By default the Brave Browser will automatically update to the most stable and secure version available, primarily for security reasons.
As Brave is a fairly new browser, there are bound to be 'bugs', and occasionally, as with many applications actively being developed, there will be a handful of users, (maybe a couple of handfuls) who discover that an older version of the browser works better than the current, stable one. If this is applicable to you, then fear not and read on! Today we are going to stop the Brave Browser from automatically updating on Windows.
A word of caution: Prior to proceeding, it is recommended that you make a backup of your BRAVE BAT Wallet. Please also consider that the developers opted to auto update windows FOR security reasons; follow these instructions at your own risk.
First you will want to find the version that was working best for you. Let's go to the Brave Browser's Github repository, find, download and install the version that was working best for you.
If you are in need of a "Developer" or perhaps you are in search of a "Nightly" release, please follow this link:
https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/releases
Beta Version can be found there, too.
For outdated "stable" versions, please follow this link:
https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/tags
You should be looking for the windows installer, which will look like this: "BraveBrowserStandaloneSetup.exe"
After you have downloaded and installed the correct installation file,
open your hosts file (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts ) and add the following entry:
0.0.0.0 laptop-updates.brave.com
By making that hostname un-routable, you won't get updates unless you choose to download them from https://brave.com/download/.
If for some reason that does not work, then try this:
Uninstall Brave and reinstall it. Please refer to the aforementioned links to once again find, download and install the correct version you wish to run.
Now go to the brave installed folder (C:\Program Files (x86)) then to / brave software folder /update folder / then rename BraveUpdate.exe to something else, for example "BraveUpdate0.exe".
This will stop the Brave Browser from auto updating. Should you wish to update this app, simply rename BraveUpdate0.exe back to the original name of the file (BraveUpdate.exe). After re renaming the file back to it's original name, the Brave Browser will proceed to automatically update per usual.
In addition to this this, you can edit the hosts file with these, too.
0.0.0.0 laptop-updates.brave.com
0.0.0.0 go-updater.brave.com
In conclusion, the Brave Browser automatically updates their Windows versions, which may be frustrating for some users who have no choice but to wait, and hope, for a newer stable version to come out. I hope that this article stopped you from feeling like you are up a creek without a paddle, and instead provided you with the motorboat you deserve!
