No matter what is your cause, you can cancel Windows 11 upgrade and stay on Windows 10 with the methods in following. Usually, stopping or blocking Windows 11 will not cause data loss, but if you are worried about data loss due to human error. Please back up the system and data on the system partition.
Way 1: Stop Windows 11 update from installing on Windows 10
If you just want to temporarily stop Windows 11 update, the easiest and quickest way is to use Windows Settings. Using it you can pause Windows Update for 7 days or more. And it also works for stopping automatic updates on Windows 11.
1. Go to Start > Settings > Update and Security, and then in the next window, select Windows Update from the left panel.
2. Then, you will see Upgrade to Windows 11 is ready if your computer meets the system requirements for Windows 11. Click Stay on Windows 10 for now. Alternatively, scroll down to Pause updates for 7 days and select it.
3. To pause Windows 11 update for more than 7 days, click Advanced options. Then, in the next window, scroll down to Pause updates and select a date from the drop-down menu. The temporary pause updates from being installed on this device for up to 35 days.
Way 2: Turn off Windows Update Services on Windows 10 PC
Turning off the entire Windows update service is a way to block Windows 11 updates permanently in Windows 10. But this way also prevents security and cumulative updates patches from installing on your computer. Be sure you know this potential issue and then continue if you are not mind.
1. Press “Win+ R” to open the Run window, type services.msc in it, and click OK to open the Services window.
2. Navigate to the “Windows Update” option, right-click it, and select the “Stop” button.
3. Then, double-click the “Windows Update” option and set its “Startup Type” as “Disabled“.
Doing so all the Windows Updates on Windows 10 will be canceled. If you want to resume it later, simply follow the steps above, start it and then set the startup type as Automatic.
Way 3: Block Windows 11 Update from installing on Windows 10 using Registry Editor
If you only want to block the feature and ask you to upgrade to Windows, you can use the new TargetReleaseVersion policy or registry setting since Windows 10 version 1803. It allows you to specify the target feature upgrade for Windows 10 you want to stay on or move to until it reaches the end of service.
The latest Windows 10 version is 21H2. But before starting, you need to check if your computer using it. Type “winver” in the Run window and click “OK” to confirm it. Then, you will see the current Windows version, it’s 21H2.
1. Type regedit in the Run windows and hit OK to open Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to the following path, right-click it > New > DWORD(32-bit) Value. Then, double-click the new registry settings, name it TargetReleaseVersion and set its value to 1.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate
3. Right-click the blank space, and select New > String. Then, double-click it, name it Product Version and set its value data to Windows 10.
3. Create a new string by right-clicking the blank space, and select New > String. Then, double-click it, name it TargetReleaseVersionInfo and set its value data to 21H2.
4. Close the registry and restart your computer to make these changes take effect.
Way 4: Remove Windows 11 Update in Windows 10 using Registry Editor
Except for the TargetReleaseVersion policy or registry setting, you can also try NoAutoUpdate in the Registry Editor.
1. Type regedit in the Run windows and hit OK to open Registry Editor. Then, navigate to the following path, right-click it > New > Key and name it AU.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate
3. Select the new registry key AU, and on the right panel, right-click the blank space, and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Then, double-click it and set the Value name as NoAutoUpdate and value data from 0 to 1.
3. Go to Services and disable Windows Update as steps shown in Step 2. Afterward, restart your computer and make it take effect.