

By doing so, Steam will be unable to establish a connection to check for updates and, therefore, won’t be prompted to begin downloading any updates. Under the ‘’Automatic updates’’ drop-down menu, select ‘’Only update this game when I launch it’’.įollow the same steps for all the games in your library, which can be painstaking if yours is teeming with titles.įrom here, you can avoid downloading updates at launch by simply turning off your Wi-Fi or cabled internet connection before launching a game.In the window that appears, click on the ‘’Updates’’ tab.Hover over a game and right click, then select ‘’Properties’’ from the menu that appears.Click on ‘’Library’’ from the horizontal menu running near the top of the Steam window.The second method works for games that aren’t currently being played, but you don’t want to update or if you’ve downloaded the latest update and want to avoid future downloads. Unfortunately, Steam is designed to work in this manner, and there is no way around it. The method does come with a caveat if a game is scheduled with an update, you won’t be able to play said game without downloading the update first. In the unlikely event that Steam is in use during these hours, this will limit downloads to a trickle. From the ‘’Limit bandwidth to’’ drop-down menu, select the lowest option ‘’16 KB/s’’.In the two drop-downs below marked as ‘’0:00 And 0:00’’, assign a time frame when you won’t be online, say from 4:00 to 5:00.Under ‘’Download Restrictions’’ among the options that appear on the right-hand side, tick the ‘’Only auto-update games between option.Under settings, click on ‘’Downloads’’ in the left-hand menu.

From the drop-down menu, navigate and click on ‘’Settings’’.Click on ‘’View’’ from the menu that runs horizontally along the top of the Steam window.Any time that suits your particular schedule will do. Making use of this, we can trick Steam into avoiding downloads altogether by limiting downloads to a time when Steam isn’t in use, for example, late at night during sleeping hours when the chances of Steam being open are slim to nonexistent. Steam has a feature that allows you to curtail and schedule when auto updates take place. Method #1 – Change The Auto Update Schedule
