The “Pause updates” setting can be located under Settings App > Windows Updates > Pause updates. If you prefer to defer updates on your Windows 10 or Windows 11 device, you can use this setting to pause Windows updates anywhere from 1 week to 5 weeks.
That means you can pause Windows updates for a total of 5 times which will delay the updates for 35 days. In this blog post, we will see how to disable a user’s ability to Pause updates by using a Settings Catalog policy Block “Pause Updates” ability.
Nevertheless, I have also covered alternative methods to disable user’s ability to pause updates in this blog post. Let’s explore all these methods.
Table of Contents
Methods to configure Block “Pause Updates” ability setting
- Using Microsoft Intune admin center – You can create a Device configuration profile using the setting “Block “Pause Updates” ability” available in the Settings Catalog.
- Using a Group Policy Management Console – You can utilize a Group Policy Management Console if your organization devices are joined to the On-prem Active Directory. Enable a setting called “Remove access to Pause Updates feature“.
- Using Local Group Policy Editor – You can also utilize Local Group Policy Editor to configure this setting. The policy setting name is: “Remove access to Pause Updates feature” which is the same as found in the Group policy management console.
- Using Registry Editor – You can use Registry Editor to configure this setting. Create a registry entry called SetDisablePauseUXAccess and set its value to 1.
Method 1 – Using Intune admin center
Let’s check the steps to configure this setting using the Intune admin center.
- Login on Microsoft Intune admin center
- Click on Devices > Configuration profiles
- Click on Create > New Policy
- Platform: Windows 10 and later
- Profile type: Settings Catalog
Basics Tab
Provide a Name and Description of the policy and click Next.
Configuration settings
Click on + Add settings and search for “pause updates”
- Move the toggle switch to Block for Block “Pause Updates” ability setting.
This policy allows the IT admin to disable the Pause Updates feature. When this policy is enabled, the user cannot access the Pause updates feature.
Policy setting Description
Scope tags
Click on Next.
Assignments
Click on Add groups and select an Entra security group containing Windows 10/11 devices.
Review + create
On the Review + Create tab, review the device configuration profile details and click on Create.
Sync Intune Policies
The device check-in process might not begin immediately. If you’re testing this policy on a test device, you can manually kickstart Intune sync either from the device itself or remotely through the Intune admin center.
Alternatively, you can use PowerShell to force the Intune sync on Windows devices. Another way to trigger the Intune device check-in process is by restarting the device.
Monitoring Deployment Progress
To monitor the deployment progress of a Device configuration profile, follow below steps:
- Sign in to the Microsoft Intune admin center.
- Click on “Devices” and then select “Configuration profiles“
- Choose the Device Configuration profile you want to work with, and at the top of the page, you’ll see a quick view of the Success, Failure, Conflict, Not Applicable, and In Progress status.
- Click on “View report” to access more detailed information.
End-user Experience
Once the policy settings are successfully applied to the target devices, the option to Pause updates in the Settings app will be disabled. To confirm this, follow the steps below:
- Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings App.
- Click on Windows Updates. On the right-hand side, you will find that the Pause updates option is greyed out. There will also be a message under it “This setting isn’t available due to your organization’s policy“. That’s it, the user cannot Pause updates anymore.
Method 2 – Disable “Pause Updates” feature by Creating a GPO
This method is for devices that are managed by On-premise Active Directory or Entra Hybrid join scenario. You can create a Group Policy object and configure the “Remove access to Pause Updates feature” setting. Let’s check the steps:
- Login on a Domain controller using Domain admin rights
- Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
- Type gpmc.msc and press Enter to open the Group Policy Management console.
- Right-click on Group Policy Objects and click on New.
- Provide a Name of the GPO and press OK.
- Right-click on the new GPO you have created and click on Edit.
- Navigate to Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update and On the right-hand side you will find a policy setting: “Remove access to Pause Updates feature“. Edit this policy and set it to Enabled.
Method 3 – Disable “Pause Updates” feature by using Local Group Policy Editor
You can Enable a policy with the same policy setting which is the “Remove access to Pause Updates feature” by using a Local Group policy editor on your device. Let’s check a few Important points about utilizing a Local Group Policy Editor.
- Local Group Policy Editor is available only on Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise editions. Therefore, if you are using a Windows 10 Home PC, you may need to use the next method which is using a Registry Editor.
- Launch Local Group Policy Editor by Pressing the Windows Key + R key which will open the Run dialog box.
- Type gpedit.msc and press Enter to open Local Group Policy Editor.
- Navigate to Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update\Manage end user experience.
- On the right-hand side, You will find a setting called “Remove access to Pause Updates feature“. Double-click on it to Edit and set it to Enabled.
Method 4 – Disable “Pause Updates” feature by using Registry Editor
If you are using a Windows 10/11 Home PC and you do not have access to the Local group policy editor then you can easily create a Registry Entry to remove user’s access to the Pause updates feature. Please note you will require administrator rights to make any changes in the registry editor. Let’s check the steps.
- Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
- Type regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
- Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate
- Right-click on the Windows Update Registry key folder and select DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- Provide a Name of the registry Entry as “SetDisablePauseUXAccess” and press Enter.
- Double-click on the created reg entry and set its value to 1.
