Free from Arcus Foundry

Your PC already has an update arbiter.
It doesn't work for you.

Update Arbiter stops Windows 11 from ever rebooting without your say-so. Security updates still flow. Your work stays open.

Free community tool. No warranty. Use at your own risk.
Grab the installer
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Installer + one-page setup guide. No drip, no spam.
By submitting, you agree this is a free community tool with no warranty. Full source on GitHub.
You know this story
Three ways Windows 11
has already cost you.

A morning, a deadline, a client's confidence. Pick one.

On the client call
Your screen blacks out mid-demo.
The reboot countdown you never saw ran out. You look unprofessional for something you didn't do.
Three hours of work
You come back to a login screen.
The tabs, the notes, the spreadsheet with the unsaved formulas. Gone, because Windows decided 6:47 a.m. was a good time.
Overnight job
The render died at 3 a.m.
Eight hours of processing, one forced reboot, a morning spent starting the queue from scratch.
How it works
Microsoft's own settings.
Nothing exotic.

Three things, using published Group Policy and scheduled task controls.

01
Blocks the reboot
Applies the Windows policy that says never restart while someone is logged in. Microsoft published this setting, we just turn it on.
02
Keeps updates flowing
Security patches download and install normally. The only thing that changes is who decides when the machine actually restarts. You do.
03
Self-heals forever
A scheduled task re-applies the lockdown at boot, logon, and every time Windows Update finishes installing something. Feature updates cannot quietly revert it.
Named after Microsoft's own word
The arbiter on your PC
works for Microsoft.

Look inside Microsoft's Windows Update documentation and you'll find the word "arbiter." It is what they call the internal component that decides what installs on your machine and when to restart it.

That arbiter works for Microsoft. Ours works for you.

Same idea, same plumbing, different boss. The one you installed is the one that answers to the person using the keyboard.

Pricing & access
One product.
Three ways to get it.

Nothing hidden. No trial traps.

Free
$0
  • PowerShell installer, download and run
  • Apply-once model with a self-heal scheduled task
  • Community support on the Arcus Foundry site
  • All core reboot-blocking features
Get it free
Sparkforge Pro
Included
  • Everything in Free
  • Update Arbiter Pro bundled at no extra cost
  • Priority support from the Arcus Foundry team
  • Multi-device support when we ship it
Learn about Pro
Fractional CTO
Managed
  • Deployed & managed across your fleet
  • Included as part of a Fractional CTO engagement
  • Policy tuning for your environment
  • Ongoing care and response
Talk to us
Quick questions
Before you install.
Will I still get security updates?

Yes. Updates download and install normally. The only thing blocked is the automatic reboot. When you are ready to restart, you restart, and the update finishes applying like it always did.

Does it work on Windows 11 Home?

Yes, both Home and Pro. The settings it uses are available on every Windows 11 edition, not just Pro.

Is this safe?

It uses Microsoft's own published Group Policy settings and disables three specific scheduled tasks in the UpdateOrchestrator folder. Nothing exotic, nothing hidden. The full source is public on GitHub, readable before you run it. That said, this is a free tool with no warranty. Use at your own risk.

What happens after a Windows feature update?

The scheduled task self-heals. It re-runs at boot, logon, and whenever Windows Update signals it finished installing something. If anything slips through, re-running the installer fixes it.

Can I uninstall it?

Yes. Run the installer with the -Uninstall flag and it removes the scheduled task and the installed script copy. The registry policies stay in place unless you clear them manually, which is documented in the script comments.

A word before you install

Update Arbiter is a free community tool from Arcus Foundry. It ships as-is with no warranty, express or implied. You are running it on your own machine, on your own judgment.

It uses documented Microsoft settings and well-known scheduled-task tricks. We use it ourselves. We think it is safe. That is not the same as a guarantee. If something breaks, the only person who can undo it is you, and we cannot be responsible for a restart you needed, a policy that conflicted with something else on your network, or anything else we have not foreseen.

If that sounds reasonable, grab the installer below. If not, pass on it, and no hard feelings.

Take back the restart button
Runs once.
Self-heals forever.

Free download. Your work stays open.

Built by Arcus Foundry. Included free with Sparkforge Pro.
Source on GitHub.

Grab the installer
Email it to me
Free community tool. Use at your own risk.