Controlling updates in Win10 Home

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I’m going back and forth – forgive my indecision – on which method I should recommend for blocking updates in Win10 Home without Wi-Fi internet. (With
[See the full post at: Controlling updates in Win10 Home]

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Anyone tried the Windows Update reg key change in Home? https://technet.microsoft.com/itpro/windows/manage/manage-connections-from-windows-operating-system-components-to-microsoft-services#bkmk-wu

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Interesting! Looks like you’ve found a fourth possibility. From the TechNet article (updated Oct 31):

26. Windows Update

You can turn off Windows Update by setting the following registry entries:

Add a REG_DWORD value called DoNotConnectToWindowsUpdateInternetLocations to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftWindowsWindowsUpdate and set the value to 1.

-and-

Add a REG_DWORD value called DisableWindowsUpdateAccess to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftWindowsWindowsUpdate and set the value to 1.

-and-

Add a REG_DWORD value called UseWUServer to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftWindowsWindowsUpdateAU and set the value to 1.

You can turn off automatic updates by doing one of the following. This is not recommended.

Add a REG_DWORD value called AutoDownload to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionWindowsStoreWindowsUpdate and set the value to 5.

-or-

For Windows 10 only, apply the Update/AllowAutoUpdate MDM policy from the Policy CSP, where:

0. Notify the user before downloading the update.

1. Auto install the update and then notify the user to schedule a device restart.

2 (default). Auto install and restart.

3. Auto install and restart at a specified time.

4. Auto install and restart without end-user control.

5. Turn off automatic updates.

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Is this available for the Windows 10 Home edition?

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As noted below, these settings are for Win10 Enterprise (and Education) only.

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If you try the procedure, back up your registry first!

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+1

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Run services.msc, or access it from the Control Panel or from the Task Manager. Enable/Disable Windows Update service.

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Could try blocking it with Group Policy.

This site shows the list of corresponding registry keys to Group Policy settings (handy for Home users who don’t have the Group Policy Editor)…

http://gpsearch.azurewebsites.net/

As mentioned, backup the registry first before making any changes.

Might also be able to blacklist the update service using antivirus/antimalware software. Have not personally tried it.

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The simple solution to just add a Wi-Fi dongle to your PC makes perfect sense.

I have two PC’s connected to my router. One has a Gigabit Ethernet (10000 Mbps)connection and the other has a Netgear N300 (300Mbps) USB Wi-Fi dongle.

Using Speedtest.net to test, I get the same throughput with either connection. The only limiting factor is my ISP bandwidth, as both local connections far exceed the bandwidth that is provided by my ISP.

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That’s true for many people – but not for everybody.

But with good USB Wi-Fi dongles going for $25, it’s hard to justify all the manual folderoll.

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But changing the registry keys doesn’t appear to block updates in Win10 Home.

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But also see

https://www.askwoody.com/2016/controlling-updates-in-win10-home/

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To control Windows Updates I’m still using the method descibed in your Woody on Windows article “Block Windows 10 forced updates without breaking your machine, part 2” i.e. using the MS “wushowhide” tool and running Noel Carboni’s “ConfigureAutomaticUpdates” and together they manage WIndows Updates fine for me.

I’ve been using this method on 2 desktops and 2 laptops running win10 Pro with both 1511 and 1607 to control updates thro Aug to Nov and I’m wondering why you aren’t still including this as a method for blocking/managing updates.

Sorry forgot to mention one of the 4 pcs above is actually running Win10 HOme ver 1607 and the method described works on this HOME edition also.

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*disclaimer: never use w10 – rant and opinion only

definitive take on the situation?
you want definitive take on the situation?
you really really really want definitive take on the situation?

GOTO -> group W

dearme…

they have win2000 – XP – win7 – win8++ to practice…
this is their baby…
you notice they come out very strong this time round…
even attempting openly to control the hardware….
its lock down air tight…
as far as they are designed to be…

Controlling updates in Win10 Home?
Impossible….
unless one somehow can hack into the backbone and re-write the script…

then it probably be much much much eaiser to ….

GOTO -> group W

to go or not to go, thats the question?!

peace2u all

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Not sure which registry keys your referring to.

I was thinking that “Remove access to use all Windows Update features” under User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update in Group Policy might be a shot.

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Why not saving the money and upgrade to Pro?

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Pro upgrade runs US $99. Wi-Fi dongle costs $10 or less.

Still, you have a point.

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I’m not sure which registry entries, either!

Win10 Home doesn’t have Group Policies. You can make gpedit run on Win10 Home, but the changes made don’t seem to take effect.

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I think you’re referring to this article, which referred to version 1511:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3053701/microsoft-windows/block-windows-10-forced-updates-without-breaking-your-machine-part-2.html

I’ve been told that the method there – using GPedit to Disable “Configure Automatic Updates” – doesn’t work in version 1607. That’s why in the latest article

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3138088/microsoft-windows/woodys-win10tip-block-forced-win10-updates.html

I recommended using Noel’s method in Win10 Pro 1511, but had to switch to a different method in Steps 3C and 3D and 3E for 1607.

Win10 Home doesn’t have a Group Policy editor.

I wonder if it’s possible that you used Noel’s method in 1511, then upgraded that machine to 1607 – and the old setting still works???

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+1

OR go away
MacOS
Linux
Chrome

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I think I’ll go with the third choice as I have a disposable $30 with me right now. xD

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But even in Pro your choices are disappearing bit by bit (pun intended).

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The Update/AllowAutoUpdate MDM policy settings do not work on Pro, only Enterprise/Edu editions. (It says so right in the description in GPEdit, and our testing has so far verified this.)

This was THE specific feature that MS removed a few months ago from Pro that ticked so many of us off. We want it back . . . our SMB clients do not want Windows Update to reboot their machines at night or during the weekday, but they also do not want to buy volume licenses for Enterprise for their very small offices. These Open License Windows 10 Enterprise CAL’s are a recurring expense rather than a one time license fee like Pro.

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To clarify, the Update/AllowAutoUpdate MDM policies worked perfectly fine in Win10 1511 Pro, but they were disabled in Win10 1607 Pro by design.

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You’re right – I should’ve remembered that! It’s one of the GPedit settings that were taken away from Pro users.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3104389/microsoft-windows/the-case-against-windows-10-anniversary-update-grows.html

http://www.ghacks.net/2016/07/28/microsoft-removes-policies-windows-10-pro/

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Correct…Home Editions do not have the Group Policy Editor.

However, the website link I posted above has a list of the corresponding registry keys to Group Policy settings.

This is the setting I was thinking might work…

http://gpsearch.azurewebsites.net/#2790

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Right. We had one reader who put GPedit on their Home machine, flipped the setting to Disabled. Presumably that changed the registry setting.

It didn’t work. Windows Update came in anyway.

But… it would be interesting to see if setting the registry manually makes a difference!

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Would someone clarify something that is a seeming contradiction for me. Are all the issues regarding privacy/data mining/control over your own OS etc etc not exactly the same (or even deeper?) with a Chromebook.
I get that it might make for a handy mobile device but everything I understand of Google’s business practices with all their other products/services are stopping me seeing why Win10 or Chrome OS make much of any difference regarding all the issues causing such angst for us here.
Are Google doing something with Chrome OS that they do nowhere else? Are devices available with a viable third party chromium OS that is not controlled by Google or is it Chromebook only? A little education on this would be great.
Using any Windows version just shouldn’t be this miserable and time abusive. I’m sick of it. Thanks

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True unfortunately.

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To install Win 10 Home ver 1607 i used MS Media Creation tool to create installer on USB. At the time of running the Media Creation tool (13th Oct) the pc was at Win10 ver 1511 with “ConfigureAutomaticUpdates” implemented. However i did a clean install of ver 1607, not an upgrade, so registry entries for “ConfigureAutomaticUpdates” were not carried over and i had to run “ConfigureAutomaticUpdates” again to recreate them.

If you are certain that that method doesn’t work on Home edition then maybe whats happening for me is that i am capturing and hiding the the updates with “wushowhide” before Windows Update has had a chance to run. As a matter of routine one of the 1st thing i do when get on the pc is run “wushowhide” to see if there any updates so as a test next time Windows Updates are due i wont run “wushowhide” and see whether or not Windows Update starts automatically.

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AHA! That would explain it.

Yes, if you’re quick on your feet – you catch the update after it’s been sent out the Windows Update chute, but before it’s actually downloaded on your machine – you can run wushowhide and block the update from installing.

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There’s no question in my mind that ChromeOS (and Chromebooks) mine the living daylights out of users’ activities.

I’m not aware of any ChromiumOS hardware.

Right now, if privacy is your primary concern, Linux is the way to go. Apple’s coming in second with its Differential Privacy technique. Microsoft’s likely third, and Google/Android/ChromeOS are dead last.

Differential Privacy is still largely an unknown, in the real world.

Amazon Alexa’s position on the list is debatable.

It all comes down to personal predilections. Some people love having Google anticipate what you want to do. Others find it creepy.

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“Right now, if privacy is your primary concern, Linux is the way to go.”

This is almost exact, but not so. Your only chance of not being monitored in the computing sense is not to use one.

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Thank you. I have been seeing Chrome offered as an alternative for Windows leavers by people with deep understanging (for example PKCano above, yourself and others in different threads on this site) and thought I was missing something.
So, as far as Chrome OS is concerned, is it a case of … well, if Windows is going to snoop and take away user control of key elements then you might as well go to a hassle free alternative. Rather than that alternative solving those issues?
I have been trialling Ubuntu on an old XP laptop (that has brought it back from a doorstop to a very usable personal machine) but it is not yet something I feel I could rollout to the business..
Thanks to all of the knowledgable people here for taking the time to share their help.

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Not exactly.

People are starting to understand that electronic things are watching them – not just their computers, but their phones, increasingly their cars, refrigerators, thermostats… and soon just about everything. The devices phone home and leave traces of peoples’ activity with the manufacturer of the device.

Back in the (ahem) good old days, Windows XP did very little of that. Win7 did some with its “telemetry” and “Customer Experience Improvement Program” – but the information gathered was much less, and much less intrusive, than what’s being collected today.

Microsoft has been gradually adding snooping capabilities to Win7. They’re extending the snooping in Win 8.1. And Win10 was built from the ground up to collect that data.

Some people don’t care – and that’s a perfectly valid response. We (and I’m one of them) like the added convenience of having our phones “know” about us and our preferences, having our email programs scrape incoming mail to put flights on our calendars, and so on. I want to be able to say, “OK Google… Navigate home” and have it work. If the systems deduce that I’m a Caucasian male with a young son who likes Pokemon, it doesn’t bother me all that much.

Other people, though, do care – and their point of view is perfectly valid as well. Many see a dystopian future where the stored data is used to raise flight fares, deny health insurance, or put an individual on a government watch list. Those are real, immediate concerns – not fantasies. More than a few see the beginning of an “us vs. them” society with computers and algorithms taking over.

My only concern is that people understand what they’re getting into. With Linux, you have a reasonable expectation that nothing (or very little) will get sent to some data collection black hole. With Apple, Differential Privacy may reduce the amount of individually identifiable data – the mathematics is solid, but the implementation may or may not meet expectations. With Google, you should have no expectations at all: Google doesn’t scan mail or files attached to paid (or student) accounts, but everything else is fair game. That’s what Google does in Android and ChromeOS and Chrome.

So it isn’t a question of “if Windows is snooping, might as well throw in the towel and use ChromeOS.” Mostly it’s a question of “if you don’t mind being snooped, what’s the best operating system for what you do?” Increasingly, ChromeOS is the best choice, unless you have a very specific need for a very specific program that only runs on Windows.

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+1

Also, watch out for your refrigerator.

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Thanks for that.
The “day to day management” of Windows suddenly feels as if it has ballooned into an issue that it hasn’t been for years and years. I feel reluctant for that to be the case. Whilst sometimes necessary,and you have to learn the basics, messing about “under the hood” of any OS leaves me cold.
I have Windows laptops and desktops(10 and 7 respectively), android phone and tablet,and the very old laptop so that I can learn Ubuntu but I know nothing of ChromeOS.
So can I ask one more clarification of you:
” ….Increasingly, ChromeOS is the best choice..” Why?
Thanks

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ChromeOS is fast, easy, and not prone to the micro-management we’ve come to expect from Microsoft. And the hardware’s cheap. And it’s about to acquire all of the monstrous Android app backlist.

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I find that with the one Win 10 Home laptop that I have, using the metered Wi-Fi trick buys me the extra time cushion I need to run wushowhide. In fact it actually makes it normally unnecessary to run it, if I wait until I am actually ready to install them when the defcon is clear.

Metered Wi-Fi also comes in handy on my Win 10 Pro PC, where I can just set gpedit to defer feature upgrades, and not worry about monthly updates.

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Thanks for that.
Privacy is just one consideration for me. Like many here I feel it exists only as an idealised notion in a digital world.
I just feel more comfortable taking as wide a group of opinion from people with a deep understanding and then start to make my compromise decisions based on what I need my systems to do, how involved I would need to be/want to be/am capable of being.

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If I am running Windows 10 Home, and if manually running Windows Update will flip the Windows Update service to automatic, then I will just disable the Windows Update service when I do not want it to run.

In fact, if this behaviour extends to other versions of Windows 10, then I will just disable the Windows Update service if I need to run any version of Windows 10 in the future.

Of course, the only version of Windows 10 I will consider using (together with Classic Shell) is the Enterprise LTSB.

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Have you actually used LTSB at all? I did for about 1 week and I didn’t see the point to move to Windows 10 if the choice was LTSB. It is like running the Server 2016 as workstation.
I decided to move to a more complete version and now I am experimenting with Enterprise and Pro.

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In 1507, if I disable the Windows Update service, then manually check for updates, Windows Update will tell me it has a problem and will try again later.

Is this behavior changed in 1607?

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I can vouch for ChromeOS as being the easiest OS to use and support.

I had provided my father, at around age 70, with a refurbished Windows PC and a dial-up AOL connection so he could stay in touch with family and friends via email.

I got weekly support calls from him, and as he started to do online banking, he became increasingly worried about the malware and keylogging stuff he heard about in the news.

So I sent him a Mac mini.

The calls dropped down to a few times a year.

Fast forward about 16 years and the MacOSX he was running on the mini was no longer supported, and one day his bank no longer permitted him to sign on with an unsupported browser.

So I sent him a ChromeBox (same as a Chromebook, but just the computing module, without a keyboard and screen).

It was a drop-in replacement for the Mini. It used the same monitor, mouse, and keyboard.

It only took a few calls the first day or two to get him comfortable, and he has been using the ChromeBox for a year with no support calls since the initial setup

The ChromeOS is basically a web browser in a box. Self healing, and self-updating. Nothing under the hood to mess with. If everything you do is online, it is just about perfect.

As far as Linux goes, I personally think the easiest to install and use out-of-the-box right now is Linux Mint. But I would never give that to my father, LOL.

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I am currently using Windows 7, but I do have Windows 10 LTSB 2015 running on one computer and in VMware virtual machines for testing.

The other versions of Windows 10, including the “more complete” versions like Enterprise and Education, contain features like Cortana and Windows Store which I consider totally useless and unnecessary. These features may be useful to you, but not for me.

In addition, the LTSB will not receive feature upgrades, which I consider an advantage. If I were to use it, I don’t have to worry about unnecessary upgrading that may break software and hardware (like the 1607 audio issues with older audio hardware I have heard about), just like Windows 7.

If I move to Windows 10 in the future (I won’t do that for several years at least), it will be to LTSB. No other versions will be considered as I desire a relatively stable version that can last several years. Windows 7 and Windows 10 LTSB can provide that, and the other versions of Windows 10 cannot.

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Cortana and Windows Store are not useful to me, but I am trying to keep an open mind about everything.
What I am trying to say is that if you don’t have a need and you consider that you will never have a need for any of the new functionality in Windows 10, you might be better off on Windows 7.
At least for the next 2 years and a half.

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At home, my personal laptop that has Win 10 Home, uses wifi, so I set it to metered that way.

At work (at a library), I have the Win 10 Home computers set to metered by manually editing the registry. This is for the Ethernet ones. So are the Win 10 Pros, by the way. I’m looking into other methods, and I am looking into what it affects. OneDrive, I think you mentioned, is affected by metered connection, but these are public use computers, so we don’t even want OneDrive. I believe Norton was giving me some messages too about more limited functionality due to metered connection.

Of random note, I got a little leery of just setting the connection to Wifi on the computer that uses WiFi. This is because after Windows updated to the 1607/Anniversary version, that setting was reset to unmetered and I did not know it. I didn’t even think to check that setting. Does anyone know why that setting changed?

Great blog, by the way. I found you through your first version of the Win 10 All-in-One book and have been convinced that I should not instantly install the cumulative updates. Your site is one I check concerning it.

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