Microsoft Might Soon Allow Windows 10 Home Users To Pause Updates Like A Pro For 35 Days
Few things stink more than installing a Windows update and then discovering that it broke something. Sometimes it's a minor thing, like reduced game performance, other times you could find yourself in a dreaded reboot loop. Windows 10 Pro users have the option of pausing updates for up to 35 days, which in essence allows them to sit back and let others be guinea pigs. Well, it looks as though Microsoft is planning to extend the same courtesy to Windows 10 Home.
Nothing is official yet, but in the Windows Insider program, Microsoft is testing a pause feature for Windows 10 Home builds. Assuming it sticks, the feature would roll out with the 19H1 update, the first of two major upgrades to Windows 10 scheduled for this year.
Initial reports stated the pause button would only halt updates for 7 days, because that is how it initially showed up. However, a user on Reddit has noticed that when doing a clean install of the 19H1 build that was recently released (18356), the pause period extends for 35 days, same as Windows 10 Pro.
Click to Enlarge (Source: Reddit via Leopeva64-2)
"Microsoft has released the first 19H1 build without watermark or expiration date and, by doing a clean installation of this build, you are not enrolled in the insider program automatically and, as expected, the option that previously only allowed to pause the updates for 7 days, has changed to 35 days," the user explains.
This is not a guarantee that the extended pause feature will make it into the final version, though it's certainly interesting that Microsoft is testing it. If it does, you will want to weigh the option carefully. On one hand, pausing an update gives you time to make sure there are no widespread ill side effects. But at the same time, it also leaves your PC exposed to whatever vulnerabilities the update may have addressed.
Assuming it does show up, it's another effort by Microsoft to ensure smoother roll outs. In addition to potentially allowing Windows 10 Home users to pause updates for up to 35 days, Microsoft also recently made it so that Windows 10 can automatically uninstall problematic updates.
