Policy
Always automatically restart at the scheduled time
Microsoft Windows
Policy overview
Key metadata and intent for this policy.
Supported OS tags: Windows10, Windows10RT, Windows11, Windows8, Windows81, WindowsRT, WindowsRT81, WindowsServer2012, WindowsServer2012R2, WindowsServer2016
If you enable this policy, a restart timer will always begin immediately after Windows Update installs important updates, instead of first notifying users on the login screen for at least two days. The restart timer can be configured to start with any value from 15 to 180 minutes. When the timer runs out, the restart will proceed even if the PC has signed-in users. If you disable or do not configure this policy, Windows Update will not alter its restart behavior. If the "No auto-restart with logged on users for scheduled automatic updates installations" policy is enabled, then this policy has no effect.
Registry values
How enabled and disabled states update the registry.
| Scope | Registry location | Type | Enabled value | Disabled value | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer | Path Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU Value name AlwaysAutoRebootAtScheduledTime | REG_DWORD | HKLM 1 | HKLM 0 |
Policy elements
Inputs and configuration options exposed by this policy.
| Scope | Element | Type | Registry mapping | Constraints & behavior | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer | work (minutes): ID AlwaysAutoRebootAtScheduledTime_Minutes | decimal | Path Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU Value name AlwaysAutoRebootAtScheduledTimeMinutes Type REG_DWORD | Range: 15 to 180 |