How to Uninstall a Bad Windows Update in Windows 11

What can be removed — and what can't

Windows Update delivers several different cargoes, and only some of them appear on the uninstall list. Monthly cumulative updates — the KB-numbered quality patches — always do, and removing one is routine. Feature updates, the once-a-year version upgrades, appear there too but only for ten days, while Windows.old still exists on the disk; after that the only way back is a clean install.

Drivers and Store apps follow their own rails: a bad driver rolls back per device in Device Manager, and a misbehaving Store app just gets reinstalled or repaired from its page in the Microsoft Store. Defender definition updates never appear for removal — they are small and replaced daily anyway. Knowing which cargo broke tells you which door to use.

• Quality updates — monthly cumulative KB patches, uninstallable from Update history
• Feature updates — annual version upgrades, rollback window of 10 days while Windows.old exists
• Driver updates — roll back per device in Device Manager → Driver → Roll Back Driver
• Defender definition updates — never offered for removal, replaced daily
• Store app updates — repair or reinstall the app from its Store page

Uninstalling through Settings and the command line

First identify the culprit: open Settings → Windows Update → Update history and note the KB number and install date next to when the trouble started. Scroll to Related settings → Uninstall updates, which opens the classic Installed Updates list; select the KB, click Uninstall and reboot when asked. The same list is reachable via Control Panel → Programs and Features → View installed updates.

The command-line route is faster in scripts: wusa /uninstall /kb:5031354 in an elevated prompt, with /quiet and /norestart to control the reboot yourself. If the PC won't boot at all, enter WinRE from the sign-in screen (hold Shift while pressing Restart), then Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Uninstall Updates, and choose the latest quality update or the latest feature update. For feature updates inside Windows, Settings → System → Recovery offers Go back while the ten-day window is open.

Keeping the update from returning

Windows Update doesn't know you dislike the patch — left alone, it reinstalls the same KB on the next check. Pause updates for one to five weeks from the Windows Update page until a fixed cumulative arrives, or hide the specific update with Microsoft's Show or hide updates tool (wushowhide.diagcab), which keeps it off the list while letting security fixes through. For drivers that keep coming back, Roll Back Driver in Device Manager plus pausing updates stops the loop.

Two cautions before you settle in. Removing a cumulative update removes its security fixes too, so treat this as a bridge until the next month's patch, not a permanent state. And if the PC crashes before you can reach Settings, uninstalling from WinRE — the recovery environment — is the safe path: it's the same list, just reached earlier in the boot.

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