Microsoft is rolling out a new change for Windows 11 that gives users the ability to skip the update section of the out of box setup experience. Until now, Windows 11 PCs have been forced to endure a time consuming update process when setting up a new PC for the first time, which can often take up to 30 minutes to complete, depending on how many updates need to be installed.
Of course, this has been a pain point for many. This forced update process meant the entire setup process for a new Windows 11 PC could take almost 40 minutes, which is much slower than the streamlined and efficient setup experiences found on rival platforms like macOS, Chrome OS, and Linux distributions.
Microsoft has now confirmed that this update process is no longer required, and users will be given the option to skip it entirely if they just want to get to the desktop and start using their device.
"If you choose to skip updates, the latest features and security fixes won’t be applied until you choose to take the updates after hitting the desktop", says Aria, a Microsoft engineer working on Windows Update. This experience has been in testing with select groups for a number of months, but is now generally available to everyone.
This change is part of a larger effort to fix Windows 11's biggest pain points. The company confirmed last month that it's working on a number of quality of life updates designed to make the OS faster and less annoying, and adding the ability to skip the long update process during setup is a great setup forward.
Microsoft is also working on other major changes to Windows Update that are designed to make the update experience on Windows less intrusive. The company has already confirmed that it's going to let users postpone updates indefinitely, along with reducing how often PCs need to restart to install updates to just once a month.
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