Windows 10 automatic updates and the user’s inability to control them has long been seen as one of the biggest issues with Microsoft’s software.
Now the tech giant appears to be taking steps to change that.
A feature has been spotted – initially by blogger Winaero – in the latest
preview build of Windows 10 that is available to those on Microsoft’s Windows
Insider Program.
Buried within the Advanced Options is a new switch that enables users to ‘Pause Updates’, preventing software from being automatically installed on their machine for up to 35 days, though some security updates, for example
items related to Windows Defender will continue to automatically install.
The feature is likely being trailed in response to a flurry of incidents during
the initial launch cycle of Windows 10, when multiple users reported being
interrupted – sometimes in the midst of important work – by their machine
restarting as part of an automatic update.
Work was lost and in extreme cases machines were left crippled by an update some claimed they hadn’t remembered agreeing to.
With this new tool, Microsoft’s thinking appears to be that users will at least
have the option to delay installs and properly prepare themselves and their
computer ahead of a download.
Though not yet confirmed, the new feature is likely to become part of the next
major update to Windows 10 – the Creators Update – which is due in spring next year.