How to Disable Automatic Updates in Windows 11 with NoAutoUpdate

Note: The screenshots in this article were captured in a Japanese-language Windows environment. Menu and setting names may differ slightly in an English-language installation.

For permanent kiosks, digital signage, and unmanned guidance terminals, content display may be interrupted due to automatic installation of Windows updates or reboots. By using the NoAutoUpdate policy, automatic updates can be disabled, and the administrator can change the operation to manually update during maintenance hours.

The correct place to create NoAutoUpdate is not directly under the WindowsUpdate key, but under the AU key beneath it.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU

value	Automatic update behavior
NoAutoUpdate=0	Enable automatic updates (default)
NoAutoUpdate=1	Disable automatic updates
no value	Follow Windows or other administrative policies

This setting does not prohibit manual updates. Administrators can manually download and install updates from the Windows Update settings screen.

What you can control with NoAutoUpdate

NoAutoUpdate is the registry value that corresponds to the Windows "Configure Automatic Updates" policy. When set to 1, automatic updates are disabled.

However, it is not a value that stops all of the following features:

• Manual "Check for updates" by administrator
• Microsoft Store apps and updates specific to each app
• Windows Update notification display
• Other policies regarding reboot after update
• Organizational WSUS, Microsoft Intune, and Domain Group Policy

This is not a setting to disable Windows Update at all, but a setting to switch from automatic updates to manual maintenance by an administrator.

In Windows Pro/Enterprise/Education, rather than editing the registry directly, using gpedit.msc to set Configure Automatic Updates to Disabled makes it easier to manage. The procedure is explained in How to control automatic updates and restarts of Windows 11 using Group Policy.

Points to note before starting work

Incorrectly editing the registry may affect Windows operation. Check the following before proceeding.

• Work with a maintenance account with administrator privileges
• Export the WindowsUpdate key you are about to change beforehand
• Do not change or delete existing values or keys
• Check on a test machine before deploying to a production device
• Decide the update date (monthly, etc.), the person in charge, and the confirmation procedure after update.
• On the organization management terminal, check whether there is a conflict with domain policy or MDM.

Although you can create the registry key itself on Windows Home, please check the actual operation depending on the edition and Windows version. It is not possible to say with certainty that "all editions, including Home, will always work in the same way."

Microsoft cautions that editing the registry may require reinstallation of the OS if a problem occurs, and that it cannot guarantee a solution. Please check the path and value name before changing.

Open Registry Editor

1. Open "Run" using Win + R.
2. Enter regedit and click OK.
3. If User Account Control appears, review and allow it.

Check Windows Update key

Enter the following path into the Registry Editor's address bar:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate

If you don't have the WindowsUpdate key, right-click the Windows key, select New → Key, and name it WindowsUpdate.

In the image, you can see the existing value abbreviated as ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate. Do not change this value, as it is another setting that controls whether the driver is included in Windows Update.

Create an AU key

1. In the tree on the left, right-click the WindowsUpdate key.
2. Select New → Key.
3. Name the new key AU.
4. Select the AU key you created.

The correct path is:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU

If the AU key already exists, use the existing key instead of recreating it.

Set NoAutoUpdate to 1

With the AU key selected, right-click in the blank area on the right and select New → DWORD (32-bit) Value. 64-bit versions of Windows also use DWORD (32-bit) values.

Set the values you created as follows:

Item	Setting details
value name	NoAutoUpdate
type	DWORD (32-bit) value
value data	1
Notation	Hexadecimal or decimal (the result is the same for 1)

After setting, the status will be as follows.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU
  NoAutoUpdate    REG_DWORD    0x00000001

Restart Windows and check

Close Registry Editor and restart Windows. After rebooting, check the following:

1. NoAutoUpdate=1 exists under the WindowsUpdate\AU key
2. Check if the Windows Update screen shows that it is managed by your organization.
3. No unintentional automatic downloads or installations
4. Administrators can manually update from "Check for updates"
5. The display app will return to normal after restarting after updating.
6. The next manual update date is registered in the operation record.

Validating automatic updates cannot be determined by just a short check. Also continue to check Windows Update history, event logs, and reboot history.

How to restore settings

If you want to return automatic updates to the default Windows behavior, delete the NoAutoUpdate value you created, or change its value data to 0, and restart Windows.

If the WindowsUpdate key or the AU key has other values, do not delete the entire key. On devices where domain policies or MDM are applied, organization settings may be reapplied even if the local values are returned.

Summary of settings

Setting items	Content
configuration tool	Registry Editor (regedit）
key	HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU
value name	NoAutoUpdate
type	DWORD (32-bit) value
Value to disable automatic updates	1
Value to enable automatic updates	0
Main effect	Disable automatic updates for Windows Update
Manual update	Can be executed by administrator from Windows Update

Reference materials

• Manage additional Windows Update settings (Microsoft Learn)
• Configure Windows Update clients with Group Policy (Microsoft Learn)
• Windows IoT Enterprise Update Policy (Microsoft Learn)

Summary

NoAutoUpdate=1 is a setting that disables automatic Windows Update updates and switches to manual maintenance by the administrator. The correct save location is HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU, not directly under WindowsUpdate.

For kiosks and digital signage, do not leave updates unattended for long periods of time, and perform security updates and reboots during after-hours maintenance windows. After setting, we will not only check that automatic updates are suppressed, but also that administrators can manually update and that the display application will be restored after the update.