MS has confirmed that Windows 11 will bundle driver, .NET, and firmware updates with the monthly security update, allowing your PC to restart only once instead of multiple times each month.

First reported by Windows Latest, the change applies to Windows 11 versions 24H2, 25H2, and 26H1. It applies to updates released on or after July 28, 2026, and is now rolling out gradually with the August 14 Patch Tuesday update.

As a long-time Windows user, I can confirm that this change addresses a genuine frustration. For years, it has been normal for a PC to restart for a driver update on Tuesday, again for .NET on Thursday, and then once more for a security patch the following week. That should never have been necessary.

Windows 11 Will Now Restart Just Once a Month for Updates

Updates that require a restart will now wait quietly in the background until the monthly security update—typically released on the second Tuesday of each month—is ready to install. Windows will then install everything together and schedule a single restart, ideally outside your active hours to avoid interrupting your work.

“Starting with the Windows updates released on and after July 28, 2026, Windows brings these updates together, so you restart just once a month. Instead of restarting for each update as it arrives and installs, Windows holds updates that need a restart and installs them together with the monthly security update. The result is a more predictable update experience with fewer interruptions,” MS noted in a support document.

MS is combining three categories of updates:

• Driver updates
• .NET updates
• Firmware updates

The monthly security update will continue to install according to its normal schedule, so bundling these updates will not delay essential protection.

However, some updates are exempt from this batching process and will continue to install immediately, regardless of the monthly cycle. These include MS Defender security intelligence updates, AI component updates, critical or expedited driver updates, and emergency or out-of-band fixes. Installing these updates immediately is necessary to keep PCs protected.

Many updates also install without requiring a restart, so most users will not notice them.

If you are not ready to update, Windows still allows you to pause updates for up to 35 days through Settings > Windows Update. You can pause them again after that period ends. MS notes that this experience is rolling out gradually and that combined updates will not be held indefinitely. A PC that has been waiting for an extended period will eventually install the updates and restart to remain protected.

This Fixes Years of Accumulated Windows Update Chaos

Multiple monthly restarts were largely a side effect of Windows Update gaining more update categories over the years without a corresponding effort to streamline how they interacted.

Windows Latest previously reported that Windows 11’s largest monthly updates could sometimes trigger two separate restarts: one for the Patch Tuesday update itself and another to complete the installation of a .NET Framework or Secure Boot update included with it.

The August 2026 Patch Tuesday update, KB5121003, also included several .NET updates. Because .NET is used by Windows applications, including MS apps, these updates needed to be installed alongside Windows updates. As a result, Windows could restart twice to complete the installation of all available updates.

This was manageable because users did not need to restart the PC manually twice; the process occurred automatically. The more significant problem was that users were forced to restart after an update had downloaded, even when they simply wanted to shut down the PC.

For years, selecting Update and shut down could quietly restart the PC instead of turning it off. The bug, which affected Windows 7 through Windows 11, was traced partly to Fast Startup and partly to the way Windows handled pending installations.

MS finally fixed the bug in November 2025 with Windows 11 25H2 build 26200.7019, incorporating the correction into that month’s mandatory Patch Tuesday release.

MS followed that fix with a major overhaul. In April 2026, Windows Latest tested extensive changes to the way Windows 11 handles updates, based on more than 7,600 pieces of user feedback. MS replaced the old two-button power menu with four separate options.

As a result, users can now shut down or restart their PCs without being forced to install a pending update first. MS also added an Update later button during Windows 11 setup and introduced a proper calendar for pausing updates. This replaced the old one-week pause button with a Pick a date option that allows updates to be paused for up to 35 days at a time.

MS even used its support channels to remind users that these controls existed. In May 2026, the official MS Support account posted on X to remind users that they could pause updates while working. The post showed the basic one-week pause option, while the more capable 35-day version was already being tested with Windows Insiders and is now available on all PCs.

Credit where it is due: together with the new one-restart-per-month update experience, MS has now addressed nearly every aspect of Windows Update that previously interrupted users without warning. This includes how updates are paused, how the power menu works, and how many times a PC must restart each month.

Do you pause Windows updates, or do you install them as soon as possible?

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