Finally, Windows users have actual control over their updates. You can pause Windows updates for up to 35 days each time, using a simple calendar to choose the date. You can even keep extending the pause to deal with the many years of problems with restarts and shutdowns happening at inconvenient times.
What Microsoft changed and why
Microsoft says they’ve made these changes because people have consistently told them updates happen at the wrong moment and they haven’t had enough control. In a post on their blog, the company explained that they are trying to give people more choice while still making sure their computers are secure, both by the way they’re designed and as a default setting.
Microsoft has confirmed that you can now pause Windows updates and restart your PC without installing any updates that are waiting. They have also said they are fixing two main issues: updates being annoying and not having enough control over when they occur.
How the 35-day pause works
The most important new feature is a “pause until” option that uses a calendar. Microsoft says you can select a specific date to pause updates for a maximum of 35 days. Then, when that time is up, you can pause them again for another 35 days, and there’s no limit to how many times you can do that.
Microsoft describes this as being good for planning. Aria Hanson at Microsoft wrote that with the new calendar view, you can choose a day of the month to pause until (for up to 35 days) and that this helps you plan around things like trips, tests, meetings, or busy weeks.
Here is how the new pause option behaves in practice:
– Use the new calendar to choose a pause-until date
– Pick any date up to 35 days away
– When it expires, pause again to extend
– If you do not re-pause, updates resume
No more forced update restarts
Microsoft is also separating the way your computer turns off or restarts from the way it gets updates. The usual Restart and Shut down options will always be in the Windows power menu, even if updates need to happen. If you select Restart or Shut down, Windows will do just that and won’t suddenly start an update.
Hanson says that restarting or shutting down your computer should always be straightforward, as you expect, and on your terms. This is a direct response to one of the most frustrating things about Windows: being forced to install updates just to turn your computer off before you leave.
Fewer interruptions and clearer labels
Microsoft is also grouping more kinds of updates together to cause fewer interruptions. Updates for drivers, .NET and the computer’s basic software (firmware) are being combined with the regular monthly security update, which should mean you don’t have to restart your computer as many times in a month.
They are also making driver updates easier to understand. The titles of the updates will include what kind of hardware they’re for – things like the screen, sound, battery, a connected device, or the graphics card. This extra information will help you decide what to install and what to wait on without having to guess.
Another change is for the very first time you set up a computer. During the initial setup (called the Out of Box Experience or OOBE), you can now skip updates and get your new computer ready faster. You can update Windows later when it’s more convenient.
Here are the other notable improvements:
– Unified monthly reboots for fewer interruptions
– Clear driver titles showing device class
– Option to skip updates during initial setup
Who gets it and what comes next
These new features are now available to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel and the new Experimental Channel. Microsoft will give more information later about how they’ll work for businesses and what controls managers will have.
We should see these features in the normal, stable version of Windows in the next few weeks. Until then, Insiders will be the first to try the pause calendar, the improved power menu, clearer names for drivers and the ability to skip updates during the initial setup.
Why it matters for you
These changes deal with the two things Windows users complain about the most: updates happening unexpectedly and not being able to control them. By letting you pause for 35 days at a time and stopping updates from forcing a restart, Microsoft is making Windows updates more predictable and less likely to interrupt your work or personal life.
The calendar-based pause is useful for people who have a job, are students, or travel a lot. But for everyone, the main idea is this: you decide when to update, your computer doesn’t. Microsoft is trying to find a balance between letting you be in control and still keeping your computer safe.
