How to disable Windows Updates on your windows player
As of August 2025 all nordicscreen windows players are shipped with windows updates disabled, and Windows 11 is now the standard.
FAQ
Is this not a security issue? It is always recommended to have digital signage devices on a dedicated VLAN, this will limit the risk significantly and allow for strict network traffic policies to mitigate security risks and limit potential attacks.
Why is it a good idea to do it anyway? The reason for us to do this by default, is to improve stability and ensure compatibility. We test our software and hardware with specific windows versions, and windows updates can sometimes cause undesirable problems like changing network connection type and block our software in windows firewall. We also see frequent issues where updates stall with a modal error window and a following need to access the computer physically to recover. For some customers the bandwidth usage coupled to windows updates is not desirable, for instance on metered connections. Disabling windows updates is a widely adopted practice within the digital signage industry, and the players are not considered user devices so they are mostly exempted from staff/production IT security policies.
What happens if we enable it anyway? Nordicscreen can not be held liable for issues related to windows updates nor expected to assist bringing players back online or reinstall image etc. By enabling windows updates, you as a customer will own this responsibility.
How to disable windows updates
1. Run powershell as administrator by searching for it:
2. Run this command: Stop-Service -Name wuauserv
3. Followed by this command: Set-Service -Name wuauserv -StartupType Disabled
4. Close powershell window
5. Reboot computer and check that any downloaded and pending windows updates are applied
How to re-enable windows updates
1. Run powershell as administrator by searching for it
2. Run this command: Start-Service -Name wuauserv
3. Followed by this command: Set-Service -Name wuauserv -StartupType Automatic
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