Microsoft will likely release the October 2018 Update, codenamed Redstone 5, on October 2. You can pause the update to avoid receiving it immediately—as long as you’re using Windows 10 Professional, Enterprise, or Education.
RELATED: What’s New in Windows 10’s October 2018 Update
Unfortunately, Windows 10 Home doesn’t allow you to delay updates. So, unless you want to pay $100 to upgrade to Windows 10 Professional, you’ll have to install the update when Microsoft provides it to your PC.
To delay updates in other editions, head to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Advanced Options.
On the Advanced Options page, scroll down to the “Choose when updates are installed” section. If you don’t see this section, you’re using Windows 10 Home and don’t have these options available.
By default, your PC is on the “Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted)” branch. This was previously known as the “Current Branch,” and it means your PC will receive the update when it’s being rolled out to consumers. To delay the update, click this box and switch to the “Semi-Annual Channel,” which is the same as the previous “Current Branch for Business.” You won’t receive the update until Microsoft considers it well-tested and ready for business PCs, which generally happens about four months after it’s rolled out to consumers. That means you probably wouldn’t receive the October 2018 Update until sometime around February 2018.
To delay the update even further, click the drop-down menu under “A feature update includes new capabilities and improvements. It can be deferred for this many days” and select how many days you want to delay the update. You can select any number of days between 0 and 365. This is cumulative with the previous option. For example, if you select the Semi-Annual Channel and also defer feature updates for 120 days, your PC won’t receive the update for about eight months.
The final option here allows you to delay smaller “quality updates” that include security updates, but only for up to 30 days.
Windows also lets you pause updates on a more temporary basis if you like. Just above that “Choose When Updates Are Installed” section you’ll see a “Pause Updates” section. Set the toggle switch there to “On” and Windows will pause updates for 35 days.
After the 35 days expires—or if you unpause updates using the switch here—Windows automatically downloads the latest updates before allowing you to pause updates again.
If you do decide later that you want to receive the updates—or if you want to put off receiving the update for even longer—you can return to the Advanced options page and change the options here at any time. When the period you’ve selected ends, your PC will immediately begin installing the update.
