How to get rid of Windows update on Windows 11 permanently?

For maximum control, these community-created tools are completely free and transparent if you want to get rid of the Windows 11 update.

1. Registry Method: Pause Updates for Up to 10 Years
This is a clever "official backdoor" that extends the default 5-week pause limit to a maximum of 3650 days (~10 years).

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter to open Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsUpdate\UX\Settings.
3. In the right pane, right-click > New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
4. Name it FlightSettingsMaxPauseDays.
5. Double-click the new entry, set Base to Decimal, and enter a value like 3650 in Value data.
6. Click OK and close the Registry Editor.
7. Go to Windows Update settings; you should now be able to pause updates for the extended period.

Note: Modifying the registry incorrectly can cause system instability. Back up your registry before making changes.

2. Registry Method: Completely Disable Windows Update 
To get rid of the Windows 11 update, this method disables the update engine entirely by pointing it to non-existent servers and disabling its features.
Steps (Run in Command Prompt as Administrator):

cmd
reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate" /v DoNotConnectToWindowsUpdateInternetLocations /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate" /v DisableWindowsUpdateAccess /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU" /v NoAutoUpdate /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

These commands together prevent connections to Microsoft's update servers and remove access to Windows Update features from the Settings app.