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9 min fix Updated 8 Aug 2026Beginner

By , IT support technician

Quick Answer

Open Settings > Windows Update and choose a length next to Pause updates — up to 35 days. To stop restarts during your working day, open Advanced options > Active hours and set the dropdown to Manually. On Windows 10 both controls live under Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update, with active hours behind Change active hours.

How to Pause Windows Updates or Change Active Hours ​

Applies to: Windows 11, Windows 10
Article Type: How-To
Last Updated: 2026-08-08

Summary ​

You have a presentation in an hour and Windows is warning about a restart. This article shows you how to pause updates for up to 35 days, set the hours Windows must leave your machine alone, schedule a pending restart for a time that suits you, and what to do when a work laptop has those controls locked by policy.

Before You Start ​

  • A PC running Windows 11 or Windows 10.
  • Windows 11 and Windows 10 keep these controls in different places. On Windows 11 they sit under Settings > Windows Update; on Windows 10 they sit under Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update. Every step below names both paths.
  • No admin rights required — every setting here lives in the normal Settings app.
  • On a work or school laptop, some of these controls are set by IT policy and will not respond. Step 5 covers how to tell, and what to ask for.
  • Pausing delays updates. It never cancels them — see the warning in Troubleshooting before you pause for the full 35 days.

Instructions ​

1. Pause Updates to Buy Yourself Time ​

Stop Windows downloading and installing anything new until a date you choose.

  1. Press Win + I to open Settings.
  2. Select Windows Update at the bottom of the left sidebar. On Windows 10 there is no such sidebar entry — open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update instead. The main pane shows your update status, with a row labelled Pause updates near the top — Pause updates for 7 days on Windows 10.
  3. Next to Pause updates, pick a length from the dropdown. Windows 11 allows up to 35 days from today. Some builds show Pick a date instead, which opens a calendar with the same 35-day limit. Windows 10 pauses for a week at one click; for anything longer, select Advanced options and choose a resume date under Pause updates, up to the same 35-day cap.
  4. The row changes to read Updates paused with the resume date beside it, and a Resume updates button replaces the dropdown. Nothing new downloads until that date arrives.
  5. Select Resume updates at any point to end the pause early. Resuming changes nothing on your machine except that Windows starts checking again — no settings are reset and no files are touched.

Everything Microsoft releases while you are paused is still waiting for you. It arrives in one batch the day the pause ends, which usually means a longer restart than a normal month. When that pause limit runs out, Windows requires the waiting updates to install before it will grant you another pause. If you want the background on what those updates contain, Understanding Windows Updates covers the types and the monthly cycle.

If the download is the problem rather than the restart — you are tethered to a phone on a train, for example — mark the connection metered instead. Open Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi, select your network name, and turn Metered connection on. Windows holds back most updates over a metered connection. Turn it back off when you are on normal Wi-Fi; while it is on, OneDrive sync and app updates hold back too.

2. Set Active Hours So Windows Restarts on Your Schedule ​

Tell Windows which hours you are at the keyboard, and it keeps automatic restarts outside them.

  1. In Settings > Windows Update, select Advanced options. On Windows 10, open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and click Change active hours on that page — Windows 10 does not put active hours under Advanced options.
  2. Select Active hours. The row expands to reveal an Adjust active hours dropdown. Windows 10 opens a separate Active hours page instead, headed by a toggle reading Automatically adjust active hours for this device based on activity.
  3. Choose Manually from Adjust active hours. Two time pickers appear beneath it — one for the start of your active hours, one for the end. On Windows 10, turn that toggle Off, then select Change under Current active hours to reach the same two pickers.
  4. Set them to the hours you are genuinely working, and add an hour of margin at each end. A 08:00–18:00 window covers an early start and a late finish without leaving Windows no room at all.
  5. Close Settings. The Active hours row now shows your times, and Windows will not restart on its own inside that window. On Windows 10, select Save before you close — the times are not kept until you do.

The other setting — Automatically in the Windows 11 dropdown, that toggle on Windows 10 — lets Windows watch how you use the device and pick the window itself. It works, and it is the default — but the window moves without telling you, and it is built from last week's habits rather than tomorrow's calendar. Setting the hours yourself is the reliable choice when your working day is fixed.

If Windows rejects the range you enter, shorten it. There is a cap on how long the active window can be, and Windows will not accept an all-day range.

3. Schedule the Restart for an Update That Is Already Waiting ​

Pick the exact moment a downloaded update restarts your machine.

  1. Go to Settings > Windows Update — Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update on Windows 10. When an update is installed and waiting, the top of the page reads Restart required.
  2. Select Schedule the restart below that status line. Some builds label it Schedule a restart. A panel opens with a toggle and a day and time picker.
  3. Turn the toggle On, then set the day and time. Overnight, or the end of the working day, keeps it out of your way.
  4. The status line changes to show your scheduled restart time. Windows leaves the machine alone until then.
  5. Turn the toggle back Off at any point to drop the schedule. The update stays installed and waiting — dropping the schedule loses no progress and re-downloads nothing.

Save and close your work before the scheduled time anyway. Apps that hold unsaved changes can block a restart, and a restart that stalls at 23:00 leaves you with the same pending update in the morning.

4. Turn On the Restart Warning ​

Ask Windows to tell you a restart is coming rather than finding out afterwards.

  1. Go to Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options — Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Advanced options on Windows 10.
  2. Find Notify me when a restart is required to finish updating in the list of toggles. Windows 10 labels the same toggle Show a notification when your PC requires a restart to finish updating.
  3. Turn the toggle On.
  4. From now on, a notification appears as soon as an update reaches the pending-restart stage. With the toggle Off — the default — Windows holds that notification back for the first 24 hours while still restarting outside your active hours.

5. Check What a Managed Work Laptop Lets You Change ​

On a device your employer manages, several of these controls are set centrally and will not respond to you.

  1. Open Settings > Windows Update — Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update on Windows 10 — and read the top of the page. A banner reading Some settings are managed by your organization means IT policy owns the greyed-out controls below it.
  2. Look at the Pause updates row. Where policy blocks it, the dropdown is greyed and clicking it does nothing at all — no menu opens, no error appears. On Windows 10 the greyed control is the Pause updates for 7 days button.
  3. Select Advanced options and check the same thing there. On Windows 10, open Change active hours on the main page instead. Active hours is often still yours to set even when Pause updates is locked, so try it before assuming everything is off limits.
  4. Treat a greyed control as a decision, not a fault. Nothing is broken, and no repair, reinstall or restart will unlock it.
  5. Raise a ticket for a specific date rather than a general complaint. Ask IT to defer update restarts on your device until a named date, and give them your device name from Settings > System > About (the Device name field). Wording that gets acted on: "Please defer Windows Update restarts on DEVICE-NAME until 14 November. I am presenting to a client from 09:00 to 12:00 on 13 November and cannot risk a restart. Happy to install everything the same afternoon."

Troubleshooting ​

WARNING

Pausing is a delay, not a skip. Every update released while you are paused still arrives — all at once, on the day the pause ends. A long pause also leaves known security holes open on your machine for that whole window, which is why 35 days is a limit and not a recommendation. Pause for the afternoon you need, then resume.

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
Pause updates is greyed out and will not openIT policy manages updates on this deviceNothing on your machine is broken. Use the ticket wording in step 5 to request a deferral for a specific date. On Windows 10 the same lock shows on the Pause updates for 7 days button.
Windows restarted inside your active hours anywayThe update passed its compliance deadlineOnce a deadline set by IT passes, the restart happens regardless of active hours. Restart voluntarily within a day of the first notification. If it repeats, ask IT what restart deadline is set on your device and include the device name from Settings > System > About.
The dropdown will not let you pause againPause limit reachedWindows requires the waiting updates to install before granting another pause. Select Check for updates, let the batch install, restart, then pause again.
Active hours keeps changing on its ownAdjust active hours is set to AutomaticallySwitch it to Manually using step 2 and set the times yourself. On Windows 10, turn off Automatically adjust active hours for this device based on activity on the Change active hours page.
No Schedule the restart link appearsNo update is waiting for a restartThe link only appears once an update has downloaded and installed. There is nothing to schedule yet.
The batch fails to install when the pause endsUpdate download or install errorWork through How to Fix Windows 11 Update Failures, which covers the common error codes and the built-in repair.
An update installed and broke somethingFaulty update for your hardwareRemove it with How to Temporarily Uninstall a Windows Update Causing Issues, then pause updates while IT confirms a fix is on the way.