Windows update overriding metered connection

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I woke up this morning to see a “Restart required” notification to install recent updates.  2019-04 Cumulative Update KB4493509 is downloaded and pending restart despite the metered connection setting on Win10 v1809 x64 Home Edition.

I know:  I could have upgraded to the Pro Edition.  But here I am now.

I have just now used WUShowHide to “hide” KB4493509, and disabled and stopped Windows Update service.  But KB4493509 is already in “Pending restart” status.  It wants to “update and restart.”

Would it be wise to do a hard power down/reset instead to avoid the update?

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If you are looking at that message about restarting, the update has been downloaded and any restart will install it. Cleaning the update queue is about cleaning it out BEFORE it downloads, doesn’t do anything to help afterward.

Stopping the installation after it downloads is another matter. Do not reboot. You have to disconnect from the Internet, delete the download folder (which may be a hidden protected system), run Disk Cleanup or the cleanup in Settings/Update and Security including system files/windows installation files. Then you have to go through blocking it again when you reboot and connect to the Internet so it doesn’t download again. That’s when clearing the update queue comes in – before it downloads.

One thing you can do to help is set your Internet connection to Metered under Settings/Network.

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Latka

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PKCano wrote:

run Disk Cleanup or the cleanup in Settings/Update and Security including system files/windows installation files.

I found “Free up space now” in Settings/System/Storage.

PKCano wrote:

One thing you can do to help is set your Internet connection to Metered under Settings/Network.

When using a metered connection with version 1809 (and maybe 1803), Windows Update now asks if you want to download updates on the metered connection.  I can leave the internet connection set to metered at all times and explicitly allow specific updates to download individually.

At least, that’s how it usually has been working.  I may have slipped up last night when I plugged the laptop into various LAN outlets around the house to speed test the cables.  Maybe I connected once without setting metered connection and got force fed KB4493509.  It was past my bedtime, after all.

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How I do it is – from an account in the Administrators group* – navigate to:

C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download

Use CTRL+a to select everything then delete. (In my experience this can take a while.) You’ll get a User Access Control (UAC) prompt at some point so make sure you put a tick in the Do this for all current items checkbox before clicking on the Continue button.

After the Download folder is empty you can shut down and restart (‘cos all the ‘pending’ data has gone).

*The first account you create during installation of Windows is automatically made a member of the Administrators group.

(PS – Yours is not the first report I’ve seen of MS overriding a ‘metered connection’ setting. I remember reading somewhere (Ed Bott?) that MS will do it if it thinks it’s in your best interests, i.e. a ‘priority update’.)

Hope this helps…

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woody, Latka

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You could just revert to your last image backup, after making another backup just to be sure.

When you set a metered connection you can set it to accept updates regardless. Check this is not set on yours.

cheers, Paul

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Here’s how to stop an unwanted update from downloading, before it gets to the “update and restart” stage, courtesy PKCano.

https://www.askwoody.com/2018/heres-how-to-hide-kb-4023057-and-any-other-win10-updates-you-dont-want/

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Elly

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