How to uninstall updates on Windows 10

To uninstall updates on Windows 10, open Settings > Update & Security > View update history > Uninstall updates, choose the update, and click “Uninstall.”
You can also remove Windows 10 updates from Command Prompt, PowerShell, and Advanced Startup.
If Windows 10 won’t start, you can use the Advanced startup options to uninstall the problematic update.

UPDATED 1/5/2024: Although Windows 10 updates are meant to fix problems and improve the experience, sometimes, these quality patches can cause more issues than they solve. For instance, it is not uncommon to see updates rolling out with bugs breaking features and drives, compatibility problems with software or hardware, and other issues that can negatively affect users.

However, if you encounter a problem after applying an update, Windows 10 includes different options to remove a particular update to mitigate the problem using the Settings app, Command Prompt, PowerShell, and even the Advanced startup options (Windows Recovery Environment) when you cannot access the desktop.

In this guide, I will teach the four ways I use to remove problematic updates from Windows 10. Regardless of the method you use, Windows Update will try to redownload the update automatically. To prevent this behavior, you can use these instructions to block the specific update from reinstalling.

Uninstall Windows 10 updates from Settings
Uninstall Windows 10 updates from Command Prompt
Uninstall Windows 10 updates from PowerShell
Uninstall Windows 10 updates from Advanced startup

Uninstall Windows 10 updates from Settings

To uninstall an update on Windows 10 using the Settings app, use these steps:

Open Settings on Windows 10.
Click on Update & Security.
Click on Windows Update.
Click the “View updates history” button.
Click the Uninstall updates option.
Select the Windows 10 update to remove.
Click the Uninstall button.
Click the Yes button.

Once you complete the steps, the computer will release to apply the changes to revert to the previous state of the device.

Uninstall Windows 10 updates from Command Prompt

To uninstall an update permanently using Command Prompt, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
Type the following command to view the update history and press Enter:
```
wmic qfe list brief /format:table
```
Check the Windows Update history of your device, and identify the update by its HotFixID and InstalledOn information.
Type the following command to uninstall the update from your computer and press Enter:
```
wusa /uninstall /kb:KBNUMBER
```
In the command, replace “KBNUMBER” with the KB number corresponding to the update you try to uninstall. This example removes the update KB5001391 from Windows 10:
```
wusa /uninstall /kb:5003637
```
Click the Yes button.
Continue with the on-screen directions (if applicable).

After you complete the steps, the update will be removed from the computer.

Uninstall Windows 10 updates from PowerShell

To remove Windows 10 updates with PowerShell commands, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
Type the following command to install the PowerShell module to update Windows 10 and press Enter:
```
Install-Module PSWindowsUpdate
```
Type A to accept and install the module and press Enter.
Type the following command to view a list of the 20 most recent updates and press Enter:
```
Get-WUHistory | Select-Object -First 20
```
Type the following command to select and block the update with PowerShell and press Enter:
```
Remove-WindowsUpdate -KBArticleID KBNUMBER
```
In the command, replace “KBNUMBER” with the update number you want to block. This example blocks the KB5003191 update:
```
Remove-WindowsUpdate -KBArticleID KB5003637
```
Type A to accept and install the module and press Enter.

Once you complete the steps, the device may need to restart to complete the process.

If the above instructions do not work, the Command Prompt steps will also work in PowerShell.

Uninstall Windows 10 updates from Advanced startup

To uninstall a quality update using the Advanced startup options on Windows 10, use these steps:

Start the device in Advanced startup.

Quick tip: Depending on the severity of the problem, you can access the Advanced startup options in a few ways. You can use this guide to learn all the methods to access Advanced startup, and then continue with the steps below.
Click on Troubleshoot.
Click on Advanced options.
Click on Uninstall Updates.
Click the “Uninstall latest quality update” option.
Sign in using your administrator credentials.
Click the “Uninstall quality update” button.

After you complete the steps, the system will uninstall the latest quality update on Windows 10 (if available).

Update January 5, 2024: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes in the configuration process.