How to Roll Back a Windows 10 Update: Four Methods That Work

ByDana Whitfield

Start here: uninstall a specific update through Settings

This is the method that works for most people. It removes a specific patch — a cumulative update, a driver update, a security fix — without touching the rest of your system.

  1. Open Settings (Windows key + I).
  2. Go to Update & Security then Windows Update.
  3. Click View update history.
  4. At the top of that page, click Uninstall updates. This opens a Control Panel window listing recent patches.
  5. Sort by the Installed On column to surface the most recent one.
  6. Select it and click Uninstall. Confirm, then restart when prompted.

After the reboot, test the programs that were giving you trouble. If they work, the update was the culprit. You can now decide whether to block it from reinstalling — Windows will often push it back out automatically at the next check.

The Control Panel route

Same result, slightly faster path if you know this shortcut:

  1. Press Windows + R, type appwiz.cpl, press Enter.
  2. In the left panel, click View installed updates.
  3. Find the update by date, right-click it, and select Uninstall.

Both methods land in exactly the same list. Use whichever feels quicker.

Rolling back a major version update: the Go back option

If what installed was a full Windows feature update — the kind that bumps your version number — there is a separate option built for that situation. Go to Settings → Update & Security → Recovery and look for Go back to the previous version of Windows 10.

This rolls back the entire OS version rather than a single patch. Your personal files stay put, but any apps you installed after the upgrade will be removed.

One important catch: it only works within 10 days of the update. After that window closes, Windows automatically clears out the Windows.old folder it needs for the rollback, and the button disappears. If you are still inside that window, this is often the cleanest route for a full-version rollback.

When Windows won’t start: use the recovery environment

If the update caused a boot failure and you can’t reach the desktop at all, you can still remove it through the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). This is the fallback for worst-case scenarios.

To get in: hold Shift and click Restart from the login screen, or boot from a Windows 10 installation USB and choose Repair your computer. Once inside:

  1. Select Troubleshoot.
  2. Choose Advanced options.
  3. Click Uninstall Updates.
  4. Choose either Uninstall latest quality update or Uninstall latest feature update depending on what was installed.

It does the same job as the Settings method, just from outside the running OS. No desktop required.

Things worth knowing before you start

  • Not every update can be removed. Some patches — particularly certain security or driver updates — don’t show an Uninstall button at all. Microsoft locks a handful in place.
  • Windows will try to push it back. After you remove an update, Windows Update will often attempt to reinstall it at the next sync. Microsoft provides a Show or Hide Updates troubleshooter that lets you block a specific KB number from coming back.
  • Windows 10 is past its end-of-support date. As of October 2025, Microsoft stopped issuing security updates for Windows 10. That doesn’t change the rollback steps above, but it’s worth factoring into any longer-term decisions about your machine.

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