Services

Disable Windows services you don't need. Services are grouped by feature, and every service has its own toggle with a short description of what it does, so you can turn off just one. The switch on a group turns every service in it on or off at once. Turning a service on disables it, and turning it off restores the startup type it had before.

Service groups

• System Restore Points: turning this off only stops Windows from creating restore points from inside Windows. You can still use existing restore points and create new ones from Windows Recovery Mode.
• VPN stack: disables the services behind Windows' built-in VPN/dial-up client (SSTP, L2TP, IKEv2). Disable if you don't use the Windows VPN feature. Third-party VPN apps ship their own drivers and are mostly unaffected, but test yours after applying. IP Helper is always left running because Xbox networking relies on it.
• Wi-Fi stack: only safe on a wired desktop you'll never want to use Wi-Fi on.
• Bluetooth: disables every Bluetooth service. Bluetooth devices won't pair or connect, except devices using their own dongle.
• Printing & scanning: printing and scanning stop working, so disable this only if you never print or scan from this machine.
• Diagnostics & telemetry: turns off Windows feedback collection, error reporting, and the connected-user-experience tracker. Some Windows troubleshooters stop working.

Every service, by group

The same list the app shows. A few services are listed only for context and always stay running, because other apps depend on them.

System Restore Points

• Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider (swprv): Manages the software snapshots Volume Shadow Copy takes. Windows can't create restore points without it.
• Volume Shadow Copy (VSS): Takes the disk snapshots that restore points and some backup tools are built from.

VPN stack

• Remote Access Auto Connection Manager (RasAuto): Dials a VPN or dial-up connection automatically when a program asks for an address only that connection can reach.
• Remote Access Connection Manager (RasMan): Manages the VPN and dial-up connections Windows makes itself. VPN profiles added in Windows Settings stop connecting without it.
• Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SstpSvc): Provides SSTP, the Windows VPN protocol that tunnels over HTTPS.
• IP Helper (iphlpsvc): Provides IPv6 tunneling (Teredo, 6to4, IP-HTTPS). Always left running because Xbox networking and some games rely on its Teredo tunnel.

Wi-Fi stack

• Extensible Authentication Protocol (Eaphost): Handles sign-in for enterprise Wi-Fi (WPA2/WPA3-Enterprise) and 802.1X wired networks. Home networks don't use it.
• CNG Key Isolation (KeyIso): Keeps private keys for network sign-ins and apps in a separate process. Always left running because some games (such as Apex Legends) and installers fail without it.
• WLAN AutoConfig (WlanSvc): The core Wi-Fi service. It finds, connects to and remembers wireless networks, so Wi-Fi stops working without it.
• Windows Connection Manager (Wcmsvc): Chooses between wired, Wi-Fi and mobile connections when more than one is available, and applies Airplane mode.
• WinHTTP Web Proxy Auto-Discovery (WinHttpAutoProxySvc): Finds proxy settings on the network automatically. Always left running because many apps and parts of Windows networking depend on it.

Bluetooth

• AVCTP Service (BthAvctpSvc): Carries play, pause and volume commands between the PC and Bluetooth headphones or speakers.
• Bluetooth Audio Gateway (BTAGService): Hands-free profile that lets a Bluetooth headset's microphone work for calls and voice chat.
• Bluetooth Support Service (bthserv): The core Bluetooth service. It discovers and pairs devices, so Bluetooth stops working without it.
• Device Association Service (DeviceAssociationService): Pairs wireless devices with the PC, such as Bluetooth accessories and wireless displays.
• Network Connection Broker (NcbService): Wakes Store apps in the background when a notification or device event arrives for them.
• Radio Management Service (RmSvc): Runs the Bluetooth and wireless on/off switches in Settings and Airplane mode.

Printing & scanning

• Windows Image Acquisition (stisvc): Lets apps import images from scanners and cameras.
• Print Spooler (Spooler): Queues print jobs and sends them to printers. Printing, including Microsoft Print to PDF, stops without it.
• Printer Extensions and Notifications (PrintNotify): Shows printer status notifications and opens the printer maker's settings dialogs.
• Print Workflow (PrintWorkflowUserSvc): Runs printer-specific apps that adjust a print job before it prints.

Diagnostics & telemetry

• Diagnostic Policy Service (DPS): Detects problems with Windows components and runs the built-in troubleshooters. The per-app network usage history in Settings also stops updating without it.
• Connected User Experiences and Telemetry (DiagTrack): The main Windows telemetry service. It collects usage and diagnostic data and sends it to Microsoft.
• Diagnostic Execution Service (diagsvc): Runs the diagnostic steps that troubleshooters and Microsoft support tools ask for.
• Diagnostic Service Host (WdiServiceHost): Hosts the problem-detection modules the Diagnostic Policy Service runs as a service.
• Diagnostic System Host (WdiSystemHost): Hosts the problem-detection modules the Diagnostic Policy Service runs with system rights.
• Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector (diagnosticshub.standardcollector.service): Collects trace data for Visual Studio's profiling tools. Only developers profiling their own apps need it.

Good to know

• The Services Manager is one of the settings a Windows feature update has been seen to revert, so re-check this tab after a big update (see the overview).
• The Mitigations tab's restore-point offer needs System Restore running, so apply Mitigations before disabling the System Restore Points group here.
• Vendor-specific background services (NVIDIA, AMD) have their own toggles on the NVIDIA and Radeon tabs.