Background Intelligent Transfer Service

Windows ServiceMicrosoft Corporation

Also called bits, background intelligent transfer

WindowsMicrosoft

The Windows service that transfers files in the background and shares idle bandwidth. Windows Update and many Microsoft installers still call it.

What you need to know

This is the idle-bandwidth transfer queue, not a random leftover.

BITS moves files when the PC is less busy. Windows Update still uses it on many SKUs. Delivery Optimization is a different service that arrived later.

Important?: Yes, for Update and many installers
High network?: A job is transferring
Safe to disable?: Usually no

Feex says

If BITS is transferring and you just clicked Update, I would let the job finish. Disabling BITS to "save network" is how installers start failing with 0x80070422-class errors.

What does this service do?

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

BITS queues uploads and downloads, pauses when the network is busy, and resumes after a reboot. Other apps can call the BITS API. It does not scan for malware.

History on Windows

Still present

Microsoft introduced BITS with Windows 2000 as a background transfer service for systems management. It shipped in-box through Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and every later client release. Windows 10 added Delivery Optimization beside it. BITS remains the service name on Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Background Intelligent Transfer Service service history
First shipped as this service	Windows 2000 (2000)
Still present	Yes, including Windows 10 and Windows 11
Related later service	Delivery Optimization (DoSvc) on Windows 10
Discontinued	No

Why does Windows need it?

Update, Store, and some Microsoft 365 installers still submit BITS jobs. Without the queue, those transfers fail instead of waiting for idle bandwidth.

When does it run?

When a client creates a job, and while that job is transferring or retrying. Idle BITS should sit in svchost without a large network number.

Should it always be running?

Automatic (Delayed Start) is the usual default. Disabled means those clients must find another transfer path, and many do not.

Can I disable it?

Not recommended

Disabling BITS breaks Windows Update and other Microsoft downloaders that still create BITS jobs. Pause updates in Settings if you need the network for an hour.

What happens if I disable it?

Pending BITS jobs fail. Windows Update and some installers error until the service is back.

Process host

BITS commonly runs inside svchost.exe. Ending that host can affect other services in the same group. See svchost.exe.

Dependencies

Background Intelligent Transfer Service dependencies
Depends on	RPC, and the HTTP stack for many jobs
Used by	Windows Update, Store, and BITS API clients

Resource behavior

CPU: Low except while hashing a job
Disk: Job files under ProgramData\Microsoft\Network\Downloader
Network: The transfer
Memory: Small in svchost

Common problems

Stuck job

bitsadmin or PowerShell BITS cmdlets can list jobs. A stuck Store download is a job, not a reason to disable the service forever.

Confused with Delivery Optimization

DoSvc peers Windows 10 updates. BITS is the older queue. They can both be present.

Troubleshooting

Safe steps first.

List jobs before you disable the service

Get-BitsTransfer in PowerShell shows callers. The service name is BITS.

Do not end random svchost.exe rows

Find the BITS instance, or restart the service from services.msc.

Technical details

BITS technical details
Display name	Background Intelligent Transfer Service
Service name	BITS

Sources and verification

Reviewed by Feex editorial. Last verified August 2026 Status: Feex Reviewed. How we research.

Microsoft Learn: BITS · BITS API and service
Microsoft Learn: how Windows Update works · Update still calls BITS
Foxhole process map · First-party samples on Windows PCs. Not a lab benchmark.

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