For ten years straight, Windows forced users to choose between "install now" and "remind me later (but we'll install it anyway)." Now Microsoft is officially abandoning this approach.

What Actually Changed

Update pauses remain limited to 35 days at a time — but now they can be extended indefinitely. As Tom's Hardware confirms, this is the first official change to mandatory update policy for regular users since 2015 — when Windows 10 was released.

In parallel, a long-standing and annoying bug has been fixed: the "Shut Down" and "Restart" buttons no longer trigger forced update installations. According to Windows Latest, the fix was rolled out in October 2025. Additionally, Microsoft is moving Windows Update to one restart per month instead of multiple unpredictable ones.

Another change is the ability to skip updates during initial setup of a new device, as well as choose a specific installation date instead of a vague "later."

"New management tools allow users to skip updates during setup, extend pauses, and avoid forced restarts"

Windows Central, citing a Microsoft blog post authored by Aria Hanson

Why Microsoft Gave In

The change is not a gesture of goodwill. Aria Hanson from Microsoft, according to Windows Central, reviewed 7,621 user feedback submissions before the features took their final form. Complaints had accumulated over years: forced restarts during video calls, halted renders in video editors, crashes in games right in the middle of a session.

Until now, the only way to gain real control over updates was to switch to an enterprise license, where administrators can defer feature updates for up to 365 days. Home users had no such option.

The Dark Side of Pauses

There is an honest compromise here that Microsoft doesn't loudly discuss. As cybersecurity experts note, every day without an update is a day with a known unpatched vulnerability. "Patch Tuesday" patches close real holes that attackers actively exploit.

• In 2017, WannaCry spread mainly through machines with deferred or disabled Windows updates.
• The "metered connection" workaround no longer works — Microsoft shut it down back in 2019, requiring security patches to be downloaded even in this mode.
• The new pause applies to all updates simultaneously — you cannot separate functional updates from security ones in settings.

So a user who simply doesn't want a new Start menu design automatically delays a critical patch as well.

Who Benefits Most

The change is particularly important for three groups: gamers who fear updates will break driver compatibility; creative professionalssmall businesses

Currently, the features are being tested in the Windows Insider Program and have not yet been released to the general public.

If Microsoft truly doesn't add a separate pause for functional and security updates — this new freedom will remain a convenience for experienced users and a trap for everyone else.