how exactly does the notify before download option work

cns00 said:

i have windows 10 pro build 1809. in my windows updates i have the download and install link for build 1903. i dont want to upgrade to build 1903 now because there are still some issues in it

as i know the end of life of build 1809 is may 2020 and it will start to nag me to update 5 months before that so that means i have 4 months left to use 1809

the problem is i just discovered that there are some people who have build 1809 and they were forcibly upgraded to 1903 now. i dont want the same thing to happen to me so i went to group policy and i set the windows updates to option 2 which is notify before download. i have never used that before so i dont know how that works. i have some questions:-

1) how exactly will i get notified that there is a new windows update available?

A notification pops up in the notification area after windows update performs its daily check.

2) how exactly do i allow the windows update to download and how do i reject it?

If you click on the notification you will be taken to Windows Update in Settings where the update(s) will be listed as 'pending' with a 'Download' button beneath the list.

3) will me allowing a windows updates to download interfere with the download and install link for 1903? will that link stay silent or it will also try to download the feature update if i allow another windows updates to download?

4) will i get notified that there are new updates available without me having to click on check updates? the problem is if i click on check updates i am scared that it will try to download the feature update and that's why i never click on check updates

No, you get notified after each automatic check for updates. These happen approximately once a day.

Now here we have the dilemma. Up until now you could happily check for updates, safe in the knowledge that the 'download and install now' option for the Feature Update was completely separate from the Check for Updates function. But Microsoft now, after their success in rolling it out to 1803 machines, apparently have just stepped up the automatic roll out of 1903 to 1809 machines as well. No longer does it appear separately as a 'download and install now' choice, that has gone. Now it is listed in amongst the 'pending' downloads. Your only choice is to download all or none.

5) is there a need to defer the feature update in the windows updates setting? if i set the group policy to notify before download then that means it can never download the feature update without my permission so there is no need to defer the feature update. am i right?

Up until today I would have said yes, but now the automatic rollout has begun the only available option to put off the 1903 Feature Update is to defer feature updates. This can be done successfully, even after 1903 appears as a pending update. Defer feature updates for as long as you would like, up to 365 days. Next turn on Pause updates, then turn off Pause updates straight away. This forces windows update to restart the check for updates.



Crucially, this re-check will take into account the new defer settings you have just set and the 1903 Feature Update will no longer appear.

i dont want to upgrade to build 1903 now because there are still some issues in it

Can't say I've found any issues. Only a couple of my machines are still on 1809, the rest have been running 1903 without any problems for two or three months now. In fact, the only real reason I kept a couple of 1809 machines was to see just when this automatic rollout would start. Seem like that is today....

thanks for your detailed reply

you said:-
"No longer does it appear separately as a 'download and install now' choice, that has gone. Now it is listed in amongst the 'pending' downloads. Your only choice is to download all or none"

what do you mean by that? thus the next time i get the notification telling me that i have updates the features update will be among those updates?

also what do you mean by "download all are none"? it should tell me that update A is pending, update B is pending, update C is pending and so on and i should be able to select if i want to download A, B or C and it shouldn't force me to download all

also you said:-
"Defer feature updates for as long as you would like, up to 365 days. Next turn on Pause updates, then turn off Pause updates straight away. This forces windows update to restart the check for updates."

what do you mean by that? what will happen if i defer the updates and then i turn on pause updates and then i turn off pause updates?

this is what i see:-

that happened because i said the notify

i did the defer:-


what do i do next?

cns00 said:

...this is what i see:-

Up until yesterday, that was what I saw too. But all my machines on 1809 now show the 1903 Feature Update as 'pending download'.

....that happened because i said the notify

No, the 'notify to download' did not have anything to do with that 'Download and install now' option appearing. That was a change that Microsoft introduced for all editions, Home as well as Pro. A Feature update is/was now listed separately from the other updates and could be ignored while letting you check for and download all other updates.

also what do you mean by "download all are none"? it should tell me that update A is pending, update B is pending, update C is pending and so on and i should be able to select if i want to download A, B or C and it shouldn't force me to download all

No, windows update has never worked like that in Windows 10. All updates shown in the 'Updates available' list will be downloaded. The 'notify...' option adds the 'Download' button to the bottom of that list, but you only have the choice of when to download them all, not to pick and choose which to download. On all my 1809 machines 1903 was now in the 'updates available' list, not in the separate 'download and install now' optional section below it. My only available option was to download it along with all the regular updates.

i did the defer...
...what do i do next?

As you have still got the 'download and install now' option showing, there is nothing more you need to do. You can click 'check for updates' or let windows update do its automatic daily check and the 1903 feature update will not appear. Your 365 days defer for feature updates means you won't see it again until 365 days after 1903 was released, that is not until May 2020. Because you have left Quality updates at 0 days you will continue to get the 'Patch Tuesday' cumulative updates each month with all the latest security fixes and patches.


My 'pause/unpause' trick was only necessary as 1903 had now moved from the optional 'download and install now' section to the mandatory 'pending download' section.

i did defer windows feature update for 1 year, i paused updates and then i unpaused. the download and install went away and this is what i see:-


am i safe now and it will no longer force me to download 1903 and it will only ask me to download normal updates and the feature update wont be listed with the normal updates?

it wont ask me to download and install 1903 for 365 days from today?

cns00 said:

am i safe now and it will no longer force me to download 1903 and it will only ask me to download normal updates and the feature update wont be listed with the normal updates?

Correct...

it wont ask me to download and install 1903 for 365 days from today?

No, it's 365 days from the release of 1903, that was 21st May 2019 so you will see it again in May 2020.

that doesnt make any sense

the defer for should start from the date from which i set the defer. How to pause Windows Update in Windows 10 up to 365 days says that i can defer and it says nothing about the deferral starting from the date of when the build was released

can you please show me somewhere where it says what you say?

cns00 said:

can you please show me somewhere where it says what you say?

Microsoft said:

You can defer receiving these Feature Updates for a period of up to 365 days from their release by setting the DeferFeatureUpdatesPeriodinDays value.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/win...configure-wufb

when will it push 1903 on me? a few months before may 2020 or exactly on may 2020?

i am planning on installing sledgehammer which i can download from Control Windows Updates with Sledgehammer (formerly WUMT Wrapper Script) - gHacks Tech News to disable the windows updates service so i dont get forced to upgrade to 1903. when exactly should i do that?

cns00 said:

when will it push 1903 on me? a few months before may 2020 or exactly on may 2020?

It should be on or after 21st May 2020, 365 days after the 1903 release date.

i am planning on installing sledgehammer...when exactly should i do that?

I will leave that for other to advise who are familiar with it. I don't use any 3rd-party tools to tweak Windows. I will however say that I've had no issues running 1903 on any of my machines.