Background Intelligent Transfer Service

Wetin you need know

Important?

Yes, for Update and many installers

High network?

Job dey transfer

E safe to disable?

Usually no

Feex tok say

If BITS dey transfer and you just click Update, I go let the job finish. To disable BITS make you "save network" na how installers dey take start to fail with 0x80070422-class errors.

Wetin dis service dey do?

Display name: Background Intelligent Transfer Service. Service name: BITS.

BITS dey queue uploads and downloads, dey pause when network busy, and dey resume after reboot. Other apps fit call the BITS API. E no dey scan for malware.

History on Windows

Microsoft introduce BITS with Windows 2000 as background transfer service for systems management. E ship in-box through Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and every later client release. Windows 10 add Delivery Optimization beside am. BITS remain the service name on Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Why Windows need am?

Update, Store, and some Microsoft 365 installers still dey submit BITS jobs. Without the queue, those transfers go fail instead make dem wait for idle bandwidth.

When e dey run?

When client create job, and while dat job dey transfer or retry. Idle BITS suppose sit down inside svchost without big network number.

E suppose dey run always?

Automatic (Delayed Start) na the normal default. Disabled mean say those clients must find another transfer path, and many no dey do am.

I fit disable am?

To disable BITS dey break Windows Update and other Microsoft downloaders wey still dey create BITS jobs. Pause updates inside Settings if you need the network for one hour.

Wetin go happen if I disable am?

Pending BITS jobs go fail. Windows Update and some installers go give error until the service come back.

Process host

BITS commonly dey run inside svchost.exe. To end dat host fit affect other services inside the same group. Check svchost.exe.

Dependencies

Resource behavior

CPU

Low except while hashing job

Disk

Job files under ProgramData\Microsoft\Network\Downloader

Network

The transfer

Memory

Small inside svchost

Common wahala dem

How to troubleshoot

Safe steps first.

Technical details

Related

Dis entities connect to dis article. Type dey show for every link.

Sources and verification

Recorded source label: August 2026. Dis label no establish independent verification. How we dey do research.

• Microsoft Learn: BITS · BITS API and service
• Microsoft Learn: how Windows Update works · Update still dey call BITS
• Foxhole process map · First-party samples on top Windows PCs. No be lab benchmark.