How to Disable Check for Updates in Windows 11

Method 1Using the Group Policy Editor (For Windows Pro and Enterprise Users)

If your edition has the Local Group Policy Editor, use this method. It is the recommended one. Group Policy is built for system-level settings like this, and the change is easy to review and undo. The editor is included in Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise and Education. It is not included in Home. If you are on Home, skip to the registry method further down.

Step 1Open the Group Policy Editor

The Local Group Policy Editor is the tool for managing system-wide settings. You open it from the Run box. Close any open Settings windows first, so they don’t show stale information later.

1. Right-click the Start button.
2. Select Run from the menu that appears. The Run box opens.
3. Type gpedit.msc in the Run box.
4. Press Enter or click OK.

The Local Group Policy Editor should now open, with a tree of folders on the left and details on the right. If Windows says it cannot find the file instead, you are on Windows 11 Home. Use the registry method below.

Step 2Navigate to the Windows Update Settings

The Windows Update 🔃 policies sit inside a few nested folders in the left-hand pane. Expand them in this order:

1. In the left-hand pane, expand Computer Configuration.
2. Expand Administrative Templates.
3. Expand Windows Components.
4. Scroll down and select Windows Update. The right-hand pane now lists the Windows Update policies and sub-folders.
5. Look through the right-hand pane for the policy you need. On current Windows 11 builds it is listed directly under Windows Update. If you don't see it there, open the "Manage end user experience" folder and check inside it.

Note for Windows 10 users: The path might differ slightly. After expanding Windows Components, you might find Windows Update directly and reach the setting from there.

Step 3Configure the "Remove access to use all Windows Update features" Setting

The policy named Remove access to use all Windows Update features controls whether users can check for updates. Setting it to Enabled hides the button.

1. Double-click Remove access to use all Windows Update features. A settings window opens.
2. Select Enabled to turn off the "Check for updates" feature.
3. Click Apply.
4. Click OK to save your change and close the window.

The policy should now show as Enabled in the State column of the right-hand pane.

Step 4Apply the Changes

Group Policy changes do not always show up the moment you save them. You can force a refresh with a command, or just restart. Either way, the new setting is loaded.

• Option A (Recommended): Open Command Prompt as an administrator. Search for "cmd" in the Start menu, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator. Click Yes if a User Account Control prompt appears. Then type gpupdate /force and press Enter. Windows reports that the policy update completed successfully.
• Option B: Restart your computer. This also loads the new policy settings, and you don't need a Command Prompt.

Once the policy is applied, open the Settings app and go to the Windows Update page. The "Check for updates" button should be gone. If it is still there, close Settings completely and reopen it, or restart the PC.

How to Re-enable the "Check for Updates" Button

To get the button back, set the same policy to its default. You do not need to restart if you refresh the policy afterward.

1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor again (gpedit.msc).
2. Go back to the Windows Update policies, using the same path as before.
3. Double-click the "Remove access to use all Windows Update features" policy.
4. Set the policy to Not configured (the default) or Disabled. Either one brings the button back. Not configured is the cleaner choice, because it removes your override entirely.
5. Click Apply, then OK.
6. Run gpupdate /force in an administrator Command Prompt, or restart your PC.

Open Settings › Windows Update again and the "Check for updates" button should be back.

Method 2Using the Registry Editor (For Windows Home Users)

Windows Home does not include the Group Policy Editor, so you set the same policy directly in the Registry Editor. The Registry Editor is the database where Windows stores its settings. Take care here. A wrong edit can cause serious problems, and in the worst case you would need to reinstall Windows.

Important Warning: Back up the registry before you change anything. Open the Registry Editor and go to File › Export In the Export Range box at the bottom of the save window, select All. Give the file a name you will recognize, and save it somewhere safe. If something goes wrong, you can restore it later through File › Import

Step 1Open the Registry Editor

Close any open Settings windows first. Then open the Registry Editor from the Run box.

1. Right-click the Start button.
2. Select Run.
3. Type regedit in the Run box.
4. Press Enter or click OK.
5. If a User Account Control (UAC) prompt appears, click Yes to allow the Registry Editor to open. You need an administrator account to make this change.

Step 2Navigate to the Correct Registry Key

The setting lives under a policy key in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. The Windows 11 Registry Editor has an address bar at the top, so you can paste the path instead of clicking through folders.

1. Click the address bar at the top of the Registry Editor window.
2. Paste the following path and press Enter:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate

If the Registry Editor jumps straight to the WindowsUpdate key, you can move on to the next section. If you see an error, or it stops at a parent folder, the key does not exist yet. This is common on a PC that has never had update policies applied. Create it by hand:

1. Check for a key named WindowsUpdate under \Windows. If it is there, skip the rest of this list.
2. If it is missing, right-click the Windows key in the left pane.
3. Select New › Key A new key appears in the left pane with its name ready to edit.
4. Name the key WindowsUpdate and press Enter.

Step 3Create or Modify the Value to Disable Updates

Now add the value that hides the button. The value goes inside the WindowsUpdate key, not in the Windows key above it.

1. Select the WindowsUpdate key in the left pane.
2. Right-click an empty space in the right pane.
3. Select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. A new value appears in the right pane with its name ready to edit.
4. Name the new value exactly: SetDisableUXWUAccess
5. Press Enter to confirm the name.
6. Double-click the newly created SetDisableUXWUAccess value. The Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value window opens.
7. In the "Value data" field, enter 1.
8. Make sure "Base" is set to Hexadecimal. For the number 1, hexadecimal and decimal give the same result, so either way works.
9. Click OK. The value now appears in the right pane with the data you entered.

Setting this value to 1 tells Windows to disable the user interface for Windows Update features. That hides the "Check for updates" button. It is the same setting the Group Policy method changes, so the two methods have the same effect.

Step 4Apply the Changes

Registry changes usually take effect after a restart. Save your work, close the Registry Editor, and restart your PC. Then open Settings › Windows Update The "Check for updates" button should be gone.

How to Re-enable the "Check for Updates" Button Using the Registry

To restore the button, delete the value you created. Deleting it returns the setting to its default state.

1. Open the Registry Editor (regedit).
2. Navigate back to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate.
3. In the right pane, find the SetDisableUXWUAccess value.
4. Right-click it and select Delete.
5. Click Yes when Windows asks you to confirm the deletion.
6. Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer.

Once your PC restarts, the "Check for updates" button reappears in your Windows Update settings. You can leave the empty WindowsUpdate key in place, as it does no harm. If you backed up the registry earlier, keep that file until you are sure everything works.

Conclusion

Hiding the "Check for updates" button gives you more control over how and when your computer looks for updates. Windows Pro, Enterprise and Education users can use the Group Policy Editor. Windows Home users can get the same result by editing the registry. Both changes are easy to undo.