Windows 11 24H2 Stops Getting Updates on October 13 - How to Upgrade Now

If your PC runs Windows 11 24H2 Home or Pro, its security updates stop on 13 October 2026.

The fix is free, small and needs just one restart.

Here is how to check if you are affected, and what to do in the next few minutes.

What stops on 13 October

After that date, Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro get no more security fixes, bug fixes, time zone updates or technical support, according to Microsoft's lifecycle page.

13 October is also that month's Patch Tuesday, so the update released that day is expected to be the last one. Your PC keeps working after that - it just stops getting protection from new threats.

Enterprise and Education editions are not affected yet. Microsoft supports 24H2 on those until 12 October 2027, so a work or school laptop is on a different clock.

Check your version in 10 seconds

Press Win + R, type winver and press Enter. The small window that opens shows your version on the second line.

• Version 25H2 - you are covered until 12 October 2027. Nothing to do.
• Version 24H2 - read on. You have until 13 October.
• Version 23H2 or older - updates already stopped in November 2025. Upgrade now, the same way as below.

How to move from 24H2 to 25H2

This is not a full reinstall. 24H2 and 25H2 share the same system files, so the upgrade is a small package that switches the new version on. Your files, apps and settings stay put.

1. Open Settings, then Windows Update. Press Win + I and pick Windows Update in the left menu.
2. Click Check for updates. Install anything waiting first - the upgrade needs recent monthly updates in place.
3. Look for the 25H2 offer. It reads "Windows 11, version 25H2". Click Download and install.
4. Restart when it asks. One restart is all it takes. Run winver again to confirm.

Microsoft is also pushing 25H2 automatically to home PCs that are still on 24H2, so yours may simply ask you to pick a restart time. If you paused updates, the offer waits until you resume them.

Curious what you get? Our look at what the latest update changed covers the new taskbar and what is still missing.

If 25H2 is not offered

Install all pending updates, restart, and check again. A PC that is several months behind has to catch up before the offer appears.

Still nothing? The free Windows 11 Installation Assistant installs the current version over the top and keeps your files and apps. It needs about 9 GB of free space and a standard Intel or AMD PC - it does not run on Arm laptops.

Did you install Windows 11 on an older, unsupported PC? The Installation Assistant checks your hardware and will refuse. Many of these PCs still receive updates, but if yours does not, our guide on how to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware shows the way forward.

What comes next

25H2 is not the end of the road either. Microsoft's next version, 26H2, is expected later this year and should arrive the same small way, as a quick switch-on rather than a reinstall.

The version called 26H1 is only for some new Arm laptops, so do not wait for it on an existing PC.

Quick questions