How to set up receive notifications to restart Windows 11 PC after update

By default, Windows 11 will not display any message telling you when the system needs to be restarted to apply a newly downloaded update. This leads to a situation where you have completed your session and want to shutdown, but Windows requires the system to be restarted to complete the installation of new updates.

If you find that annoying, it's easy to set up to receive notifications to restart your Windows 11 PC after an update. Find out below.

Get notified when an update requires a PC restart

First, open the Settings app on your Windows 11 PC by pressing the Windows + i key combination.

On the Settings interface that appears, from the list on the left, click 'Windows Update'.

On the corresponding 'Windows Update' page that appears on the right, click 'Advanced Options'.

In the 'Advanced Options' menu, click the switch to the right of the 'Notify Me When a Restart is Required to Finish Updating' option to turn it on. This is the option to display a message to restart the PC every time the system needs to apply a new update, and it is disabled by default.

It's all as simple as that! Close Settings and from now on, the system will automatically send you a notification when you have an update that requires restarting your PC to complete the installation.

Kareem Winters

Update 24 November 2021