must be downloaded and installed to keep the device secure.
What can be done instead:
- Temporarily pause updates:
- Open Start > Settings > Windows Update.
- Next to Pause updates, select the pause length.
- After the pause limit is reached, the latest updates must be installed before updates can be paused again.
- If the goal is only to stop manual update access for users, a policy exists to remove access to Windows Update in Settings:
- Open Group Policy Editor (
gpedit.msc). - In Windows 11, go to Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update\Manage end user experience\Remove access to use all Windows update features.
- Set the policy to Enabled.
- This only removes the Check for updates option in Settings. Background scans, downloads, and installations continue as configured.
- Open Group Policy Editor (
Important:
- Disabling Windows Update capabilities can leave a device vulnerable if updates are not being delivered another way.
- For normal Windows 11 consumer devices, the supported option is to pause updates, not disable them permanently.