You can prevent Windows 11/10 from connecting to any Windows Update Internet locations using Local Group Policy Editor and Registry Editor. This way, you can stop Windows from connecting to those locations and block it from fetching, downloading, and installing updates.
When Windows Update is configured to receive updates from an Intranet update service, it begins to retrieve information from the public Windows Update service periodically.
This event occurs by design to enable future connections to Windows Update and other services like Microsoft Update or the Windows Store. You can prevent this behavior i.e., stop Windows from connecting to any Windows Update Internet locations.
Prevent Windows from connecting to any Windows Update Internet locations using Registry Editor
To prevent Windows from connecting to any Windows Update Internet locations using Registry Editor, follow these steps:
- Open Registry Editor on your PC.
- Go to WindowsUpdate in HKLM.
- Double-click on DoNotConnectToWindowsUpdateInternetLocations.
- Set the Value data to 1.
- Click the OK button.
- Close all windows and restart your computer.
To learn more about these steps, continue reading.
Press Win+R in combination to open the Run dialog box. Type regedit in the empty field of the box and press Enter.
When the Registry Editor opens, navigate to the following path address –
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate.
Here, switch to the right pane, right-click, and select DWORD. Name it as:
DoNotConnectToWindowsUpdateInternetLocations
Double-click the entry to edit the string value. Change it to 1.
However, if you cannot find the DoNotConnectToWindowsUpdateInternetLocations REG_DWORD value, you need to create it manually. For that, right-click on the WindowsUpdate key > New > DWORD (32-bit) Value and set the name as mentioned above.
Simply close the Registry Editor and exit.
Restart your PC to allow the changes to take effect.
The registry changes when configured will enable Do not connect to any Windows Update Internet locations GPO setting and stop Windows from connecting to any Windows Update Internet locations.
This setting is applicable only when this PC is set up to connect to an intranet update service using the ‘Specify intranet Microsoft update service location’ policy.
Stop Windows from connecting to any Windows Update Internet locations using Group Policy
To stop Windows from connecting to any Windows Update Internet locations using Group Policy, follow these steps:
- Open the Local Group Policy Editor.
- Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components> Windows Update > Manage updates offered from Windows Server Update Service.
- Double-click on the Do not connect to any Windows Update Internet locations setting.
- Choose the Enabled option.
- Click the OK button.
To learn more about these steps, keep reading.
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components> Windows Update.
Under Windows Update Setting, open Do not connect to any Windows Update Internet locations.
Check the Enabled option to enable the policy.
Instantly, the connection to public services such as the Microsoft Store, and Windows Update will stop working.
Hope this helps.
Read: How to add Windows Updates to Context Menu in Windows
How do I stop Windows Update from using the Internet?
You need to disable the Windows Update service to stop Windows Update from using the internet. Open the Services panel and double-click on the Windows Update service. Then, click the Stop button. Click the Apply and OK buttons.
How do I turn off Windows Update in Windows 11 permanently?
To turn off Windows Update in Windows 11 permanently, you must disable the Windows Update service. For that, do the following:
- Press Win+R.
- Type services.msc and hit Enter.
- Double-click on Windows Update.
- Click the Stop button.
- Click the OK button.
Read: Windows was unable to get a list of devices from Windows Update.
