[Solved]How to turn off auto update

[A Former User]

A Former User last edited by leocg

I am really p****ed off today .....I was trying hard not to use up what data I had left for the month...3 days to go...and then along comes Opera and downloads an update....there goes my data allowance and cost me another $10 for 1 Gb which is charged automatically.
So my Question is how to stop Opera automatically downloading these updates except when I choose.

[A Former User]

A Former User @Guest last edited by A Former User

@sandyg

The solution often mentioned is to simply rename the "opera_autoupdate.exe". However, this file is created anew with each update and thus would have to be renamed each time anew.

I therefore think the following solution makes more sense:

• Run the installer with --launchopera=0
• Start Opera with --disable-update

Source

With the billing method you mention, I would have assumed that your question relates to Opera for mobile (Android, iOS), but you posted in the Windows forum, and my solution relates to Windows.

[A Former User]

A Former User last edited by

Hi Yanta,
No my billing method is for Internet on my computer not Mobile Phone...so windows method is what I'm looking for.
So with the method you mention how do I do this. [not very tech savvy] do I have to uninstall the browser and reinstall or is there a way to do it whilst it is already installed....i.e in the menu somewhere...I have had a look and can't find anything.
Thank you for your reply.
Sandy

[A Former User]

A Former User @Guest last edited by A Former User

@sandyg

Prevent automatic updates of an already installed version

• Create for Opera a desktop shortcut e.g. from the Windows Start Menu.
• Right-click on this shortcut, switch to the "Shortcut" tab.
• Add " --disable-update" (including the space character) to the existing entry in the "Target" field.

From now on use this shortcut to start Opera to avoid automatic updates.

Prevent an automatic update immediately after installation

If a new Opera version is available, download its offline installer. Since the installer would open Opera automatically at the end of the installation, which could also trigger untimely updates,

• create a shortcut to the installer, and
• add " --launchopera=0" (including the space character) to the "Target" field.

Start the installation by double-clicking on this shortcut, not on the installer.

---

Please keep in mind that Opera will not be updated automatically this way anymore, which is a security risk sooner or later, unless you take care of the updates yourself.

[A Former User]

A Former User @Guest last edited by

@yanta thanks but I just don't follow this, I don't get an option to switch to the shortcut tab when I right click, and don't know where to type "--disable-update" what is "Target field" ?
I think I will have to forget about this as it's too technical for me.
Thank you for trying to help me.

[A Former User]

A Former User @Guest last edited by A Former User

@sandyg

Example

right click > click properties

at the end of launcher.exe" tap space bar then --disable-update

to make a short cut to installer

go to wherever the installer file is - right click it - then in contex menu - click the Send to Desktop (create shortcut

[A Former User]

A Former User last edited by

--disable-update appears to have no effect.

[A Former User]

A Former User last edited by

I've seen posts that recommend adding --disable-update to the command line, but this appears to have no effect. Any suggestions?

[leocg]

leocg Moderator Volunteer @Guest last edited by

@pmfeldman Check the FAQ

[wclusa]

wclusa last edited by

You can rename or delete "opera_autoupdate.exe", but from what I read online elsewhere, it'll come back after you force an update.

Those same online comments indicated that, in Windows, you have to open Task Scheduler and disable the Opera Auto Update tasks you find there. I found two of them.

I was getting tired of cleaning up auto-update garbage Opera kept putting into my Windows Download folder so I disabled the aforementioned auto update tasks from within Windows Task Scheduler. I wouldn't have been quite as annoyed had Opera put that garbage in my Windows Temp folder. To be fair, there is an option as to where to place downloads, but I don't want to be placing normal downloads in my Windows Temp folder. In any case, I'd prefer to control when to update Opera.

Pretty shoddy that you can't disable auto updates from the Opera settings window, eh?

Even more shoddy that it forces the permanent Auto Update setting on us without asking during installation.

I installed Opera because I read it was reportedly "lighter" than other browsers. Can't say I'm too impressed with that. Looks like it invokes more processes at startup than Firefox, and just as many as Chrome. I even disabled non-used Opera features. Adding up the consumed memory, Opera takes more. Thing is, other than what's installed by default, I don't have any additional plugins (yet). Maybe this thing started out "light" in its infancy, but certainly not now. It, and as a matter of course, all browsers, should offer a single "button" that, while invoked (and perhaps after a necessary restart), allows the browser to consume the lightest memory and task footprint possible.

[zalex108]

zalex108 @wclusa last edited by zalex108

@wclusa

I was using that, but once you update, the Task is created again.

You could create a .Bat and run it, even as Task, to clean the Update Opera Task or delete AutoUpdate every X days.

Here's an example: Clean Opera Footprints.
It allows the Update, not the Task.

"You cannot know the meaning of your life until you are connected to the power that created you". · Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

[wclusa]

wclusa @zalex108 last edited by

@zalex108

Thank you. I suspected as much. Then I'll just leave my Opera version as is and not update it. I only use it rarely as an occasional alternate. I do not use its additional features; my main browser already has most of them.

Given the amount of hassle encountered with Opera thus far, coupled with the dissatisfaction with it's lack of "lightness", unless this forced auto-update is resolved via settings in a future release, I'll likely end up uninstalling Opera altogether when a better alternative presents itself.

[leocg]

leocg Moderator Volunteer @wclusa last edited by

@wclusa After the update you should rename/delete the autoupdater for the new version.

[wclusa]

wclusa last edited by wclusa

@leocg said in How to turn off auto update:

After the update you should rename/delete the autoupdater for the new version.

Thank you leocg. I recognized that.

Considering the other things I need to manage under Windows, I'm done with Opera updates for the foreseeable future. The first install will likely be my last install until this is fixed in a future Opera installer and settings revision. ... and I do recognize that the option/setting may never be added. So be it if that turns out to be the case; for this and other aforementioned reasons, Opera is not my main browser.