Hi Kelly Daniels,
Windows may begin downloading and staging updates (SSU/LCU) during active hours, even though the restart itself is deferred based on your “Active Hours” settings. This design ensures critical updates are ready to apply quickly once a restart window becomes available, but I agree it can impact system performance in certain environments.
To help reduce interruptions, you can adjust update behavior through Group Policy or Windows Update for Business by pausing or scheduling update downloads outside active hours. In managed setups, using tools like Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) or Intune can give you greater control over when updates are downloaded, installed, and restarted.
Your suggestion to classify updates by restart requirement is excellent, and I will be sure to share this feedback with the engineering team for future service improvements.
I hope this clarifies why you’re seeing that behavior and helps improve your update experience going forward. If this answer helps, please click “Accept Answer” so others can benefit too 😊
Jason,