These long requested Windows 11 Update features will soon be available to all users

The update improvements include a new OOBE feature, the option to extend Windows updates much further than before, and more.

Microsoft has shared details on new Windows Update improvements that are rolling out to Windows Insiders now. Most of these features have been long requested by users and the company has finally listened. As it is in the Insider channel now, all Windows 11 users will receive them soon, later this year.

This is part of the tech giant's commitment in improving Windows 11 as well as its many components, and plans have already been underway and some of it should be in action in the upcoming KB5083631 release.

In a new blog post earlier today, Microsoft detailed all the new upgrades that are coming to Windows 11 Update. The biggest change is the ability to control updates better as the tech giant will now allow users to pause updates almost indefinitely with the ability to extend them "many times as you need" as you can you can now "re-pause for up to 35 days at a time, with no limits on how many times you can reset the pause end date."

Besides that, the ability to restart a system without updating has been added, and finally the option to skip updates during the Out of box experience (OOBE) or the initial setup is also coming with a new "Update later" button.

Microsoft explains: "Updates are an important part of keeping your PC secure and running smoothly. But at the wrong time, they can also critically break your flow. To make this a better experience, we are focused on giving you more control of updates in four key ways:

1. Skip updates immediately during the out of box experience (OOBE)
2. Extend update pauses as many times as you need
3. Always-available options to shut down and restart without updating
4. More insights on available updates so you can make more informed installation decisions

Aside from the above, Microsoft is also promising "fewer disruptions" by unifying the various software updates received via the Windows update so that there are fewer restarts and reboots going forward. The company says: "... as of today, we’re unifying the update experience to reduce the number of reboots you see every month. .. We are starting by coordinating driver, .NET, and firmware updates to align with the monthly quality update, reducing update experience to a single monthly restart. ... For users checking out the Settings > Windows Update page, you will see all of these updates collapsed into a single Available updates section."

You can check out the official blog post here on Microsoft's website.

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Posted Sunday 26 April 2026 at 8:00 am AEST (my time).

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