Microsoft lifts Windows 11 upgrade block for Asphalt 8 players

Windows 11 Update Settings — Some Windows 11 PCs were blocked from upgrading to version 24H2 until recently. (Image credit: Future)

If your PC has been blocked from upgrading to the latest version of Windows 11, Microsoft has lifted a compatibility hold that may allow your PC to upgrade.

Earlier this week, Microsoft removed a compatibility hold that prevented PCs with Asphalt 8 (Airborne) from upgrading to Windows 11 version 24H2.

Microsoft outlined the initial issue back in September 2024:

Latest Videos From

"After installing Windows 11, version 24H2, you might face issues with Asphalt 8 (Airborne). The game might stop responding with an exception while you are using or exiting it, and you will have to restart the game to recover from the exception.

To safeguard your update experience, we have applied a compatibility hold on devices using Asphalt 8. These devices will not be offered to install Windows 11, version 24H2 via the Windows Update release channel. IT administrators using Windows Update for Business reports can check this issue using its safeguard ID: 52796746.

Important: We recommend that you do not attempt to manually update to version 24H2 using the Windows 11 Installation Assistant or the media creation tool until this issue has been resolved."

Microsoft’s documentation confirms the issue has been resolved and the hold lifted.

Asphalt 8 on Windows Phone. — Once popular on Windows Phone, Asphalt 8 later launched for Windows 8 in 2018. (Image credit: Future)

If your PC was affected, the Windows 11 version 24H2 update may take up to 48 hours to appear.

It's unclear how many systems were affected by the compatibility hold. Asphalt 8 is an older game that first shipped to PCs in 2018 during the Windows 8 days.

Sean Endicott is a News Writer at Windows Central, where he covers Windows 11, Surface hardware, Microsoft 365, AI, apps, and the broader PC ecosystem. Since joining the site in 2017, he has written well over a thousand articles across the Microsoft landscape, covering breaking news, analysis, and feature reporting.

He writes Windows Wrap, a weekly column covering the biggest stories in Windows and the PC industry, and what they mean for the platform going forward.

Before joining Windows Central full-time, Sean worked in journalism and media production after earning a First Class degree in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University. Outside of tech, he is an award-winning American football coach based in Nottingham, England, and was named BAFCA Youth Coach of the Year in 2024.