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Windows 10 now allows you to limit the bandwidth that your computer can consume for Windows Updates. This can be rather useful if you are on a limited data connection and want to control your data usage. If you are on an unlimited data pack, you may not find this feature very useful.
Limit Windows Update bandwidth in Windows 10
To limit data consumption for Windows Updates in Windows 10:
- Open Windows Settings panel by pressing Win+I button
- Select Update & Security >
- Click Windows Update >
- Navigate to Advanced options (under Update Settings)
- Click Delivery Optimization
- Go to Advanced options.
- You will find Download settings and Upload settings.
Select the checkbox that says, “Limit how much bandwidth is used for downloading updates in the background.” After that, you can select a percentage of the bandwidth. By default, it is set to 45%. But, you can change it using the slider.
The same thing can be done with the Upload settings. You would be able to set the Monthly upload limit if you want to limit the uploading bandwidth by either percentage or data (5 GB to 500 GB).
The uploading bandwidth limitation feature works only when you have enabled Allow download from other PCs option that comes under Delivery Optimization. If you haven't activated this feature, the “Upload Settings” options are not mandatory.
Once the predefined limit is reached, all the update activity will be stopped automatically.
You can also check how much data is used or available on the same page.
Read: How to specify Absolute bandwidth that can be used to download Windows Updates.
Limit Windows Update bandwidth in using Group Policy
The same feature can be enabled with the help of Group Policy Editor as well. To open it, press Win+R, type gpedit.msc and hit the Enter button. Next, navigate to the following path-
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Deliver Optimization
On your right-hand side, you will find two different options-
- Maximum Download Bandwidth (in KB/s)
- Max Upload Bandwidth (in KB/s)
Double-click on an option > select Enabled > enter a value in the corresponding box (in KB/s) > click on Apply & OK.
Hope this functionality will be helpful for you to limit Windows Update bandwidth usage in Windows 10.
