[How To] Enable/Disable Windows Update Restart Notifications

When you download Windows Updates, sometimes you’d require to restart your system in order to complete those updates. But, by default, there are no notifications that will show you that a restart is required to complete the update. If you’re in middle of work, and if you system restarts without notification, you will lost your session and the work you’re doing.

To avoid this, you can enable Windows Update restart notifications. These notification (as shown in below screenshot) will tell you in advance, that a restart is required to finish installation of Windows Updates. After getting the notification, you can easily save you work and restart your system so that updates are completed.

Here’s how you can enable/disable Windows Update restart notifications.

How To Enable/Disable Windows Update Restart Notifications In Windows 10

Method 1 – Via Settings App

1. Right click Start Button or press + X keys and select Settings.

2. In the Settings app, navigate to Update & Security > Windows Update.

3. Now in right pane of Windows Update, click on Advanced options link.

4. Under Advanced options, set Show a notification when your PC requires a restart to finish updating option to On to get Windows Update restart notifications.

This setting is immediately saved and is in effect.

Now let us see, how to do this via registry manipulation.

Method 2 – Via Registry

1. Press + R and put regedit in Run dialog box to open Registry Editor (if you’re not familiar with Registry Editor, then click here). Click OK.

2. In left pane of Registry Editor window, navigate to following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsUpdate\UX\Settings

3. Now in the right pane of Settings registry key, right click in blank space, select New > DWORD Value. Name the newly created registry DWORD (REG_DWORD) as RestartNotificationsAllowed2. This registry DWORD can be used to allow/prevent Windows Update restart notifications in Windows 10. Double click on this registry DWORD to modify its Value data:

4. Finally, set the Value data to 1 and click OK. Close Registry Editor and reboot to make changes effective.

After restarting your system, you should start receiving Windows Update restart notifications.

In case, if later you want to disable Windows Update restart notifications, set the RestartNotificationsAllowed2 DWORD to 0 or turn Off the respective option in Settings app.

That’s it!