One of the most unpleasant things about using a Windows PC can be the annoyance you feel if an update is quietly downloaded and begins installing when you are not expecting it.
Thankfully, though Microsoft understands it too and has done so for a very long time, which is why the company debuted the "active hours" feature back in 2016 with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update which lets users pause the update. Over time the feature has been refined and improved, and in the 2019 May update, intelligent active hours was introduced.
Recently, the company published a support article on its website to serve as a reminder about the feature. Microsoft has explained how the active hours feature works and how it can be useful to you whether you are on Windows 11 or Windows 10. It writes:
We've made it easier to keep Windows current with the latest features and improvements—and with fewer interruptions and restarts when you're using your PC the most.
The great news is that you don’t have to do anything to get the latest updates, as they'll automatically download and install when they’re available (unless you’re on a metered connection, then updates won’t download until you get them).
Occasionally, your PC might need to restart to finish installing the updates. You can set active hours to let us know when you're usually using your PC to help prevent inconvenient restarts.
Following this, the company has also shared two separate step-by-step guides on how to have Windows set up active hours for your PC automatically based on device activity, and also the way to set it up manually. You can find the support document here on Microsoft's website.
In the past, Microsoft had also shared Group Policy edits for managing Windows Update active hours. Registry tweaking exists too.
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