How to Cancel Windows 11 update?

I totally agree. And what I have to say here may or may not work if Windows 11 is fully downloaded but not yet installed. But I'm guessing it might, based on the first line of the instructions below. I was in a situation where Windows 11 was partially downloaded and not yet installed when I caught it and paused updates until I could figure out what to do. Thanks to some experts on this thread, I was able to stop any further attempts to foist Windows 11 on me. I followed these steps to the letter and in this order. They are copied and pasted from some of the earliest posts in this thread. The only thing I've changed is to change the Windows 10 target version to the latest/last one that became available after these instructions were originally given.

If it indicates that it is updating to Windows 11, and it displays 'downloading' or even 'reboot to install', then:

1. You need to stop wuauserv and bits, so they don't immediately recreate the directory you're going to delete in step 2.

To stop them, you either need to go to control panel, services, and locate the services by name, and stop them (do not change their startup mode!).

Or, you can open a command prompt with administrative privileges and type in the commands 'net stop wuauserv' and 'net stop bits', respectively. It should look something like this;

C:\WINDOWS\system32> net stop wuauserv

C:\WINDOWS\system32> net stop bits

Things that can go awry with this step:

If you see an error message, or 'The Windows Update Service is not started', you either don't have Administrative Privileges, or you have the Windows Update Window open. Opening the 'Windows Update' window to check what happens, actually restarts the services, so don't do that!

2. You need to delete the directory where it's downloaded the Windows 11 files.

It is the catalog 'C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\29915d28b757d79214ddd971f3fd6134'

Now you have reset the progress on the Windows 11 patch. However, this is just a temporary solution. As soon as you go to the 'Windows Update' window, it will restart the services (wuauserv and bits), and start downloading Windows 11 again.

To make it last a bit longer, you need to do the registry hack that Rodrigo.Quieroz posted about on December 18 (the first page in this thread), so that Windows Update thinks that it should target a later version of Windows 10 instead of Windows 11.

[I think I got the following from an article online. The steps outlined are the same ones in Rodrigo.Quieroz's post. Or you can just go back to Dec. 18, 2021 in this thread to find it as first given. All of these steps are done BEFORE you unpause Windows Update but AFTER you have stopped wuauserv and bits and deleted the directory where Windows 11 downloads are stored and waiting! (steps 1 & 2 above). Now edit the registry so that Windows 11 will never bother you again. Steps below.]

You can block Windows 11 update by changing some registry keys.

Fantastic YouTube tutorial. Starts around minute 4: https://youtu.be/S\_s50gEvG7g

(Solution 4 here has a screenshot How to Stop Windows 11 Update (Block It Forever) - EaseUS )

Also helpful: Rename or delete Software Distribution folder in Windows 11/10 (thewindowsclub.com)

Be careful while using the Registry Editor, if you change the wrong key, you can mess up your system.

It is very important to keep your system updated, always check for updates on Windows Update.

Now follow these instructions to block Windows 11 Update:

Right Click the Start Menu and select "Run"

type regedit and press Enter

On the Registry editor window, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate
(You can copy and paste the address on the address bar)

On the right side of the screen, right click > New > DWORD (32-bit) > and name it TargetReleaseVersion , double click it and set Value Data to 1

Again on the right side of the screen , right click > New > String Value > and name it ProductVersion , double click it and set Value Data to Windows 10

Again on the right side of the screen , right click > New > String Value > and name it TargetReleaseVersionInfo , double click it and set Value Data to 22h2

If you can't find the Windows Update key, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows, right click > New > Key , and name it WindowsUpdate

Delete the catalog 'C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\29915d28b757d79214ddd971f3fd6134'

This catalog contains the Windows 11 upgrade files.

You have to delete the catalog itself, not just the files in it.

The catalog name is an Id, and is enough to make Windows Update resume the Windows 11 download, unless you delete it.

4. Reboot

Just know that Windows 11 has the same version number: 21H2. The only difference is one is Windows 10 version 21H2 and the other is Windows 11 21H2.

Thus, the importance of setting a target version in your registry.

I would not do a full factory reset. The only way to ensure you don't get Windows 11 is to set the target version in your registry.

I'm part of the Facebook group with Windows 11 and almost every post is about the disaster updates and what works, what doesn't, etc. It is horrible and I'm not doing it.

Same here. Dont understand why there is no option to stop download. Bottom line? Someone failed at their job AGAIN and built an inferior product and forcing it down everyone throat to be used as guinea pigs and some one else failed as a fail safe to install an option button for those that had the unfortunate experience of loosing everything because of their failure at a job and employee. The American way. Just slough through the job and get the money!

Please update to 21H1 at least as 20H2 support ends in May. Both share the same code.

https://www.yourwindowsguide.com/2021/05/windows-10-version-21h1-offline.html

Or you can substitute 21H1 in the second command with 20H2.

Now you make me wonder if I set my computer back to before Windows 11 downloaded (not installed yet as I keep pausing the installation), will the Windows 11 download disappear?