Windows Update will never install optional drivers automatically again

Microsoft states that Windows Update’s behavior is changing with regard to optional driver updates. Windows Update still installs an optional driver update automatically when a device is first connected and there is no automatic driver update option, but it won’t be any longer.

That new behavior will change effective November 5, on Windows 10 version 2004 and newer. Under the new policy, an optional driver update will never be installed automatically through Windows Update. Users will then have to manually navigate to the Optional section of Windows Update.

It seems that this means that certain devices lose their plug & play properties. Thus, in a scenario where a device has optional but no automatic drivers in Windows Update, a manual green light must be given for a driver installation before the device will work. That scenario is a possibility, according to Microsoft documentation. While the required operations are still not much effort, it is not really plug & play.

It is still unclear how many and which devices only have optional driver updates in Windows Update. Microsoft states that the decision is being made to give users more control over their system. For system administrators with business users nothing will change, the change only applies to ‘devices that are open to receive drivers directly from Windows Update’.