Delay Windows 10 Version 2004 And Block It From Installing

How to delay Windows 10 version 2004 and prevent it from installing

A number of users are interested in delaying the upgrade to Windows 10 version 2004, also known as "20H1" and Windows 10 May 2020 Update. There are many reasons for this. Most users don't want to disturb their existing setup and do not want their custom settings getting reset again by the version 2004. Others would like to avoid compatibility issues. Here is the official way to postpone the upgrade to Windows 10 version 2004.

When a new feature update becomes available, it often gives issues due to unknown bugs, driver issues, or internal updates in the OS. It is not possible to test all existing device configurations, so these are reasons for plenty of users to delay the update.

Windows 10 version 2004, known as '20H1', is the next feature update to Windows 10, which supersedes version 1909, '19H2'. It includes the following changes:

What’s new in Windows 10 Version 2004 (20H1)

At the time of this writing, Microsoft only offers May 2020 update to users who have Windows 10 version 1903, and version 1909. It is available to 'seekers', e.g. you have to manually check for updates to get the upgrade offer in Windows 10 Settings. However, it is already possible to download the OS with Media Creation Tool, or get ISO images directly.

Windows 10 allows the user to delay updates available for the operating system. This option can be used to postpone the next feature update. Here is how it's done.

To delay Windows 10 version 2004 and prevent it from installing,

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to Update & security -> Windows Update.
3. On the right, click Advanced options.
4. Now, select for how long to defer feature updates. This option can be set to 0 - 365 days. Feature updates will install you a new build of Windows 10.

So, to delay Windows 10 version 2004 as long as possible, you should set 365 days. Using these options, you will block the new feature update for the operating system.

Also, you can defer quality updates if required. They also can be deferred for many days: 0 - 365 days. These updates are monthly cumulative updates for the currently installed build of Windows 10.

Feature updates are deferred by at least four months for Semi-Annual Channel. Note that this option is not available for certain Windows 10 editions. In this case, you can use the following Registry tweak.

Delay Feature and Quality Updates in Windows 10 Home

1. Open the Registry Editor app.
2. Go to the following Registry key.

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsUpdate\UX\Settings

   See how to go to a Registry key with one click.

3. On the right, modify or create a new 32-Bit DWORD value BranchReadinessLevel.
   Note: Even if you are running 64-bit Windows you must still create a 32-bit DWORD value.
   Set its value data to 10 in decimal for Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted). To switch the update branch to Semi-Annual Channel, use a value data of 20 in decimal.
4. Modify or create a new 32-bit DWORD value DeferFeatureUpdatesPeriodInDays. Set its value data in decimal to the number of days you want to defer feature updates for. The valid range is 0-365 in decimal.
5. Modify or create a new 32-bit DWORD value DeferQualityUpdatesPeriodInDays and set its value data in decimal to to the number of days you want to defer quality updates for.
6. Restart Windows 10.

That's it.

Support us

Winaero greatly relies on your support. You can help the site keep bringing you interesting and useful content and software by using these options: