Windows Central readers agree on the right time to install Windows updates

Only 25% of polled Windows Central readers wait to install Windows 10 updates.

What you need to know

• Windows Central readers recently answered a poll regarding when they install Windows 10 updates.
• Just under 75% of polled readers install Windows 10 updates right away.
• Roughly 25% of those that answered the poll wait to install Windows 10 updates.

Over the weekend, we ran a poll asking, "Do you update Windows 10 right away or wait?" The votes are in, and polled Windows Central readers seem to agree that immediately installing updates is the way to go. As of the time of this writing, just under 75% of those that voted said they install updates right away, leaving approximately 25% waiting to see if any issues arise.

The poll was inspired by the Windows 10 May 2021 Update rolling out last week. As is normally the case when feature updates roll out to Windows 10, our readers checked out our guides on how to get the Windows 10 May 2021 Update and how to stop automatic updates on Windows 10. We wanted to know which way the majority of people leaned.

Reader "ArcadeDayDream" falls in the camp of installing updates right away:

I always install right away. I know I often post criticism of Windows 10, but I've never personally run into any technical problems with their 6 month upgrade cycle. In fact, the one time where it would have been bad if I did upgrade (PCIe SSD storage on system drive had a nasty bug at 20H2's release), MS blocked it until the bug was fixed.

While the majority of people polled update right away, reader "Jmgbooks" explained waiting:

I wait because there always seem to be "known" and some unknown issues plaguing every update. So I pause updates for at least two weeks after each Patch Tuesday while I monitor various messageboards, Reddit, blogs and websites to see what problems people are reporting, is Microsoft aware of the issues and if they are offering any guidance or formulating a fix. If the issue(s) being reported are not germane to me (last Patch Tuesday the problems affected gamers, which I'm not), I unpause updates and go ahead.

We'll keep the poll open, so you can check back in and see if the results change as more people weigh in.