Short Tutorial/FAQ – Set Up Automatic Operating System Updates

You know those pop-up windows that say your operating system needs to be updated? It's tempting to ignore them and click on "Not now," thinking you'll handle it later. But there's a reason your computer is being so insistent — operating system updates can fix security issues, improve performance, and more. You should do the update as soon as possible after being alerted to do so.

Better yet, set up automatic updates of your computer's operating system using the steps below:

Windows 10: From the Start menu, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update. Here you'll find several options for controlling Windows updates, but the most important one to set up is "active hours," which ensures that Windows won't reboot in the middle of your workday.

Windows 11: Click the Windows icon and then go to Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options. As in Windows 10, you get several options here to control when Windows Update runs to make it less annoying, including setting up "active hours."

macOS: Open System Preferences > Software Update and click the Advanced button. Make sure to check all the boxes.