How to Disable Safeguard Hold (Upgrade Block) in Windows 11/10

What Is Windows 10/Windows 11 Safeguard Hold

Safeguard hold, also called upgrade block, is a feature in Windows 11/10 to prevent a PC from being offered a new Windows client feature update if there are known compatibility issues with software, hardware, or settings. This protects from a poor or failed update experience.

To be specific, when an update is available, it may contain bugs, errors, and other known issues that affect some computers.  But Microsoft won’t retract the update but place it on a safeguard hold to block the update from installing on affected devices.

If Microsoft finds and verifies a fix on affected PCs, the safeguard hold is lifted and Microsoft can resume offering a feature update to the device via Windows Update.

Although it is not recommended to install a new version until it is fully reliable, sometimes you need to install new updates on your PC by bypassing an upgrade block or disabling a safeguard hold, especially when you haven’t updated your PC for a long time.

So, how to turn off safeguard hold in Windows 11/10? Move to the next part and you can see 2 simple methods.

How to Disable Safeguard Hold Windows 11/10

Kind Reminder

If your PC detects some known issues, installing a new version of Windows can bring a poor experience and you may run into BSOD errors, performance issues, PC not working, etc. In some situations, data may get lost. So, it is not recommended to opt out of safeguard hold. Microsoft recommends disabling it in an IT environment and for validation purposes.

Besides, disabling safeguards cannot guarantee a successful 100% update installation and it may cause a bad experience. If you persist in bypassing the safeguard hold, you had better create a backup for your PC before installing the update.

To back up your PC, run the professional Windows backup software – MiniTool ShadowMaker. Just get this freeware via the following button and follow the guide for a backup – How to Back up Windows 11 (Focuses on Files & System).

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Disable Safeguard Hold via Group Policy

For Windows 11/10 Pro or higher, you can turn off safeguard hold by editing the group policy. See how to bypass upgrade block:

Step 1: Click the search icon and type gpedit.msc, then open Local Group Policy Editor.

Step 2: Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update > Windows Update for Business.

Step 3: Double-click on the Disable safeguards for Feature Updates policy and choose Enabled in the new popup.

Step 4: Click Apply. Then, feature updates can be deployed to devices without blocking on any safeguard holds.

Disable Safeguard Hold Using Registry

What’s Windows 11/10 System Restore & How to Enable/Create/Use

What’s Windows 10/11 System Restore? How to access it and use a restore point to revert Windows to an earlier state? Find details from this post now.

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Follow the steps below to opt out of safeguard hold by editing Windows Registry.

Step 1: Search for regedit and open Registry Editor.

Step 2: Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows.

Step 3: Right-click on Windows and choose New > Key, then name it WindowsUpdate.

Step 4: Right-click on WindowsUpdate, choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name DisableWUfBSafeguards.

Step 5: Double-click on this key and set its Value data to 1.

Step 6: Click OK and reboot the machine to take effect.

Final Words

If your PC is blocked from installing the new feature update, you can choose to disable safeguard hold to install it. Do this thing in one of these ways.