The release of the new Windows 11 operating system has raised a lot of perplexity in the Microsoft community. While the new version of Windows is packed with a host of new features, responses from longtime users have been mixed. Dedicated users have criticized everything from design changes to aft hardware requirements for the new system.
Thankfully, Microsoft has been monitoring user responses and has responded with hotfixes. But as good as these upgrades are, they are created by humans. As a result, an update sometimes ends up introducing new glitches to your PC.
If you suspect that a new update has caused bugs in your system, you can remove it by following the methods described below.
How to roll back Windows 11 updates via update history
This is probably one of the simpler and easier methods on the list. You can use Update History, a central hub on Windows that displays all your past updates, to remove all updates from your Windows computer.
- To get started, go to the Start menu search bar, type “settings” and select the best match. Alternatively, you can also press the shortcut Win + I to open the menu Settings .
- From there, select the menu Windows Update . Now, click on the option Update history .
- The update history will be displayed on the screen. click on Uninstall updates to start the uninstall procedure. As soon as you do this, a new dialog will open with a list of updates installed on your copy of Windows. Choose the updates you want to get rid of and click Uninstall .
- Click Yes in the final pop-up window to proceed with the uninstall. As soon as you do that, the selected update will be uninstalled in seconds.
How to uninstall Windows 11 updates via command prompt
Command Prompt is the ideal tool for most experienced Windows users. Although most people prefer to use the Windows operating system via the graphical user interface (GUI), you can perform all kinds of operations from the command prompt terminal.
Apparently, this includes managing Windows updates. Command Prompt allows you to view your operating system's update history with just a few commands.
- To get started, go to Start menu search bar , type "command prompt" and run the Command Prompt as an administrator. To do this, click the right mouse button command prompt icon and select Run as administrator .
- This will launch an elevated command prompt on the screen. Type the following command in your terminal:
wmic qfe list short / format: table
- Awards Submit and the command prompt will list all the updates on your PC.
- Make a note of the HotFixId of the update you wish to uninstall, use it in the following command:
wusa /uninstall /kb:HotFixID
- If you want to uninstall, for example, an update with a HotFixID of KB5006363, you must enter the ID number instead of the HotFixID model. Therefore, here's what your command will look like:
wusa / uninstall / kb: 5006363
- When you press Enter, a "Windows Update Standalone Installer" dialog will be displayed; click on Yes to begin uninstalling.
- Your update will be successfully uninstalled in seconds.
Roll back an update using the Windows recovery environment
There are times when an update could damage your PC's critical files, maybe you stopped it halfway, or some network problem prevented it from completing. In such cases, it is not uncommon for startup errors to occur. If you suspect that a recent update is the cause of this problem, booting your PC into the Windows Recovery Environment can help.
Windows Recovery Environment, abbreviated to WinRE, is a boot environment that can help you solve a wide variety of Windows problems. In your case, it can be used to remove update patches that could be the culprit in perpetuating Windows problems.
- To enter WinRE, restart your PC. When it reaches the boot screen, press the power button to shut down the system. Repeat this process three times and on the fourth attempt Windows will go into automatic repair mode.
- Wait a few moments while WinRE diagnoses the problem. When the scan stops, click Advanced options .
- click on Resolution of the problems from the list of available options, then click Uninstall updates .
- Now choose the update you want: feature update or quality update. Feature Updates are updates released twice a year with large overall improvements in the operating system; Quality updates, on the other hand, are released throughout the year, typically including fixes for common bugs, security patches, and so on.
- Choose the update you want to uninstall and click Uninstall . Within seconds, the selected update will be removed. Restart your PC to see if uninstalling the update fixed the bugs on Windows 11.
