How to Disable Automatic Driver Installation on Windows 11?

If you want to prevent Windows 11 from automatically detecting and installing drivers, you can disable this feature by following these instructions.

Windows 11 utilizes an automatic mechanism to download and install security updates, maintenance updates, Microsoft products, as well as drivers for hardware components and peripherals.

While this automatic method is convenient for detecting and installing various types of hardware, the updates provided through Windows Update may not always be the latest, and sometimes they may include faulty drivers.

If your device is experiencing issues with a driver update or if you prefer to install drivers manually, Windows 11 offers a few different methods to disable automatic driver updates through the Settings app and Group Policy.

This guide will explain the various ways to prevent the system from automatically installing device drivers via Windows Update on Windows 11.

How to Disable Driver Installation through Group Policy?

To disable automatic driver updates on Windows 11 using the Group Policy Editor, follow these steps:

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Search for “gpedit” and click on the top result to open the Group Policy Editor.
3. Navigate to the following path: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update > Manage updates offered from Windows Update.
4. Right-click on the “Do not include driver with Windows Update” policy in the right panel and select “Edit.”
5. In the policy editor window, select the “Enabled” option to disable the feature.
6. Click on the “Apply” button.
7. Click on the “OK” button.

After completing these steps, Windows Update will no longer attempt to download driver updates.

If you change your mind, you can undo these changes by following the same instructions but choosing the “Not configured” option in step 5.

How to Disable Driver Installation through Settings?

To prevent Windows 11 from automatically downloading driver updates, use the following steps:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Click on “System.”
3. On the right side, click on the “About” page.
4. In the “About” page, click on the “Advanced system settings” option.
5. Click on the “Hardware” tab.
6. Click on the “Device Installation Settings” button.
7. Choose the “No (your device might not work as expected)” option.
8. Click on the “Save Changes” button.
9. Click on the “OK” button.

After completing these steps, the system will no longer install driver updates automatically on your computer.

If an update is necessary for a component or peripheral, you will need to install it manually. To undo these changes, follow the same instructions mentioned above but choose the “Yes” option in step 7.

Please note that by using this method, you are only disabling hardware installation with drivers from Windows Update. The system will still be able to detect specific generic drivers from the local driver library.