Sadly, there has been a lot of scaremongering and bad advice floating around following the release of Windows 10. One of those ‘concerns’ is centered around Microsoft’s new Windows Update Delivery Optimization (WUDO) which is initially designed to help users get faster software updates and in theory is a good idea, being able to handle massive internet traffic of up to 40 Terabits per second (TBps).
WUDO works a lot like bittorrent. Your computer is used as part of a global peer-to-peer network to allow the distributed delivery of software updates with each person distributing a little bit of the files across multiple computers and helping everyone download updates more quickly.
However, this peer-to-peer sharing is using your Internet bandwidth, which if you are on a metered connection may concern you. (The feature is enabled by default in Windows 10 Home and Pro editions). WUDO is also enabled in Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education editions, but only for the local network.
Now here’s the thing – a lot of sites are saying “turn it off! its bad!” without really understanding or grasping all the implications.
If you ARE on a metered connection see this statement from Microsoft:
As with Windows 8.1, Windows 10 won’t automatically download updates or apps if it detects that your PC is using a metered connection. Similarly, Delivery Optimization won’t automatically download or send parts of updates or apps to other PCs on the Internet if it detects that you’re using a metered connection.
If you use a Wi‑Fi connection that is metered or capped, make sure you identify it as a metered connection. Here’s how:
Go to Start , then Settings > Network & Internet > Wi‑Fi > Advanced options.
Use the toggle under Set as metered connection to set your Wi‑Fi connection as metered.
If you have more than one WIndows 10 device at home, then leaving it turned ON and selecting local network only will save you bandwidth, as once one computer has the update, it can share them internally to your other devices without them having to use up internet bandwidth over and over again for each device.
To do this, click the start button and type settings, and follow the dialogues boxes as shown here:
Click on Update and Security
Now Click on Advanced Options
Next click on Choose how updates are delivered
Finally, here you can select whether to turn it off or restrict it to just your local PCs.
Remember, if you have more than one device, make this change on ALL of them!
So my advice? Don’t turn it off unless you only have 1 device and you really really think that the few Mbs it will use will eat into your metered connection. At the end of the day, this feature is there to help everyone, so consider being part of the wider community and helping others by leaving it on..
, then Settings > Network & Internet > Wi‑Fi > Advanced options.
