How to Speed Up Windows 10 Update

 (Faster Downloads and Installs That Actually Finish)

Staring at a Windows 10 update screen can feel like watching paint dry, but it’s also potentially risky if you have an unwelcome visitor peering over your shoulder. There, the progress bar lies offended, your fan starts spinning up, and you begin to wonder if something’s broken.

The good news is that slow updates can be fixed with a few targeted modifications. This guide will help you speed up Windows 10 update downloads and installation with recommendations to optimize network throughput, make your computer more responsive while updates are downloading, and reduce the time it takes to update your system, while preventing Windows Update from using all your bandwidth.

Why Windows 10 updates get slow (download speed vs install time)

“Slow update” can mean two different problems, and the fix depends on which one you have.

A slow download usually looks like this:

• “Downloading” sits at 0 percent or crawls.

A slow install usually looks like this:

• The download finishes, then “Installing” takes forever.
• You get long reboots at “Working on updates.”
• Disk usage hits 100 percent in Task Manager.

Windows Update relies on a few different components: Microsoft’s update servers, your network path (Wi-Fi vs. Ethernet, DNS, router load), background delivery settings for bandwidth and reboot timing, free storage space on your drive that’s fast enough to download incoming updates before they time out, and the disk speed to write those files once they arrive. If any one of those is off, the entire process bogs down.

Quick check first: are updates still coming to Windows 10 (December 2025)?

Before you tune Windows Update to your liking, though, it can be handy to know exactly what you’re trying to achieve.

As of December 2025, standard Windows 10 editions will be end of support on October 14, 2025, so you would no longer get regular security updates for Home and Pro in most cases. That takes care of the “why is this guy still talking?” question, as you could be requesting updates that are no longer available, or you may have a special support path (such as ESU in some scenarios).

If you’re not sure how this impacts you, take a look at your Windows 10 edition and support status using Microsoft guidance and consider upgrading options. For an IT-oriented perspective, you may find Microsoft’s post on update behavior and install times helpful. How to improve Windows cumulative update installation times.

Speed up Windows 10 update downloads (network-focused fixes)

Use Ethernet, or at least stabilize Wi-Fi

Windows Update needs steady throughput more than peak speed. A flaky Wi-Fi connection can cause repeated retries that look like “slow download.”

• If you can, plug in Ethernet for the update session.
• If you must use Wi-Fi, stay close to the router and avoid congested channels.
• Pause large downloads on other devices (cloud backups, game updates, streaming). Your internet feels fine in apps and browsers, but Update is sluggish.

An easy test: Run a speed test and then begin the update. If speed is OK but Update chugs, the problem can be related to Windows Update settings or delivery mode.

Remove Windows Update download limits

Windows 10 can throttle update bandwidth, sometimes aggressively.

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to Update & Security.
3. Open Delivery Optimization.
4. Select Advanced options.
5. If you see download limits enabled, turn them off or raise them.

If you manage your network carefully, you can keep limits but set them realistically. A 5 percent cap on a 200 Mbps connection is still only 10 Mbps, and real-world overhead drops it further.

Disable Delivery Optimization sharing (or limit it)

According to settings, Delivery Optimization can spread updates among PCs on your local LAN or even the web. This can be sucking bandwidth in a crowded home network while you’re trying to wrap up on one machine.

• In Delivery Optimization, set “Allow downloads from other PCs” to PCs on my local network, or turn it off for troubleshooting.

This doesn’t always increase speed, but it removes one common wildcard.

Restart the router and clear the “bad path.”

If, for example, downloads keep stopping at the same % during multiple retry attempts, you might be getting routed somewhere incorrectly, have a funky DNS problem, or your router just needs a power cycle.

• Power-cycle your modem/router (unplug for 30 seconds, and plug back in).
• Restart the PC after the network comes back.

You’re not “fixing Windows” here; you’re clearing stale sessions and forcing fresh connections.

Check for VPNs, proxies, and security inspection

VPNs and some corporate security tools can slow large downloads or interfere with update services.

• Disconnect from VPN for the update, if allowed.
• If you’re on a managed device, ask IT before changing proxy settings.

If you need a deeper set of network tweaks people try (with mixed results), this community discussion offers real-world angles: What is the Fastest Way to Apply Windows Updates?.

Speed up Windows 10 update installation (disk and system health)

Free up space on the system drive (C:)

Low free space slows installs and can cause repeated rollback attempts. Windows needs room for:

• downloaded packages,
• temporary install files,
• Roll back data in case the update fails.

A practical target: keep at least 15 to 20 GB free on C: before a large cumulative update or servicing stack change.

Do this:

• Uninstall unused apps and games.
• Empty Recycle Bin.
• Move large videos or archives to another drive.

And if you’re feeling bogged down, some general Windows 10 performance cleanup may help increase the update install time. Computerworld has some solid pragmatic ideas And Silicon Angle has its pandemic bunker basics. 19 ways to speed up Windows 10.

Let the update run when your PC is idle

Windows Update competes with everything: browser tabs, games, Teams calls, sync tools, and even RGB utilities. If you want updates to finish faster, give them the machine.

• Close heavy apps.
• Pause cloud sync temporarily (OneDrive, Dropbox).
• Leave the laptop plugged in so it doesn’t downclock.

Think of it like moving a couch through a hallway. If five people are trying to squeeze past at once, nobody moves quickly.

Reduce 100 percent disk usage triggers

If your disk sits at 100 percent during installs, update steps can crawl. Common causes:

• slow HDD (not SSD),
• too many startup apps,
• background antivirus scanning,
• indexing and sync churn.

Simple improvements:

• Restart before the update to clear long-running processes.
• Disable unneeded startup apps (Task Manager, Startup tab).
• Temporarily pause third-party antivirus real-time scanning only if you understand the risk and you’re offline from risky browsing. Turn it back on right after.

If you’re still on a spinning hard drive, upgrades can be the biggest speed increase. Updates do a lot of small reads and writes, and HDDs lose that race every time.

Fix Windows Update when it’s stuck or looping

Sometimes “slow” is really “stuck.” If progress doesn’t move for hours, fix the update stack first, then retry.

Run the built-in Windows Update troubleshooter

It’s not magic, but it can reset common components safely.

1. Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot.
2. Open additional troubleshooters.
3. Run Windows Update.

After it completes, reboot and try again.

Restart update-related services (safe reset without reinstalling Windows)

A common cause of sluggish or frozen updates is a stuck service or corrupted download cache.

At a high level, you’re trying to reset:

• Windows Update service,
• Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS),
• the SoftwareDistribution cache folder.

If you don’t want to manually reset, just follow the troubleshooter and reboot steps. If you’re comfortable doing so, follow Microsoft’s instructions to reset update components in your environment (especially managed PCs).

Avoid repeated retries back-to-back

When an update fails, Windows often tries again with the same broken state. That wastes time and can make future attempts slower.

If you’ve had multiple failures:

• reboot,
• free space,
• run the troubleshooter.
• Then retry once.

If it fails again, stop and identify the error code in Windows Update history. Blind retries burn hours.

Settings that quietly affect update speed

Active Hours and restart planning

This won’t increase download speed, but it can shorten the “dragged out for days” feeling.

Set active hours so Windows schedules installs and restarts when you’re not using the PC. You get fewer forced restarts and fewer half-finished installs waiting on you.

Metered connection is a hidden speed killer

If your network is marked as metered, Windows may delay or throttle updates.

• Settings > Network & Internet > your connection
• Turn a metered connection off for your main home network (only if data caps aren’t a concern).

Power plan and laptop throttling

On battery, laptops often reduce CPU speed and disk performance to save power. Update installs can slow down a lot.

• Plug in your charger.
• Use a balanced or high-performance plan during the update session.

When the fastest path is to stop updating Windows 10

The most “speedy update” is frequently an upgrade to a supported OS by December 2025. If your PC is capable of running Windows 11, upgrading will help you escape the uncertainty associated with Windows 10’s looming end-of-support date and return you to a regular patch cadence.

In December 2025, most likely you’ll be being forcibly upgraded to a supported OS. If your PC is among that crowd, bumping up can eliminate the end-of-support pressure worries and normalize your monthly patch schedule.

If your device can’t upgrade, you have choices:

• keep using Windows 10 (higher security risk over time),
• replace the device,
• or use an extended security option if you qualify in your org.

If you want a second video perspective on update download tuning, this walkthrough covers bandwidth settings and other knobs: How to UPDATE Windows 10/11 🚀 FASTER.

A practical “speed checklist” you can finish in 20 minutes

If you want the highest impact steps without overthinking it, do these in order:

1. Reboot your PC (clears stuck processes).
2. Plug into Ethernet (or stabilize Wi-Fi).
3. Free 15 to 20 GB on C:.
4. Turn off Delivery Optimization sharing for troubleshooting.
5. Remove download limits in Delivery Optimization advanced options.
6. Close heavy apps and pause sync tools.
7. Run the Windows Update troubleshooter, then try again.

After that, if updates are still slow, the bottleneck is often hardware (HDD, low RAM), or the update stack is unhealthy and needs deeper repair.

Conclusion

If you want to determine how to make Windows 10 a bit quicker, then it can be done by focusing on these two aspects: stable network throughput for downloads and good local disk access for updates. Remove throttles, clear space, cut background load, and reset Windows Update when it’s stuck. If you’re still grappling with it in late 2025, ask yourself if remaining on Windows 10 is a time suck, and a shift to a supported version might be your cleanest fix.

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes