[New setting] Check for updates automatically (on/off)

[htcfreek]

As discussed in the issue #2688 we could add a new setting for disable the automatic update check and notifications. (In addition to the setting we have which disable the automatic download and installation.)

Technical details

• Name: Check for updates automatically
• Type: on/off switch
• Section: General > Update (see [Settings V2 UX] Improve logical groupings of the general page #2688)
• Setting available: only admins should be able to change

Usecases

• For example if PT is installed in companys on clients or terminal servers, where the user had no rights to install software and the software gets updated by SCCM or other tools. (For this scenario normal users shouldn't be able to change the sitting.)
• An other scenario would be an user who wants to check only manually every x days.

[htcfreek]

@crutkas Thoughts?

[htcfreek]

@crutkas Can you please add the lable and a milestone.

[kraoli]

Yes, I have the same wish.

I try to keep my system as stable as possible and do feature updates only in larger intervals with a system image done before. Never change a running system - besides it's a security fix.

I thought a bit about security. Actually, I'm not sure what's best from a security point of view. Maybe it's better to just suppress regular update notifications, but show them in case of important security updates? But this might introduce too much complexity. Just speaking for myself. I'm fine to take this risk and check manually from time to time. I don't think that PT have such a big attack surface as a browser for instance.

[wvmstr]

I like the term "notification spam" mentioned earlier. It is applicable here as well. Currently updates are implemented as such.
They are a daily distraction. I have considered uninstalling PT to get rid of the notification spam.

PT is not something I use everyday, and I am not particularly interested in receiving daily, or even weekly updates and the associated notifications.

Consider all the notification spam I am already receiving from Microsoft:
your account settings are out of date...your account settings are out of date...your account settings are out of date...
there is a problem with your account...there is a problem with your account...there is a problem with your account...
windows will update outside of active hours...windows will update outside of active hours...windows will update outside of active hours...
same for Visual Studio: you need to login again...you need to login again...you need to login again...
and how about Office365?, same thing: each and every day changes are made to Office365, 99% of those notification emails are about changes not applicable to anything what I am doing.

I don't want automated updates for anything (except maybe some security related matters) including the notification spam that comes with it, luckily I noticed that the new Edge browser also wants me to accept automatic updates. So I declined to install it for these reasons alone (I am a web developer).

Long story short consider the possibility that not everyone wants automatic updates, update notifications etc. Give users like me a way out to a frictionless experience.

Please

[enricogior]

@kraoli @wvmstr
have you already tried to turn notification off for PowerToys?

Would that be enough or you want granularity?

[crutkas]

@wvmstr, we're working on getting this stuff better. Thanks for working with through this with us.

For hot fix releases, they typically are fixing a critical problem. For our toast does have a "don't show it again" option

[wvmstr]

@crutkas @enricogior
Thanks for the reminder on the notifications, turned off now.

I would say that a hotfix for a critical problem warrants a notification, nothing else does as typically I learn about new capabilities on the various Microsoft news sites. But that is just me.

Thanks for being so responsive!

[crutkas]

we do notifications in two scenarios,

1. we detect PT is running in a state where stuff will act weird. (elevated apps and PT isn't).
2. new versions (which include hot fixes) which right now our updates tend do always include a critical fix :)

[crutkas]

We're before v1.0 and still early in development. Having everyone on the latest aids in debugging and support. This was a big issue before we started the notifications and alerting people.

[MSH14]

@crutkas
Hi, I'm sitting as a sysadm, and would like to disable toast notifications on a wider scale.
To do this, I could of cause go around to each user individually and disable notifications manually, though this would be highly inefficient, and time consuming.

I've been searching for a solution for the past month, but no luck so far. I've made a RegShot, in hopes of finding a solution, but again, no luck.

My question is therefore: Is there anyway to disable the toast notifications through a reg. key or the like, so it can be rolled out through for example a GPO?

Thanks.

[crutkas]

@MSH14, as of right now, no. If it was, it would be done via the JSON file, not reg as well.