5 ways your Windows update is about to become a pain

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Earlier this year, Microsoft said it would work on fixing “pain points” in Windows 11. The first changes in that effort are starting to appear, targeting one of the biggest pain points: Windows Update.

Everyone who has owned a Windows PC has a story about an update that insisted on being installed at the wrong time, usually just as you were getting ready to join an important online meeting or deliver a presentation.

Also: The Microsoft Windows Insider Program is no longer a confusing mess

The latest round of improvements, announced in a blog post titled “Your Windows Update Experience Just Got Updated,” should make those annoying moments a thing of the past. But don’t celebrate just yet — they have to go through a full cycle of testing in the Windows Insider program before they reach the general public.

I enabled the new Windows Update experience on a test PC running the latest build from the Windows Insider Experimental (formerly known as Dev) channel, and I can confirm that at least one option works now, although it’s unlikely to see the other changes in effect until the next round of updates are available.

Here’s what’s coming.

1. You will be able to delay updates for as long as you want

For years, Microsoft has offered the ability to pause updates for up to 35 days, using a drop-down menu on the Windows Update page with options ranging from 1 week to 5 weeks. But when that break ended, there was no more delay.

The new interface allows you to select a specific date from the calendar control on the Windows Update page, up to 35 days in advance.

And if you need more time?

If 35 days is not long enough, we also allow you to do so extend the stop end date as many times as you need. This means now you can pause again for up to 35 days at a time, with no limits on how many times you can set a pause end date.

Delaying security updates indefinitely is a bad idea, of course, but it’s encouraging to see Microsoft giving users the freedom to do even the dumbest things with the PC they own and control.

2. You will have more control over the resume

The flip side of that painful situation is when the update is downloaded and ready to install, but you don’t have time to finish the job. In that case, you’re covered: In the Power Menu, the usual Shutdown and Restart options will be available, alongside the corresponding “Update and shutdown” and “Update and restart” options.

Also: Microsoft account vs. local account: How to choose and set your preferences in Windows 11

I will be curious to see how this works in practice. From experience, I know that a half-installed update waiting to reboot can make Windows behave in unexpected ways. But again, it’s good to control when that update ends.

3. You should see only one resume per month

One of the biggest complaints I hear from readers about Windows Update is that there is Too much. Wow. Many. Of. Them. Repair? Those updates will be combined into one batch, with one monthly restart.

We know this has been a huge pain point for Windows users, so starting today, we’re putting together update information to reduce the number of reboots you see every month.

We’re starting by synchronizing driver, .NET, and firmware updates to coincide with a monthly quality update, reducing the update experience to a once-a-month reboot.

[…]

Updates will download in the background, then wait for the integrated installation and reboot. This installation and restart will coincide with the next Windows quality update or other update that you manually approve.

If you’re on one of Insider’s preview plans, you’ll get weekly updates, though they can be delayed as well. If you’re what Microsoft calls a “Persistent Seeker,” who regularly checks for new updates, you’ll get two a month: a regular Patch Tuesday update and a preview update on the fourth Tuesday of the month, with any other available updates included in that batch.

4. You won’t be forced to install updates when you set up a new Windows PC

This drives me crazy, because the time to download and install those updates can easily take half an hour or more, when what you really want to do is get to work and let the latest updates take a back seat while you get the whole new PC ready to go.

That option is available today for all Windows systems.

5. You will have more information about updates

By the end of 2025, Microsoft is simplifying its update topics. That process may have slowed things down again simple. What exactly is that driver update ready to install? Who knows?

Also: If Microsoft really wants to fix Windows 11, it should do these four things ASAP

So, the commitment going forward is to add some of that information back, especially driver updates, which “often have similar, if not identical, topics.”

To help provide you with more information, we’ve added a device category to the driver header – ensuring that pending or installed driver updates specify whether they apply to display, sound, battery, extension, HDC, or other driver update classes.

The new controls should start appearing in Beta builds in the next month or two, and while there’s no word on when they’ll start appearing in public updates, my guess is that those could be ready in September.

Now, about those pain points…