How to Limit Windows Update Bandwidth: Complete and Updated Guide

Does your internet connection suffer when it's time to update Windows? It's probably happened to you more than once: you're about to watch a movie, listen to music, or just browse the web, and suddenly everything goes into a slump. Limit Windows Update bandwidth may be the solution.

The explanation is this: In most cases, the culprit is an application that decides to devour the bandwidth, and very often it is Windows Update the one who starts downloading updates just when you least expect it.

Why limit Windows Update bandwidth?

The speed of your Internet connection can be severely affected by the way Windows Update handles update downloads. While Windows has improved a lot in this regard, especially in Windows 10 and 11, it can still become an issue if your connection isn't particularly fast or if it's shared by multiple people or devices at home or in the office.

La download updates It can consume up to 80% of the available bandwidth if the system detects that no other application is actively using it. However, Windows attempts to dynamically control the bandwidth to adapt to what the user is doing. For example, if it detects that we're watching a series or listening to music, it tries not to saturate the channel, but with modest connections, this isn't always enough.

Therefore, limiting Windows Update bandwidth is the most effective way to ensure you always have enough capacity for your most important tasks, without sacrificing security and system updates.

How does Delivery Optimization work in Windows Update?

 

Delivery Optimization is the Windows tool designed to make update downloads more efficient., both for the computer itself and for other computers on the local network or even the Internet, depending on the configuration established.

What does this mean? Your computer can receive fragments of updates not only from Microsoft servers, but also from other computers that have already downloaded that content. This way of limiting Windows Update bandwidth means that the download is divided into small partsWindows searches for the fastest and most reliable source for each fragment. This reduces the load on your primary connection, shares tasks across different devices, and even temporarily caches downloaded files for future reference.

Plus, you have complete control over how much your team allows you to download or upload portions of updates to others, or minimize it if you prioritize privacy and speed.

Advantages of limiting Windows Update bandwidth

Before we dive into the practical steps, it's worth reviewing the Most common reasons for wanting to limit Windows Update bandwidth:

• Avoid Internet outages on slow connections. If you have less than 10 Mbps (which is common in many areas), an uncontrolled update download can leave you without browsing or streaming capabilities.
• Improve user experience on shared networks. When multiple devices share the same connection, every megabyte counts, and an unexpected update can turn the experience into a nightmare.
• Reduced interference while enjoying streaming services, online gaming, or video calls. This way, you can continue with your priority activities even when Windows is updating.
• Complete control over when and how your equipment is updated. This allows bandwidth usage to be tailored to specific schedules or situations, especially in professional or academic settings.

Ways to limit bandwidth: absolute vs. percentage

There are two methods The main methods for limiting Windows Update bandwidth are: setting an absolute bandwidth in Mbps or setting a percentage of the total available bandwidth. Each method has its advantages, and it's helpful to understand them to decide which one best suits your situation.

• Absolute bandwidth. Here you specify the maximum Mbps that Windows Update can use. For example, you can set a limit of 2 Mbps for background downloads and 10 Mbps for foreground downloads, ensuring that it never exceeds those values, regardless of the overall network speed.
• Bandwidth percentage. If you don't know your exact connection speed, you can set a percentage, such as 20% for background downloads and 80% for foreground downloads. Windows will automatically calculate the limit based on the speed available at the time.

Both options can be used independently for foreground or background updates. Background downloads are the most common and least priority for the user., while foreground ones are usually taken when you manually open the Windows Update menus.

How to limit bandwidth in Windows 10

The steps to adjust these settings in Windows 10 are simple and accessible to any user. Here's a clear tutorial:

1. Open the Windows settings by clicking win + i or from the gear icon after clicking the Home button.
2. Choose Update and security and then go to the section Windows Update.
3. Within Windows Update, click on Advanced and, on the next screen, search Distribution optimization.
4. Accede to Advanced within Distribution Optimization.
5. You will find two sections: Absolute bandwidth y Bandwidth percentage. Check the boxes next to your preferred option.
6. Enter the value in Mbps or the desired percentage for background and foreground downloads based on your needs.

How to limit bandwidth in Windows 11

In Windows 11 the procedure changes slightly, but in essence it is very similar to the previous version:

1. Accede to Configuration Windows + i or from the Start menu.
2. Go to Windows Update in the menu on the left.
3. On the Windows Update screen, click on Advanced.
4. From there, select Distribution optimization and enters again Advanced.
5. Just like in Windows 10, here you can choose between limiting the absolute bandwidth or setting a percentage of usage for background and foreground downloads.
6. Check the boxes and adjust the value as needed.

Set your limits according to your actual needs

El adequate value The bandwidth limit depends on both your actual line speed and your daily internet usage. For example, if you have a 100 Mbps connection, you can set a limit of 95 Mbps so that foreground updates download almost as fast as the line allows, but leaving some margin so that other tasks such as notifications or messaging do not run out of resources.

For background downloads, a limit of 20-50 Mbps is usually sufficient to avoid hindering other activities, although this depends on your environment and the number of connected devices.

If you're using a cellular data connection, a limited plan, or restricted community Wi-Fi, Windows will automatically detect this type of access as a "metered connection." In this case, Delivery Optimization and updates will behave much more conservatively.

To mark your connection as metered, just go to Settings > Network & Internet > WiFi, select the active network and activate the option Metered use connectionThis way you'll avoid surprises if you have a gigabyte limit.

Final considerations and common problems

Limiting Windows Update bandwidth may increase the time it takes to download large updates, but in practice Most users value daily connection stability more than timely update speed.

Changing these settings does not affect the operation of other applications or interfere with downloads in browsers, streaming services, or parallel downloaders. It only acts on traffic dedicated to Windows Updates and the Microsoft Store.

Worth adjust these values ​​after each major operating system update, as they can be reset to default values. It's especially worth checking if you notice sudden slowdowns around the second week of each month (when Microsoft typically releases its patches).