Microsoft drastically improves Windows Update, updates will be installed much faster

Windows 11’s only major update, version 24H2, was released on October 1 and includes a number of new features. However, there are also some “under the hood” improvements that go a long way toward improving the user experience, such as improvements to Windows Update. In a new community blog post, Microsoft details how hidden changes to Windows Update in version 24H2 will speed up installation times and significantly reduce system resource consumption.

Accordingly, improvements to the Windows 11 version 24H2 servicing stack enable 45.6% faster install times, 39.7% faster restart times, and 15% less CPU usage compared to Windows 11 version 22H2 (and 23H2 since the two versions share the same servicing stack) when installing cumulative updates on "well-maintained devices."

Systems that were “left behind” on much older updates also saw similar performance gains. Microsoft tested the improvements on a device with an 18-month-old Windows installation, and the test showed 43.6% faster install times, 33.5% faster reboot times, and 25% less CPU usage. Impressive!

It's not just cumulative updates, though. Microsoft says feature updates are now more efficient, too, thanks to improvements to how the OS handles inbox apps. This change was first introduced in Windows 11 version 22H2, but now includes Microsoft Edge, too, which shaves another 200MB off the overall feature update size.

If you want to experience all those improvements and benefit from improved Windows Update performance, update to Windows 11 version 24H2 as soon as possible.