If you want to block Windows 10 October 2020 Update (Version 20H2), you can follow this guide.
How to check the current Windows version/build
You can check the current Operating System version in a few easy steps. Since there are multiple Windows 10 versions currently in servicing, it would be nice to know which one your PC has.
How to check the current Windows version/build How to block Windows 10 Version 20H2 Upgrade Pause updates for 7 to 35 days Postpone all feature updates for up to 365 days using Group Policy Enforce PC to stay on the current build using the Group Policy Editor Closing words
Type in winver in Run to check the current OS version and build number. The resulting popup dialog box will now display your current Operating System details, as in the image below:
How to block Windows 10 Version 20H2 Upgrade
You can stop your Operating System from updating to the new version. Follow the various options given below to keep your Windows 10 to the version it is on.
Pause updates for 7 to 35 days
Users can pause their Windows Update service from 7 to 35 days, depending on how long they want to pause. This will pause all features and security updates for a set time period. This approach will prevent your Windows 10 version from upgrading to 20H2 for a maximum of 35 days only. After that, Windows will begin to download all updates as usual. You can also resume downloading the updates by clicking on Resume updates in the Windows update window.
Postpone all feature updates for up to 365 days using Group Policy
You can use the Group Policy Editor to stop your Windows 10 from updating to v20H2 for up to a year! If you are running the Home edition, you will not have a Group Policy Editor by default. Here is how you can install the Group Policy Editor on the Home edition of Windows 10. Your computer will now stop receiving automatic Windows updates for the said amount of days. To check that the settings have been applied, you can navigate to the Windows Update page in the Settings app and see a message stating “Some settings are managed by your organization.” To revert the changes, you’ll need to select Disabled from the same policy setting and then select Not Configured.
Enforce PC to stay on the current build using the Group Policy Editor
You can also force your computer to stay on the current version of your Windows 10. This is also achieved through the Group Policy Editor. With this configuration, your OS will stay on the current version while installing Windows updates. Any update that changes the version of Windows 10 will not be installed.
Closing words
Due to the cybersecurity situation, it is always recommended to install all Windows updates to keep your system secure. But if you are in a situation where you can’t afford to break your system, you should take extra care in updating to the latest feature update of Windows 10. If your PC has already downloaded the new Windows 10 v20H2 but is pending an install after a reboot, you can bypass it by using this guide.
