How To Prevent Windows 11 Update From Installing On Windows 10
If you’re not ready to upgrade to Windows 11 by now, you can block version updates and only allow updates manually if you want to make sure Windows 11 isn’t installed on your Windows 10 PC. We’ll show you how to do that.
Things to know about Windows 11 update blocking
As of this writing in November 2021, Microsoft is not forcing any Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11. However, the upgrade is easy if your device receives an invite. That’s why we’re going to show you how to block these updates to prevent accidental upgrades or prevent other users on your device from starting the upgrade.
There are two ways to block Windows 11 update on Windows 10 PC: Using Local Group Policy Editor and Registry Editor.
If you have Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, or Education edition, use the Local Group Policy Editor method to block the update. In Windows 10 Home edition, use the Registry Editor method as this edition does not have the Local Group Policy Editor.
If you want, you can use the Registry Editor method in Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise and Education editions.
How to block Windows 11 update using Registry Editor
To use the Registry Editor method to prevent the Windows 11 update from installing on your Windows 10 PC, first open the Run box by pressing two keys. Windows + R at the same time.
Type the following in the Run box and press Enter. This opens the Registry Editor.
regedit
When Registry Editor opens, navigate to the following directory from the left sidebar:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate
Note: If you don’t see the last “WindowsUpdate” directory, right-click the “Windows” directory and select New > Key. Then type “WindowsUpdate” and hit Enter to create the directory.
In the right pane, double-click Enter to open “Target Release Version” . If you don’t see this entry, right-click anywhere in the right pane and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Then type “TargetReleaseVersion” (without the quotes) and press Enter to create the entry.
In the box “ Edit a DWORD (32-bit) value which pops up, click on a field. Value data and enter 1 (without quotes). followed by “ Agree ”
Again, in the right pane, double-click Enter. “TargetReleaseVersionInfo” . If you can’t see it, right-click anywhere in the left pane and select New > String value . Type “TargetReleaseVersionInfo” (without quotes) and press Explore to enter the entry.
In a box “Edit Series”, Click on a field “Value data” And type “21H1” (without quotes) or whatever version you prefer. then click Agree “
Close Registry Editor and restart your Windows 10 PC.
Your Windows 10 PC will block all updates after your update that includes the Windows 11 update. The disadvantage of this method is that you need to keep updating the version value to represent the latest Windows 10 updates. Check out the last section in this guide to see what that means.
How to block Windows 11 update using Local Group Policy Editor
To use the method, use the Local Group Policy Editor. First, open the Run box on your computer by pressing the keys. Windows + R at the same time.
Type the following in the Run box and Enter. This opens the Local Group Policy Editor.
gpedit.msc
Navigate to the following directory using the directory listing on the left:
Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update > Windows Update for Business
In the left pane, double click Enter “Determining target feature update version”.
“Set target feature update version . Here, enable the option “ Able to . Then click on the field. For feature updates, the target version is “Type “21H1 (without quotes) or whatever version you prefer. Finally, click “Apply” and then “Apply. Agree ”.
Close the Local Group Policy Editor and restart the computer. Windows 11 update is now blocked on your PC.
How to continue receiving Windows 10 updates
If you follow the above methods exactly, you will prevent your Windows 10 PC from receiving any updates after the 21H1 update. This means it will ban anyone. Updates for Windows 10 Also, you probably don’t want to do it.
To get around this, browse the site Microsoft Docs to check for newer versions of Windows 10. When you see a new update say 21H2 there, then change it to “21H2” (without the quotes) in the steps you entered “21H1” above.
This ensures that you can continue to receive Windows 11 updates while the Windows 10 update is blocked.
That way, you can keep using your preferred version of Windows while blocking unwanted updates!