How To Stop Windows 10 From Installing Update Automatically on your PC

As a general rule, an up-to-date operating system is a secure operating system, and some people are terrible at updating their operating systems.

If your main issue with Windows 10's automatic updates is the fact that your PC restarts at inopportune times, you're in luck: Windows 10 allows you to schedule restarts for a specific time. When a new update has been downloaded and installed, Windows 10 will prompt you to schedule a time for your PC to restart.

The easiest way to prevent Windows 10 from automatically downloading updates is to use a metered Internet connection -- one of the features of limiting your data is that Windows 10 won't force-download OS updates. Some networks, such as cell networks, are metered by default, but you can also meter your Wi-Fi network by going to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi > Advanced options and turning Set metered connection on.

You can't meter your Ethernet connection through the Settings menu -- Microsoft assumes your Ethernet connection allows you unlimited data, apparently. The only way to set your Ethernet connection to metered is to perform a registry edit -- it's a little complicated, but here's how to do it.

You can still download updates on a metered connection, you'll just have to do it manually by going to Settings > Windows Update > Download.
Disable automatic driver updates

While you can't really stop Windows 10 from automatically updating the OS, you can stop it from automatically updating your device drivers. To do this, right-click the Start button and click Control Panel.

STEPS

In the Control Panel, go to System and click Advanced system settings to open the System Properties window.


Open the Hardware tab and click Device Installation Settings.


When prompted with this message, click No and click Save Changes.