How to Disable Automatic Windows Store Updates

Looking for easy ways to disable automatic Windows Store updates on your PC?

Whenever possible, we should make sure our installed programs are updated whether they are released by the developer or manufacturer. Generally, updates provide you with the latest features, bug fixes, and improved security to protect your applications from viruses and other threats.

The Windows Store comes with the ability to install the pending updates automatically. However, this ability of the Windows Store can both be very helpful, as well as a nuisance. A lot of users complain that the host network service consumes a lot of bandwidth and slows down their systems. Moreover, there are also times when users choose to turn off automatic updates for an app because they prefer an older version of the program.

In this guide, we will walk you through several methods of disabling automatic Windows Store updates on your PC. All the methods are easy to execute, and should not take much of your time.

Let’s get started!

1. Disable Automatic Updates through Store Settings.

The easiest and simplest method of disabling automatic Windows Store updates is via Windows Settings. This method, however, can be used by standard users as well. 

If multiple users use your PC and you want to make administrative-level changes, then use Windows Registry or the Group Policy Editor by following the methods below.

  1. Type Microsoft Store in the search bar and click Open.
  2. In the Microsoft Store window, click on your user icon on top-right corner of the window.
  1. Select App settings from the context menu.
  2. Navigate to the Home tab and turn the toggle against App updates.

This should disable the automatic updates without any issues.

2. Use Group Policy Editor.

The Group Policy Editor is a Windows-based administrator tool that helps users customize both individual computer preferences and entire networks. You can set password requirements, startup programs, and determine what applications or settings users can modify.

The information in the Group Policy Editor is stored in the form of policies and by modifying the relevant policies, you can make your desired changes.

  1. Press Windows + R keys simultaneously on your keyboard to open a Run dialogue box. 
  2. Inside the text field of the dialogue box, type ‘gpedit.msc’ and hit Enter. This will launch Group Policy Editor on your PC.
  1. Once you are inside the Group Policy Editor, navigate to the location mentioned below. 
Computer Configuration\ Administrative Templates\ Windows Components\ Store\
  1. Now locate and double-click on Turn off Automatic Download and Install of updates in the right pane.
  1. Select Enabled and click on Apply to save the changes. 
  2. Now check if the desired changes have been made. If not, then type cmd in the search bar and click on Run as administrator.
  3. Type the command mentioned below in the Command Prompt window and hit Enter to execute it. 
gpupdate /force

Hopefully, doing so will make the desired changes.

3. Try Using CleanMyPC.

If you have followed both steps in this guide and are still unable to achieve the desired outcome, your system may be corrupt.

If your PC has bugs or corruption issues, deep cleaning will help eliminate them. Using a good PC cleaner may be beneficial in this scenario, as manual cleaning could take a lot of energy and time.

In case you’ve never used a PC cleaner before, we recommend CleanMyPC.

Install CleanMyPC on your PC

CleanMyPC helps you resolve all PC problems quickly and effectively. It comes with a wide range of tools that include (but are not limited to) a multi-uninstaller, speed boost, and registry cleaner. These tools can optimize your system and fix most problems.

If this looks like something your PC desperately needs, install CleanMyPC now and get your PC up and running like new!


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4. Use Windows Registry.

Microsoft Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that maintains low-level settings for both Windows and apps that use the registry.

Windows continually refers to the Registry to learn information such as user profiles, what applications are installed on the computer and what types of documents they are capable of creating, what property sheet settings are for folders and application icons, what hardware is present, etc.

Here is how you can make the required changes:

  1. Press Windows + R keys simultaneously on your keyboard to open a Run dialogue box. 
  2. Inside the text field of the dialogue box, type ‘regedit’ and hit Enter. This will launch Windows Registry on your PC.
  1. Once you are inside the Registry Editor, navigate to the location mentioned below. 
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsStore
  1. If you cannot locate the WindowsStore key, then right-click on the Microsoft key and select the New > Key option.
  2. Rename this key as WindowsStore and double-click on it.
  3. Now right-click anywhere in the right pane and select the New > DWORD (32-bit) Value option.
  4. Rename this newly created value as AutoDownload.
  5. Double-click on AutoDownload and under Value data, type 2. Make sure the base is set to Decimal.

Once done, restart your PC to save the changes.

This brings us to the end of our guide on disabling automatic Windows Store updates. We tried walking you through all the steps in detail and hope that one of the methods mentioned in this post did the trick for you. In case you still have any confusion about the steps, please let us know in the comment section below!

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

Author

  • Zainab Falak

    Zainab Falak is a staff writer for Saint and an expert in Microsoft Windows, having authored more than 200 posts. She has a Bachelors in Actuarial Sciences and her passion for computers extends to exploring various aspects, from UI customization to the Windows registry and exploring error codes. Twitter LinkedIn

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