Windows update has been a source of frustration for a long time now. Forced update might happen in the middle of a busy day, or if things are really bad, in the middle of a hard gaming session. But changes are coming. According to PC Mag, and delivered by Windows Blog, Windows will soon allow you to pause updates almost indefinitely, restart without mandatory updates, and will try to condense non-essential updates into one monthly restart.
The idea is, that Windows will now clearly separate power actions from update actions. The Power menu will show separate Restart and Shut down options, which allows users to restart or shut down their device without installing the pending update first. On the other hand, update-specific options such as "Update and restart" and "Update and shut down" will be available if desired.
If users want to prevent unwanted distractions ahead of time, they can now do that: to pause incoming updates for 35 days. Users can also choose a specific day of the month to pause updates until then. You can do this almost indefinitely, since users can re-pause new Windows updates for up to 35 days at a time, with no limit on how many times they can reset the pause end date. Microsoft is also looking to stack multiple updates together, so users have to restart their devices less often per month.
The improvements are currently being tested with Windows Insiders in the Dev and Experimental channels.