Display options for update notifications

Policy ID
UpdateNotificationLevel
Scope
Computer Configuration
Supported on
At least Windows Server 2019, or Windows 10 Version 1809​
Source
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11 2026 Update (26H2) (version 1.0)
Category
Windows Components › Windows Update › Manage end user experience

Description

0 (default) – Use the default Windows Update notifications
1 – Turn off all notifications, excluding restart warnings
2 – Turn off all notifications, including restart warnings

This policy allows you to define what Windows Update notifications users see. This policy doesn’t control how and when updates are downloaded and installed.

Important: if you choose not to get update notifications and also define other Group policy so that devices aren’t automatically getting updates, neither you nor device users will be aware of critical security, quality, or feature updates, and your devices may be at risk.

If you select “Apply only during active hours” in conjunction with Option 1 or 2, then notifications will only be disabled during active hours. You can set active hours by setting “Turn off auto-restart for updates during active hours” or allow the device to set active hours based on user behavior. To ensure that the device stays secure, a notification will still be shown if this option is selected once “Specify deadlines for automatic updates and restarts” deadline has been reached if configured, regardless of active hours.

Options

The empty box and the checked box tell the checkbox items of the Group Policy editor apart (a checked box is an item that is selected by default).

  • Specify the update notifications display options :
    • 0 (default) – Default OS Windows Update notifications
    • 1 – Disable all notifications, excluding restart warnings
    • 2 – Disable all notifications, including restart warnings
  • Apply only during active hours

Registry

ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
  • SetUpdateNotificationLevelREG_DWORD
  • UpdateNotificationLevelREG_DWORD
  • NoUpdateNotificationsDuringActiveHoursREG_DWORD

Other policies in the same category

View all policies in this category (13)