Let's say I have a major update for Windows 10, e.g. the feature update to version 1803 or perhaps a larger monthly cumulative update. I want to leave the update running unattended after I start it, perhaps while I'm out of the house, but a restart is needed to complete the update and the active hours are set so that it won't restart itself unless it's nighttime.
Can I tell Windows to restart as soon as the updates are finished, regardless of the current time or whether there are applications running?
My main desktop runs Windows 10 Pro, so Group Policy is an option, but an answer that does not require Pro features is preferred.
Best Answer
Almost.
See the Microsoft Docs: "Manage device restarts after updates":
What do I mean by "almost"?, if it's active hours and an update has been installed the computer might want to wait and warn you before rebooting out from under you. That's the "almost" part, during active hours it needs to wait, offer a warning, then if you don't cancel it will reboot - there's not a 'constantly detect if I'm away during active hours' unless you set a very short scheduling delay (which would catch you if you were using the computer and got called away).
Read on at that link (which is on the Microsoft website, so it should remain up to date and redirect if moved; alternatively there's WayBack):
There is additional information about: "Always automatically restart at the scheduled time", "Engaged restart", "Scheduled auto-restart warnings", etc. simply find a combination of settings that works for you without causing too long a wait while unattended (even during active hours) nor commits you to reboot without the opportunity to abort for a period of time.
Maybe a 10 minute warning and a two hour schedule will work for you, a setting to 'download and immediately reboot while I'm away' wouldn't work for the incessant interruptions, a half hour schedule might work if you are anxious to apply updates over any annoyance from being pestered to allow a reboot.