Windows 10: Set Ethernet Connection as Metered or Unmetered in Windows 10

You could look at your Windows Update history and installed updates to see what was installed. *Smile

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/5...dows-10-a.html

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/5...dows-10-a.html

 

No gpedit in windows home which most users use.

 

Update History only shows what has failed, but did find the other stuff in "Uninstall......". The two updates above [date should have been 26/9] definitely not there, and I guess I need that cumulative one. In the past I have gone to the Windows Update site to try to get this one some other way, and though I can find it, I can never find a download link/button. However, seeing as it is already downloaded to this computer but won't install, there may be another problem.
Have tried to schedule a restart time to install the failed updates, before I switched back to metered connection, but that didn't work either.

 

Hey Brink, (or anyone else who has the answer)
I use Windows 10 Home edition - 1607 Build 14393.351. I had previously set one of my connections as a metered connection. But once I updated the build to one I just cited, it changed the value back to a non-metered connection & has downloaded updates. When I went change the connection back to metered, it won't let me. I made sure I went thru the same process I used previously, taking ownership, etc. It appears it will not let me change that setting.


Any thoughts?
Thanks!!

 

Hello Roy, *Smile

Restart the computer to see if that may help in case there were updates still being installed or waiting for a restart to finish.

What's the exact error message it is giving you when you try to change the value?

 

I also have Home edition - 1607 Build 14393.351 and have just set Ethernet to metered (took ownership of DefaultMediaCosts, made changes, reset ownership to NT SERVICE\TrustedInstaller). I then restated my PC - Ethernet is still set as metered (0x00000002), just as I had left it, so it can be done.

As Brink asked, what error messages do you see? At what step do you get them?

 

Well, unfortunately I don't have the computer with me right now. It appears to basically state I don't have permissions. Although, I was able to change ownership, but unable to change the administrators to full access. I'm sure it's a permissions problem. I haven't tried it since I updated (I don't believe) So, I'll try that when I have access to it. Duh...I should've made sure I tried again.

 

I changed the ownership to my own account and granted myself full access, remembering to put access and ownership back to original settings after making the changes - that worked.

 

Hey Bree,
Why do you change the access & permissions back after you make the change? I didn't do that in the past. I kept full access and ownership.

 

You don't need to unless you just wanted to prevent it from being changed again.

 

You don't need to unless you just wanted to prevent it from being changed again. I just like to leave a minimal impact on the MS default permissions, putting them back the way I found them once I've made changes. I don't want to find out the hard way that a modified permission from a while back stops Windows working if MS ever decide to make changes of their own.

 

Here's the error I'm getting..

 

OK, this is what I did...
I switched to another local account on the machine that I basically never use. I went back to the regedit key. I took ownership in my specific username, not the admin group. I added specifically my username instead of the group to have full access
This method worked

 

FWIW - I found a more straightforward way to change the registry key but it involves a download.

Using pstools (a free suite of command-line remote access tools from Sysinternals), I was able to run the registry editor while bypassing any issues of having to take ownership, set and reset permissions, or import registry files.

The relevant utility is psexec (or psexec64 as applicable) which allows, among other things, you to run any executable from the local system account. I have often used this as a brute-force method of overcoming annoying file permissions hurdles due to unintended consequences of UAC. It occurred to me, after using this tutorial, that it would be great for overcoming registry permissions too.

The relevant command would be:

psexec -i -s regedit.exe

or

psexec64 -i -s regedit.exe

(command line explanation: -s means "run as local system account"; -i means "interactive mode")

From there, go to the defaultmediacost subkey as in the original tutorial, change the value for Ethernet from 1 to 2, exit, and reboot. Poof. All in one step without worrying about undoing any unintended residual changes.

 

Unfortunately, my main purpose for this is to stop updates from being forced on me until I'm ready for them. It appears though it still allows some updates.

I've changed the value to make it a metered connection and it still downloaded and updated. On the Pro version, I can just change the Group Policy and write a little program to stop BITS from starting up.