Smart ways to manage software updates on Windows and macOS

Ingeniously manage Windows and macOS software updates

(This article has been updated, the original text was published on June 10, 2019)

Computer operating system is constantly developing and updating. Software updates can ensure the smooth operation of the system and bring many benefits such as new features, speed and performance improvements, security vulnerability repair, and error repair.

You should not ignore these updates, but you can control when it is updated. Both Windows and macOS provide a variety of practical tools that allow you to install updates on demand and do it in a way that best suits the way you work.

Let's see how to make the most of these options.

How to manage updates on Windows 10 and 11

To find update options for Windows 11, click the Windows button on the taskbar to open the Start menu, and then open Settings (or press Win I). In the pop-up window, go to Windows Update in the upper right corner to control the automatic update method of the computer. On Windows 10, all the steps are the same, just the last step is different: you need to click Update and Security from the settings window.

You can click

in the page title to check for updates to force Windows 10 or 11 to scan for newer versions, but your computer will do this automatically. The following options give you more control over how your computer handles these updates. On Windows 11, click to pause updates to tell Windows not to apply any patches for a while—using the drop-down menu on the right to pause the update for one to five weeks. Windows 10 has the same pause option, but the shortcut limits you to a seven-day period. To select another time, click the Advanced option and select a date from the Select a date drop-down menu under Pause update .

[Related: Why You Shouldn't Delay Device Update]

Without pause, Windows tries to install updates within its so-called "active time" - which is when your computer is turned on but not used in any meaningful way. On Windows 11, go to

Advanced Options

and go to Active Time to see the best time Windows currently considers to update the operating system. You can edit this schedule by clicking to adjust the drop-down menu to the right of and setting it to manually. On Windows 10, click from the main update settings page to change the activity time , and then click next to the current active time.

When applying updates outside of active time, Windows may restart your computer without warning you. If you want to avoid this, Windows 11's needs to be restarted to complete the update. The setting is just above the activity time option - switch the switch on the right to Open. You can also turn off the switch next to keep me up to date, which will make install updates a priority, even during active hours. These settings are located in the Advanced Options menu in Windows 10. After entering, turn off the switch under to restart the device as soon as possible… and turn on the switch under Update Notification . Whether you are using Windows 10 or 11, Receive updates from other Microsoft products The

option is also located on this screen. It controls whether other Microsoft software such as Office 365 will be updated simultaneously with Windows. Meanwhile,

Download updates via metered connection controls whether your computer downloads updates when using a cellular connection instead of WiFi (such as on a Surface Pro tablet). is also worth clicking Pass Optimization

(under other options in Windows 11, and in the left sidebar of Windows 10). Here you can choose whether Windows gets update code from other computers and networks on your network and from Microsoft. Using various sources can speed up updates, especially when connections are unstable.

Speaking of connection speed, select Advanced option from the same page to tell Windows how much available bandwidth you want to use to download updates. If you are busy downloading large files for updating purposes other than Windows, you may want to lower some of these settings to lower Windows updates.

Back to the main

Windows Update screen, you can choose Update History

(View Update History

on Windows 10), not only to view recent Apply to computer updates, you can also uninstall them and roll back to earlier versions if recent patches cause problems. How to manage updates on macOS You have less settings and controls on macOS compared to Windows. However, if you want to see the available options, open the Apple menu and select

System Preferences

and

Software Update

. If the updates are waiting for installation, you can click Update now to apply them. If the button does not appear, there is no update available and you will see a message stating that your system is up to date. Click More information to see the details of any updates you will be applying.

[Related: Use these 4 hidden tricks to fix slow-running Mac computers]There is a

Auto Keep My Mac Updated at the bottom of the check box - check it to let macOS handle updates for you, from automatically scanning for new software versions to installing them on your system. When a new update is ready to be installed, you will be notified, giving you the opportunity to postpone this process until the evening or the next day. It is also similar to the main switches of each checkbox under Advanced. When you select it, all five subsets are enabled.

To better control the installation of the update, click

Advanced. Select Check for updates to let macOS automatically check for new patches, or choose to do this manually every time through the Software Update dialog box.

Next checkbox

Download new updates (if any) works the same for downloading updates: it will be done automatically or only if you force them manually. Installing macOS update Check box controls the last stage, setting whether your computer applies updates immediately when updates are available, or when you explicitly confirm that you can apply updates.

Install app update from the App Store check box allows you to set macOS applications to update automatically. To check the status of individual app updates, open the App Store on your Mac and click the Update link.

Back to the

Advanced Dialog box in Software Update , and the last Install system data files and security updates check box to control whether macOS is automatically or manually patched Critical system data and security files. Even if you don't want the entire OS to update itself, you can use this setting to keep its most important parts patched.

Apple recommends that you choose at least

Check for updates , to download new updates (if any) and to install system data files and security updates to ensure your system is safe and protected. You can then install the main macOS update as needed.

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