Three tips on how to avoid being interrupted by Windows Updates

Windows is one of the most popular operating systems, with over 72% market share as of July 2024, its dominance naturally attracts hackers and other criminals. Microsoft is fantastic at protecting its one-and-a-half billion Windows users from these criminals through Windows updates that plug security holes found within the software. These updates protect you and your data. 

Updates Catch 22 Problem

Windows updates suffer from the Catch-22 paradox: updates can only get installed when your computer is on. Unless you stop your computer from going to sleep and leave it turned on overnight, these updates will most likely be installed while you are using the computer, as you have not given it any other time to install them. 

Restart your computer!

When we look through the estate of devices under management, we can see that some individuals rarely restart their computer, which means their computer will fall behind on updates and eventually restart without their input. When a computer has fallen behind, there are more updates to install, which will take more time. So, restart your computer at least twice a week. Therefore, pending updates can be installed at a time you choose rather than the computer deciding to restart during a video call.

Set "Active Hours" in Windows.

In Windows 11 settings, you can let the system know the hours you will most likely be working, reducing the chances of an update getting installed during this time frame. However, it can and may ignore these active hours and install if it is a critical update. 

Leave your computer on overnight.

Leaving your computer turned on is not an eco-friendly option (and not something we recommend). Still, as mentioned before, a computer needs to be turned on for updates to install, and if you don't want them installed when you are using it, your only option is to leave your machine on overnight so the updates can install while you're asleep.

How to eliminate all updates.

Sometimes, updates will install at a bad time. IT can’t prevent it once the process has begun. Most updates will take a few minutes to install. If you’d like to totally eliminate being interrupted by updates, you should look at getting a Chromebook - where you’ll never experience another update interrupting your workflow again!