How to Check Installed Updates on Windows 11 and 10 (Settings, PowerShell and KB Checks)

To check installed updates on Windows 11, open Settings > Windows Update > Update history. You'll see every quality, driver, definition and feature update with its KB number, date and whether it succeeded or failed. On Windows 10, the same list lives under Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View update history. For a quick list from the command line, open PowerShell and run Get-HotFix. To check for one particular patch, run Get-HotFix -Id KB5012345 with the KB number you're looking for.

I check my update history more often than you'd think. Usually it's because something broke after a restart, or a security news story names a KB number and I want to know if my PC already has it. Both questions take under a minute to answer once you know where to look.

This guide covers all the methods, from the Settings page to PowerShell and the event log. It also covers what to do when an update fails or causes trouble. Everything here only reads information unless I clearly say otherwise. It's part of my Windows security guides series.

In this guide:

• Which method should you use?
• Method 1: Check update history in Settings
• Method 2: Use Control Panel's installed updates list
• Method 3: List installed updates with PowerShell
• What happened to wmic qfe list?
• How to check if a specific KB update is installed
• Read the update log for exact times and errors
• How to uninstall an update that's causing problems
• Troubleshooting failed Windows updates
• Why your update history matters for security
• Frequently asked questions

Which method should you use?

There isn't one perfect list of every update on a Windows PC. Each tool sees things slightly differently, so pick the one that fits your question.

If you just want to know whether your PC is up to date, the Settings page is enough. Microsoft's own Windows Update FAQ points people there first, and so do I.

Method 1: Check update history in Settings

This is the easiest way and works on every edition, including Home.

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.
2. Select Windows Update in the left menu.
3. Under More options, select Update history.
4. Expand each category to see what's installed.

On Windows 10, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View update history instead. You can also jump straight to the page on either version: press Windows + R, type ms-settings:windowsupdate-history and press Enter.

The list is split into groups:

• Quality Updates: the monthly cumulative updates, including security fixes. This is the group that matters most.
• Driver Updates: hardware drivers delivered through Windows Update.
• Definition Updates: Microsoft Defender security intelligence, which updates several times a day.
• Feature Updates: big yearly version changes, such as moving to a new Windows 11 version.
• Other Updates: anything that doesn't fit, such as the Malicious Software Removal Tool.

Each entry shows the date and a status. "Successfully installed" is what you want. If you see "Failed to install" with an error code, write the code down, because you'll need it for the troubleshooting section below.

Method 2: Use Control Panel's installed updates list

Older guides and some IT departments still send people to Control Panel, so it's worth knowing.

1. Press Windows + R, type appwiz.cpl and press Enter. This opens Programs and Features.
2. Select View installed updates on the left.
3. Sort by the Installed On column to see the newest first.

On recent Windows 11 releases, that link takes you to the Settings app's Uninstall updates page instead of the old window. That's fine. It's the same information, just presented in the newer style.

One thing that confuses people: this list doesn't show Defender definition updates or most driver updates. If you're looking for those, use the Settings history page from Method 1.

Method 3: List installed updates with PowerShell

PowerShell is quicker when you want to search or sort. You don't need to run it as administrator for a local check.

1. Right-click the Start button and choose Terminal (or search for PowerShell).
2. Run Get-HotFix to see every update it knows about.
3. For a tidy, newest-first list, run:
   Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object HotFixID, Description, InstalledOn
4. To see only the most recent one, run (Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn)[-1].

The Description column usually says "Update" or "Security Update". The InstalledOn date is sometimes blank, which is a quirk of how the data is stored rather than a problem with the update.

There's an important limit here. The Get-HotFix documentation explains that it reads the Win32_QuickFixEngineering class, which only returns updates supplied by Component Based Servicing. Updates installed by Windows Installer (MSI) or from the Windows Update site don't appear. So Get-HotFix is a fast check, not a complete inventory. You'll often see only a handful of entries, because each monthly cumulative update replaces the ones before it.

What happened to wmic qfe list?

For years, the go-to command was wmic qfe list brief /format:table. You'll still find it in forum answers and older tutorials, including some posted this year.

It won't work on an up-to-date Windows 11 PC any more. Microsoft deprecated WMIC back in 2021, removed it on upgrade to Windows 11 version 25H2, and then removed it completely in 2026. According to Microsoft's WMIC removal notice, the change shipped in the August 2026 preview update for versions 24H2 and 25H2, and it can no longer be added back as a Feature on Demand.

If you type it and get "'wmic' is not recognized", nothing is wrong with your PC. Use the PowerShell equivalent instead, which reads the same data:

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_QuickFixEngineering | Select-Object HotFixID, Description, InstalledOn

WMI itself is still a normal part of Windows. Only the old command-line tool has gone.

How to check if a specific KB update is installed

This is the question I get asked most. A news story or an IT email says "make sure you have KB-something", and you want a yes or no.

1. Open PowerShell and run Get-HotFix -Id KB5012345, swapping in the real number. The Id parameter doesn't accept wildcards, so type the full KB number.
2. If it returns a row, the update is installed. If you get an error saying it can't be found, keep going, because that doesn't prove it's missing.
3. Check the Settings history from Method 1 and look for the KB number under Quality Updates.
4. For a deeper check, open Command Prompt as administrator and run DISM /Online /Get-Packages | findstr KB5012345. DISM shows each package's state, including "Install Pending", which means a restart is needed.

Here's the catch that trips people up: Windows quality updates are cumulative. Each month's update includes the fixes from earlier months. If you're looking for a KB from six months ago and can't find it, you probably don't need it, because a newer cumulative update already contains it.

The way to confirm is to compare your build number. Press Windows + R, type winver and note the OS Build. Then look it up on Microsoft's Windows 11 release information page, which lists every build alongside its KB number and release date. If your build is the same as, or newer than, the one that shipped with your KB, you're covered.

Read the update log for exact times and errors

When you need to know exactly when an update installed, or why it failed, the event log has the details. Windows records every install attempt in the System log under the WindowsUpdateClient source.

To see them in Event Viewer, open it from Start, go to Windows Logs > System, select Filter Current Log and enter 19,20 in the Event IDs box.

In PowerShell, this one-liner shows the last 20 successes and failures with their messages:

Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='System'; ProviderName='Microsoft-Windows-WindowsUpdateClient'; Id=19,20} -MaxEvents 20 | Format-Table TimeCreated, Id, Message -Wrap

For deeper troubleshooting there's also the WindowsUpdate.log file. Windows no longer writes it as plain text. It stores trace files in C:\Windows\Logs\WindowsUpdate, and you run Get-WindowsUpdateLog to convert them into a readable WindowsUpdate.log on your desktop. It's long and technical, so search it for the error code you saw in Settings rather than reading it top to bottom.

How to uninstall an update that's causing problems

Sometimes an update breaks a printer, a game or a driver. Removing it is a reasonable short-term fix, but think twice before removing a security update. You're reopening the holes it patched. I only do it when the problem is serious, and I reinstall once Microsoft ships a fix.

1. Open Settings > Windows Update > Update history.
2. Scroll to Related settings and select Uninstall updates.
3. Find the update by its KB number and select Uninstall. You need an administrator account.
4. Restart when asked, then check whether the problem has gone.
5. Go back to the Windows Update page and select Pause updates for a week or so, otherwise Windows may reinstall the same update straight away.

If an update isn't in the list, it may not be removable. Some updates can't be uninstalled because Windows needs them. From an admin Command Prompt you can try wusa /uninstall /kb:5012345, but Microsoft's monthly KB articles note that this doesn't work on combined servicing stack and cumulative packages. Those need DISM /Online /Remove-Package with the exact package name from /Get-Packages.

If Windows won't start at all after an update, use the Windows Recovery Environment. Microsoft's guide on how to uninstall a Windows update covers it: go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Uninstall Updates and choose to remove the latest quality or feature update.

Troubleshooting failed Windows updates

A "Failed to install" entry in your history isn't a disaster. Windows usually retries, and many failures sort themselves out on the next attempt. If the same update keeps failing, start here.

The quickest fix to try first is the built-in troubleshooter. On Windows 11, open Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters and select Run next to Windows Update. Restart when it finishes, then check for updates again.

If that doesn't work, run sfc /scannow and then DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth from an admin Command Prompt. Both repair damaged system files that block updates. Microsoft's page to troubleshoot problems updating Windows has step-by-step fixes for each code. It also notes that feature upgrades need at least 16 GB of free space on 32-bit Windows, or 20 GB on 64-bit.

Why your update history matters for security

Most attacks on home PCs don't use clever new tricks. They use known bugs that already have a patch, aimed at machines that never installed it. Checking your history is a quick way to make sure you're not one of them.

A few things worth looking for:

• The latest Quality Update date. Microsoft releases security updates on the second Tuesday of each month. If your newest one is more than about six weeks old, something is stopping updates.
• Repeated failures. The same KB failing again and again means you're missing that month's fixes.
• Recent Definition Updates. These should be days old at most. If they've stopped, Defender may have been switched off or replaced.
• Windows 10 PCs. Microsoft ended free support for Windows 10 on 14 October 2025. Unless the PC is enrolled in Extended Security Updates, new security fixes won't arrive.

One more tip from experience: firmware and BIOS updates sometimes suspend BitLocker so the PC can restart without asking for the key. After a big update, it's worth a quick check that protection came back on. My guide on how to check BitLocker status shows how in under a minute.

Frequently asked questions

How do I see all installed updates on Windows 11?

Open Settings, select Windows Update, then Update history. It lists quality, driver, definition, feature and other updates with dates and KB numbers. For a command-line list, run Get-HotFix in PowerShell, keeping in mind it only shows updates installed through Component Based Servicing.

How do I check if a specific KB is installed?

Run Get-HotFix -Id KB followed by the number in PowerShell. If nothing comes back, search the Settings update history and run DISM /Online /Get-Packages in an admin Command Prompt. Because quality updates are cumulative, a newer cumulative update may already include an older KB's fixes.

Why doesn't wmic qfe work anymore?

Microsoft removed the WMIC command-line tool from Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2 in 2026, and it can't be added back as an optional feature. Use Get-HotFix or Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_QuickFixEngineering in PowerShell instead.

Why is Get-HotFix missing some updates?

Get-HotFix reads the Win32_QuickFixEngineering class, which only returns updates supplied by Component Based Servicing. Updates installed through Windows Installer or the Windows Update site, plus most drivers and Defender definitions, won't appear. The Settings update history is more complete for everyday checks.

Is it safe to uninstall a Windows update?

It's safe to do, but removing a security update leaves the problems it fixed open again. Only uninstall an update that's causing a real problem, pause updates for a short while, and reinstall once Microsoft releases a fixed version.

Where is the Windows Update log file?

Windows stores Windows Update trace files in C:\Windows\Logs\WindowsUpdate. They aren't readable as written, so run Get-WindowsUpdateLog in PowerShell to create a readable WindowsUpdate.log on your desktop. For simple install times, Event IDs 19 and 20 in the System log are easier.

How often should I check my update history?

Once a month is plenty for most people, ideally a few days after Microsoft's second-Tuesday security release. Look for a recent successful quality update and no repeated failures.

Last checked: 25 October 2026. Figures, settings and guidance can change, so confirm anything important with the sources linked above.