How to disable driver updates via Windows Update

Microsoft’s Windows operating system may use Windows Updates to install driver updates. One of the main purposes of the feature is to ensure that recent drivers are installed for all components.

While that sounds good on paper, it has led to issues in the past: from releasing older drivers to the installation of extra tools, including those with Telemetry.

Windows administrators who want full control of driver installations may disable automatic driver updates.

Downsides

Drivers won’t be updated automatically anymore on the system as a consequence. This means that it is up to the administrator to find, download, and install new device drivers.

Drivers may introduce improvements, such as better power management, new features, bug fixes, or improved performance. They may also introduce undesirable changes, such as telemetry.

Disabling automatic driver updates in Windows using the Group Policy Editor

Note: the Group Policy Editor is not available in the Home edition of Windows. Home edition administrators need to modify the Registry instead to make the change directly there. See the next chapter on how to do that.

1. Open the Start Menu.
2. Type gpedit.msc and press the Enter-key to launch the Group Policy Editor.
   • Windows 10: Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Tools > Windows Components > Windows Updates.
   • Windows 11: Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Tools > Windows Components > Windows Update > Manage updates offered from Windows Updates.
3. Double-click on Do not include drivers with Windows Updates.
4. Change the status of the policy to Enabled.
5. Restart the system.

Windows won’t download and install drivers anymore via Windows Update after the restart.

Block automatic Windows driver updates via the Registry

The method below adds the same restriction to the Windows system. It works on any edition, including Home.

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Type regedit.exe and press the Enter-key to launch the Registry Editor.
3. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate
   • Note: if a key does not exist, e.g. WindowsUpdate, right-click on the previous value, and select New > Key. Name it accordingly and proceed.
4. Right-click on WindowsUpdate and select New > Dword (32-bit) Value.
5. Name it ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate.
6. Double-click on the new value and set it to 1.
7. Close the Registry Editor.
8. Restart the system.

Closing Words

It is up to the individual user to keep automatic driver updates enabled via Windows Update or disable them. Usually, it is better to download and install drivers manually, but that requires regular checks or the use of third-party driver checkers.

Inexperienced users may want to keep the default setting, even though that may mean getting unwanted extras during driver updates.

What about you? Do you install drivers manually or let Windows do the lifting?