How to uninstall Apple Software Update on Windows

Apple Software Update is not Apple Devices, iTunes or iCloud. Identify which Apple applications still use this updater before removing it, and keep device backups and media libraries separately.

Save your data and quit

Finish any download or installation and close Apple Software Update. Apple’s current Windows guidance points to Microsoft Store for its Store-distributed apps, but that does not make every older desktop installation interchangeable. Do not uninstall Bonjour, device support or another Apple program just because it shares the publisher.

Uninstall the tested package

In Windows 11, open Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find Apple Software Update, and choose Uninstall. In Windows 10, use Settings › Apps › Apps & features. Keep the installed program folder intact until its uninstaller finishes. If this was the winget package, first confirm its exact identity:

winget list --id Apple.AppleSoftwareUpdate --exact

If the successful query shows the intended installation, remove that package:

winget uninstall --id Apple.AppleSoftwareUpdate --exact

This follows the package’s registered removal method; portable packages use their package-manager removal instead. An error or a missing winget match is not proof that the app is absent: check the Windows app list and the original installation method. Follow any vendor confirmation or restart request after saving other work. See Microsoft’s uninstall command documentation.

Data and components to check

The following locations or components need separate decisions. A remaining folder is not automatically disposable.

See Apple Software Update’s official documentation.

Check the outcome

winget list --id Apple.AppleSoftwareUpdate --exact
Test-Path -LiteralPath "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Apple\Apple Software Update"
Test-Path -LiteralPath "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Apple"

A successful package query with no matching row means that package registration was not found. A matching row means it still exists; an error leaves the result unknown. For each Test-Path, True means that exact location remains and False means it was not found; an access error does not mean it was removed. Keep deliberately retained data. Check Task Manager for a process whose executable belongs to this installation, and distinguish another version or a separate companion app before acting.

What Mole lists

The program directory and Start Menu item were already absent after the uninstaller. Mole removed the updater-specific local directory and owned usage information, retaining the Apple parent.

What this test covered

The machine-wide WiX installation was removed and the app inventory checked. No upgrade was executed. Device synchronization, Apple application repairs and media-library recovery were not tested.

These results are from a development build of Mole. Other released builds were not individually tested.