Ever wondered how long it takes for a Windows Update to install? Well, you don't have to guess because Windows 11 will give you an estimate.
I enrolled in to the Insider Preview Program to install the first official build that was released yesterday. I have been using it extensively, and noticed an icon appear on the taskbar.
It had a yellow dot on it (a badge) to indicate something's new, the tooltip said that the device needs to be restarted to install Updates. I clicked the icon, and it switched to the Windows Update screen, which had a cool new feature, it had an ETA for the update to be installed. It told me that this update would take 5 minutes to be installed.
But, instead of clicking the Restart Now option, I chose to go the manual route, aka Start > Power button. The Power button had the dot too, and clicking it showed a similar ETA for the Update and Shutdown, & Update and Restart options. That's nice, but is it accurate?
I used a stopwatch to time the installation, and it only took about a minute and ten seconds for the update to install, and boot to the home screen. I think that's very impressive. Sure, the ETA of 5 minutes was wrong. But that's fine, it's probably a maximum (or average) that Microsoft estimates, that the computer needs to install the update.
In case you missed it, during the Windows 11 launch stream, Panos Panay mentioned that Windows updates are 40% smaller to download (compared to Windows 10), and install faster in the new OS. While that may seem trivial for those with high speed networks, it's actually quite important. Windows Updates are infamously slow to download even on fast connections, and often takes ages to complete downloading. The installation process is quite slow as well. It's good to see that Microsoft has improved in this area, though we'll need to see how it performs after millions of users have upgraded to Windows 11.
As for the Windows Update settings in Windows 11, not a lot has changed here. The main options page is a little different compared to Windows 10's. You may pause updates for 1 week, while on the Insider Preview Program. Delivery Optimization, aka Downloads from other PCs, is enabled by default, and you can toggle this from the Advanced Options page.
The ETA for Windows 11 Updates is a welcome addition that will be appreciated by users who want to shut down or restart their computer, without being worried about huge delays. I still wish it had an Update Later option, that can be useful if the laptop's battery is running low, or if you don't have time waiting for the update to finish.
If you haven't taken part in the Insider Preview Program, read our previous article to know how to enroll, and get the Windows 11 Preview from the Developer Channel. Microsoft has confirmed, in a developer video, that the Windows 11 Insider Program's Beta Channel will start next week, and while it may not have as many features as the Developer Build does, the Beta is likely to have lesser bugs too.
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