Windows shares updates with other PCs on your network and beyond it. Useful on a large LAN, painful on a metered or small connection.
Limit **Delivery Optimization** to your own LAN or switch it off, set an upload cap, and check the activity page to see how much leaves the machine.
The activity monitor reports downloaded and uploaded bytes separately. An upload figure in the gigabytes explains a slow connection during patch day.
Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Delivery Optimization > Activity monitorThe download settings control where content comes from. PCs on the local network only is the safe middle; internet peers turn your machine into a distribution node.
An upload limit in megabits per second keeps background sharing from competing with calls and streaming. Leave it at zero and it uses whatever is spare.
A metered flag stops most background transfers on a phone hotspot. Set it per network, not globally, or updates stop on your home line as well.
Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi > Manage known networksUpdates still download outside the active hours window. If the machine must stay quiet, restrict the hours rather than disabling updates.
Compare the upload figure before and after the change. A drop from gigabytes to megabytes means the scope change worked.
The content came from Windows Update itself, not from peers. Limit bandwidth in the update policy.
Nothing has been shared recently. It fills during updates.
A metered flag or a paused update. Check both.
Local sharing needs the same network and the option enabled on both.
No. The download source changes, the update itself does not.
Content is signed and verified, but peers see your IP address. Local only avoids that.
Set the scope back to the default and clear the upload cap. Delivery Optimization then behaves as it did before.
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