Microsoft has issued a warning to all Windows 11 Home and Pro users still running the now two year old 24H2 release that support for this version of the OS is ending in just a few months.
All new versions of Windows 11 ship with a support window that lasts 24 months for consumers and 36 months for commercial customers. As 24H2 first launched in 2024, it's now coming to the end of its support window for consumers.
"Windows 11, version 24H2 Home and Pro editions will reach end of updates on October 13, 2026," Microsoft says in a recent update changelog. "Devices running these editions will no longer receive fixes for known issues, time zone updates, technical support, or monthly security and preview updates containing protections from the latest security threats."
The good news is everyone running 24H2 today should be fully compatible with 25H2, which is the current shipping version of Windows 11 and fully supported, based on the exact same codebase as 24H2. In fact, they're so similar, the 25H2 upgrade is very small and comes with no compatibility issues or complex update processes. It's essentially the flip of a switch.
That's the easiest fix for those still on 24H2 and worried about losing support. Once you upgrade to 25H2, you'll be fully supported once more until October 2027. If you want to wait until October this year, you can jump straight to 26H2 when that begins rolling out in the fall.
25H2 and the upcoming 26H2 release are based on the same platform release as 24H2, codenamed Germanium. This means the underlying OS doesn't change between the releases, only surface level features and changes are present between them. If you've been hanging onto 24H2 because you're worried about the upgrade breaking anything, there's really nothing to be concerned about. 25H2 is basically 24H2 part 2.
For commercial customers, there's not anything to worry about just yet. Windows 11 version 24H2 for commercial customers will continue to be supported until October 12, 2027, so over a year to go before those devices will need to be updated.
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