Windows 11 gets updates every few weeks. But the changes being forced upon users might not be to everyone’s taste. If you’re not ready to upgrade to Windows 11, you can prevent release updates from downloading and only allow updates for certain builds. In this article, we’ll show you all the ways you can block Windows 11 updates so you can keep using your PC without being held back.

Knowing which Windows release version you're running will come in handy when using some of the methods below. It's also good to have this knowledge because it helps you check if there are any feature updates you can get for the same version of Windows, or if you want to stick with updates for a specific release version. Here's how to check:

In the following sections, we’ll look at how to stop automatic Windows 11 updates. If you change your mind, you can always turn them back on.

One of the easiest ways to block Windows 11 updates is to disable the background service that is responsible for checking for and applying updates. Here’s how to do it: