in visual studio 2026 how do i turn off automatic updates

Ron Baker 5 Reputation points

in visual studio 2026 how do i turn off automatic updates

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2 answers

  1. Lizzy Dinh (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 620 Reputation points • Microsoft External Staff • Moderator

    Hi @Ron Baker ,

    Thank you for reaching out — we’re happy to assist with your question.

    To disable automatic updates in Visual Studio 2026, please follow the steps below:

    1. After open Visual Studio 2026, select Tools > Options👁 User's image
    2. Expand Environment, go to Product Updates 👁 User's image
    3. To disable automatic updates, simply uncheck the option for automatic updates and click OK to apply the change. 👁 User's image

    For extensions, you can specify which ones should be excluded from automatic updates. In the same Product Updates section, open the Extension Manager dropdown and add any extensions you want to exclude. These extensions will then remain untouched during future update cycles.👁 User's image

    I hope the screenshots help make the process easy to follow. If you found this guidance helpful, I would truly appreciate your feedback using the instructions provided. If you need any further clarification, feel free to leave a comment — I’m here to help.

    Wishing you a wonderful day ahead!

    1. Lizzy Dinh (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 620 Reputation points • Microsoft External Staff • Moderator

      Hi @Ron Baker ,

      Sorry to bother you. I'm just checking in to see whether my answer is helpful for your concern.

      If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below. I'll be happy to help!

    2. Scott 0 Reputation points

      I'm searching for a solution to this, and I've turned off 'Automatically download updates', but this only controls pre-downloading. It doesn't stop updates from automatically happening when you close Visual Studio.

    3. Lizzy Dinh (WICLOUD CORPORATION) 620 Reputation points • Microsoft External Staff • Moderator

      Hi @Scott ,

      Thank you for sharing your concern with us.

      I’d like to clarify that, by default, Visual Studio does not perform updates silently without user involvement. Based on your description, it’s possible that the “Update on close” option was unintentionally enabled, which allows updates to install automatically after you exit the application.

      You may find it helpful to review and adjust your update preferences using this guide: Customize update settings for Visual Studio.

      I hope this information is helpful. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions or need additional assistance.

      Wishing you a great day!

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  2. AI answer

    To turn off automatic updates in Visual Studio 2026, adjust the update settings inside the IDE.

    1. Open Visual Studio 2026.
    2. On the menu bar, select Tools > Options.
    3. Expand Environment, then select Product Updates.
    4. In this pane:
      • Clear Automatically download updates to stop Visual Studio from downloading updates in the background.
      • Clear Always update on close (or do not enable it) so Visual Studio does not automatically apply updates when the IDE is closed.
    5. Choose the installation mode Download all, then install only when manually updating, or simply leave the defaults and use Help > Check for Updates when an update is desired.

    If extension update checks are also not desired:

    1. Go to Tools > Options.
    2. Expand All Settings > Environment.
    3. Select Extensions.
    4. Clear Automatically check for updates and Install updates automatically.

    With these options disabled, Visual Studio 2026 and its extensions will no longer update automatically; updates must be triggered manually via Help > Check for Updates.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.
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