How to disable updating a specific application on Android. How to prevent app updates on Android - detailed guide

It is recommended that all applications be updated to the latest version as developers are constantly improving and fixing their applications. But, sometimes there are good reasons not to update a certain application.

Perhaps these are new versions with new functions that you find inconvenient. Perhaps you are afraid that developers will remove features that are important to you or that the application systematically begins to glitch after a global update. There are not many such reasons, but for many people they are important and can easily deter them from updating the application.

But how can you disable automatic updates for only a specific application?

Some users, not knowing how to disable updating for one application, completely disable the automatic update feature of the Play Store, fearing that they will receive this terrible update for a certain application. This only makes the situation worse, since applications for which updates are critical are also not updated.

Of course, there is a built-in proprietary way to disable updates for a specific application, but it is a little hidden from plain view and you might not notice it. I'll show you how to do it.

Step 1:

Open the Play Store app. In this instruction, I will show how to disable auto-update of an application using an example.

Step 2:

Now disabling application updates is very simple and can only be done from this screen. Have you already guessed where? Of course, the most important options on Android are hidden under the three-dot menu in the upper right corner.

Step 3:

Just disable and uncheck the box next to “Auto-update” and that’s it. The app will no longer update itself on this device without your knowledge. It can now only be updated manually.

Conclusion

As you can see, disabling automatic updates for one application is not at all difficult, the main thing is to know where this checkbox is.

If you have any questions about disabling auto-updates of applications, do not hesitate to ask them in the comments.

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Disabling updates on Android is a very necessary task if the Internet connection speed on your mobile phone is not so hot or if you are using a package with limited network traffic. And in some cases, you need to disable the update on your phone or tablet with Android OS in order to avoid loading on hardware resources. After all, sometimes software updates occur at the most inopportune moment for the user. And then someone else sometimes doesn’t want to switch to a new version of some favorite application: they also think about turning off its auto-update.

It must be said that by default the update is enabled in all mobile devices running Android OS. That is, if a user wants to disable automatic application updates on Android, he needs to make a certain number of changes in the system settings. We will talk about how they are performed in this article. General step-by-step instructions and specialized ones (for specific phones) are presented to your attention.

How to disable the update for all applications?

To disable auto-updating of applications on Android, you need to use the Google Play options:

1. Tap the online market icon on the home screen.

2. Press the Menu button on your phone.

You can also enable the menu directly in the application store panel (you need to touch the “three stripes” icon with your finger).

3. In the submenu that opens, go to “Settings”.

5. In the query panel, tap your finger on the Never line.

Now programs will no longer be updated on the device. If you want to remove messages about the availability of new software updates, in the “Notifications” block, uncheck the box (tap with your finger).

But you can download the latest updates for one or more programs manually. This task is performed like this:

1. Open Google Play and go to: Menu → My apps... → Updates.

2. In the application column (for example, VKontakte), click “Update”. To get an update for all software in the list, you need to activate the “Update all” command (the button above the list).

Selectively disable auto-update

To disable Android updates for a specific application, do the following:

1. In Google Play, open: Menu → My applications... → Installed.

2. Click with your finger on the name of the required program or game (but not on the “Open” button!).

3. On the software panel at the top, you need to uncheck the “Auto-update” option.

How to remove a downloaded update

When you need to remove a downloaded update for a program, perform the following operations:

1. In the device menu, tap: Settings → Applications.
2. Open the required software panel.
3. Activate the "Disable" command.
4. Confirm deactivation. When prompted by the system “Install original version...” select “OK”.

Removing a firmware update

Warning! Instructions for experienced users. Its execution is possible on a phone with activated root rights and a file manager.

If you want to get rid of the downloaded update for your mobile operating system, follow the steps below:
1. Disable notification:
in the menu select: Settings → Applications → Google Play Services;

remove the check mark in the “Enable notifications” option.

confirm deactivation in the request.

2. Delete the archive with the update:

open the root directory “ROOT” in the file manager;

go to the “cache” folder;

select the update.zip file and run its removal;

confirm the command.

Solutions for individual phone models to disable the update

Samsung

On Samsung Galaxy devices, you can disable updates and intrusive notifications related to updates as follows:

1. View the network connection settings, make sure that the device is connected to the Network.

2. In the Settings menu, tap Application Manager.

3. In the submenu, click “Software Update”.

4. Tap in the “Clear cache” panel, then the “Stop” button.

Modern mobile operating systems tend to be updated. Thanks to updates, they become faster, more economical in terms of resource consumption and secure in terms of protecting user data. But in some cases, constantly receiving new files leads to wild traffic consumption. How to disable updates on Android and get rid of constant requests for new “updates”?

In this article we will look at:

• Disabling receipt of operating system updates - they are not released very often, but their volume can be very large;
• Disabling updating of installed applications - the amount of data here is no less, since applications are updated much more often.

As a result, we will get a device that will be updated only manually, without independent actions.

Updates on Android

As we already know, there are two types of updates on Android - updates for the operating system and updates for applications. The Android operating system is updated relatively rarely, about 2-3 times a year. Developers are closing old “holes” and opening up new opportunities for users.

New updates are sent to smartphone and tablet manufacturers, after which they adapt the files to their devices. Operating system updates are most often received by device owners from large brands - Samsung, LG, Sony, Nexus and many others. Owners of tablets and smartphones from little-known brands may not count on updates. The same applies to those who buy cheap devices from the lower price segment.

As for applications, they are updated on all smartphones and tablets, regardless of the manufacturer of the user devices. As soon as developers release a new version of the software, it automatically becomes available to everyone. The frequency of release of updated versions can vary greatly - from several days to once a year. But as soon as new updates appear, they are automatically installed on user smartphones and tablets.

Disable app updates

How are applications updated on Android smartphones and tablets? All new versions are requested via the Internet. To obtain data the following is used:

• Mobile Internet 3G or 4G – as a rule, traffic packages here are limited, and regular updates lead to their complete exhaustion;
• Internet via Wi-Fi - traffic here is most often unlimited, so Android devices “devour” it without hesitation in their appetite.

There is also an operating mode where the update is checked for any connection, and the update process itself starts only when connected via Wi-Fi.

So, how to disable automatic app updates on Android? This is done not only to save traffic, but also to avoid the accumulation of garbage in the internal memory. Not every update gives users some important innovations - most often the changes lie in the internal structure of applications. Therefore, too high a frequency of updates often harms Android devices, especially very weak ones. In order to disable automatic updates on Android, you need to open the Play Market and go to the application settings.

Here we are interested in the following checkboxes:

• Automatic application updates – set the “Never” option if you want to completely disable automatic application updates on Android;
• Availability of updates – by checking this box, you will be able to see a notification about the availability of updates if their automatic receipt is disabled;
• Auto-update - If automatic update is enabled, the system will notify users that some applications have been updated.

Here we are interested in the first tick. Set this to Never if you plan to avoid automatic updates entirely. You can also set the value to “Only via Wi-Fi” - when connected via a mobile network, only notifications about the availability of “updates” will appear, and the updates themselves will be downloaded only when connected via Wi-Fi.

If you want to update applications manually, launch the Play Market and go to the “Games and applications - My applications and games” section. Here you can update all programs at once by clicking on the “Update all” button or select an update for a single application.

A typical sign that an application needs to be updated is that it stops working. Some programs require a forced update to function (this is what banking applications do most often).

How to disable system updates on Android

Are you afraid that the next release of a new update will “gobble up” all your traffic? Then we will teach you how to disable automatic Android updates. The most unpleasant thing is that updates are downloaded silently - we only receive a notification that they are ready for installation. That is, the traffic has already been spent (the most offensive thing is if it was mobile traffic and not access via WI-Fi). How to disable system updates on Android? This is done as follows - go to “Settings – About device – Software update”.

Here we will see two checkboxes:

• Auto-update – by checking this box, you will start an automatic regular check for updates. If you remove it, then the presence of “new things” will not be checked;
• Wi-Fi only – if you most often use the mobile Internet, and do not want the next 500-600 MB update to eat up all your traffic, make this checkbox active.

In order to completely disable automatic Android system updates, uncheck the first box - now your traffic will be safe.

Please note that releasing updates may make your smartphone faster and more energy efficient. Therefore, we do not recommend that you completely disable automatic updates. Leave it active, but check the box “Only via Wi-Fi” so as not to waste mobile data. As practice shows, Some updates are very successful and significantly speed up Android devices..

If you still turned off automatic system updates, but want to check for updates at the moment, go to “Settings - About device - Software update” and click on “Update”. If there are updates, you will be notified accordingly. At the same time, the download of the necessary files will begin.

If, after installing an Android update, you are faced with a situation where the device has become very slow, do not perform a general reset - this will not help to return to the previous version. In this situation, you need to find the file with the previous firmware and do a “rollback”. Please note that reflashing devices under warranty will void the warranty. If you do not have enough knowledge to carry out flashing, contact your nearest service center.

Another way to get rid of glitches after updating the firmware is to do a general reset and try installing all applications again.

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Why disable automatic updates?

On the one hand, updating the system and applications helps to avoid critical errors in the operation of the gadget. But there are several points that speak in favor of disabling auto-update:

1. The current update package does not always solve the problems of previous versions. There is simply no perfect build for optimization. Simply put, the developers plugged one gap, but another appeared nearby.
2. Application updates do not always qualitatively improve program performance. As a rule, utilities are updated very slightly: the configuration of some buttons and colors are changed, and two or three not very necessary functions are added.
3. Extensive updates overload the processor. You may notice that while downloading and installing large packages for applications and the system, basic functions such as calling and sending SMS begin to slow down.

Thus, before allowing the system to update, you need to clearly decide for yourself what exactly and why to update.

How to disable automatic updates on Android via Google Play

Applications that were downloaded and installed using the Play Market download updates through this service. Therefore, the easiest way to disable the update of third-party programs is to set certain settings in your Google Play account. To do this you need:

• Open Google Play app
• Go to the settings menu
• Select the Automatic application update section
• Place a marker next to “Never”

After this, Google will notify you of new updates, but whether you activate them or not is up to you to decide. If you need to get rid of notifications, you can turn them off in the corresponding section of the Google Play menu. Here, uncheck the boxes next to “Updates” and “Automatic updates”.

How to disable updates on your Android phone for online services

Some Android applications have an automatic data synchronization feature. Typically, this applies to applications for social networks, mail and instant messengers. Such programs are synchronized with the calendar, date, time and, therefore, require updates. This function can be disabled simply:

• Go to Android settings
• Select the Accounts section
• Click on the drop-down menu in the upper right corner
• Uncheck the box next to “Auto-sync data”

This will not affect the operation of applications, but will reduce the extra load on the hardware and save mobile traffic.

How to disable auto updates for Android OS

The most extensive updates in the phone are downloaded for the operating system. Sometimes the weight of new patches can reach several gigabytes. If you do not have a critical need to update Android itself, this function can be disabled in the system settings.

I think that many of us have encountered such a problem as constant updates on Android devices. As soon as you turn on the phone, it immediately breaks into the Internet to update some program. And this can cost a pretty penny if you don’t have an unlimited tariff. That is why, now we will tell you in great detail how to disable software updates on your Android device.

Disable automatic application updates via Google Play

Video instructions on how to disable auto-update of applications

Disabling synchronization with online services

Disable system update

Internet shutdown

ATTENTION: if you need the Internet, you will simply have to cancel the steps that we will now perform.