Block Upgrade to Windows 11 via Group Policy or Registry

In this short guide, I will show you how you can block Windows 11 upgrades through Group Policy or Windows Registry. The official release of Windows 11 by Microsoft is the latest talk in town. Yes, it’s the latest because a lot of people didn’t believe Microsoft was going to make a U-turn from their initial decision that Windows 10 would be the last Windows version for desktop Operating systems. Please see how to Harden your Veeam Backup Server with Microsoft AppLocker, and Force BitLocker Recovery: Perform BitLocker Recovery via the Self-Service Portal and Helpdesk.

So while we were sleeping Microsoft came scratching our backs. Hey guys! the plan has changed, it’s time to launch a new OS with more powerful and sophisticated features that will bring you closer to what you want.

An OS that is properly aligned with the technological needs of the modern workplace and end-users needs. With these handy features in mind, Windows 11 which was officially released on October 5, 2021, is an Operating System everyone would probably love to install and use.

The features are so amazing that you wouldn’t like to resist upgrading your Windows 10 to it but what if you choose to stay with your Windows 10 since you will still be receiving adequate security updates and support till 2025?  Microsoft has already made its point known that end users won’t be persuaded to force-upgrade their Windows 10 to Windows 11. 

So if you want to upgrade, you will have to do it manually by going from Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update but if you don’t want to upgrade, simply don’t touch the settings option of your PC. Therefore, note, you will not receive an automatic update notice from Microsoft to upgrade to Windows 11. 

Hence, if you’re using Windows 10 Pro, Education, or Enterprise, it is possible to delay feature update installations through the method I am about to show you in the guide.

You may also be interested in reading about how to upgrade Windows 10 with an unsupported CPU and TPM 1.0 to Windows 11​, and how to fix “Failed to open session in VirtualBox to install Windows 11 Image” .

Disable Using Group Policy Editor

Press the Windows Key + R, to open the Run dialog box.
– Then, type in gpedit.msc in the Run dialog box and hit the Enter Key. This will load up and display the Group Policy Editor 

Head to Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update > Windows Update for Business

Double-click on “Select the target feature update version”
– Set the policy to Enabled
– Type 21H1 into the field
– Click on “Apply” if you still wish to play on the page else,
-Click “Okay” on the fly as shown below.

Close the Group Policy Editor, and that is all you need to do via the Local Group Policy Editor.

Disable Using Registry Editor

Press the Windows Key + R, to open the Run dialog box.

Type in regedit.exe in the Run dialog box and hit the Enter Key -> This will prompt you to press “Ok” to open up the Registry Editor (You must have the Admin privileges to do this)

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate. As you can see, this does not exist.

Hence, we have to create the WindowsUpdate key and the associated values and strings.

As you can see below, the key has been created and we can access the registry hive and find the right key.

Afterward, double click on the ProductVersion and Enter Windows 10 as the value data and click OK.

Set the Dword TargetReleaseVersion to 1. However, if the value does not exist, right-click on Windows Update, and select New > Dword (32-bit) Value.

Set the value of TargetReleaseVersionInfo to 21H1. Meanwhile, if the value does not exist, right-click on Windows Update, and select New > String Value as shown below.

When you are done, the Registry Settings should look this way.

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Conclusion

Note the points stated above are optional as you can choose to allow updates or block to continue to use Windows 10 since Microsoft plans to support Windows 10 through 2025.

In other words, there’s no rush to update if you’re happy with what Windows 10 currently offers. Guess you’ve learned how to block upgrade to Windows 11.

I hope you found this article on how to Block Upgrade to Windows 11 via Group Policy or Registry very useful. Please feel free to leave a comment below.