Windows 11 24H2 loses security updates on 13 October
Key takeaways
- Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro stop receiving monthly security patches after 13 October 2026
- Enterprise and Education editions on 24H2 are supported until October 2027
- 25H2 installs as an enablement package, so the upgrade takes minutes rather than an hour
- Check your version by pressing Windows and R, typing winver, and pressing Enter
On 13 October 2026, Windows 11 version 24H2 Home and Pro reach end of updates. After that date those machines stop receiving monthly security patches. Enterprise and Education editions on 24H2 have until October 2027, so this is a consumer and small business problem.
What Windows 11 24H2 end of support actually means
Monthly patches stop entirely, rather than dropping to a slower cadence or a critical-only list. September's Patch Tuesday alone carried 972 fixes across Microsoft's range, which gives a sense of what an affected machine stops receiving.
An unpatched Windows box on a home network is the easiest route into everything else on that network. Most people have no idea which version they are running, which is the actual problem here.
The fix takes about five minutes
25H2 installs as an enablement package rather than a full feature update. The files are already on the machine in most cases, so the update flips a switch and reboots rather than downloading several gigabytes.
Unmanaged Home and Pro devices should receive it automatically. "Should" is carrying weight in that sentence, because plenty of machines stall on Windows Update without telling anyone.
Check it now
- Press the Windows key and R, type winver, press Enter, and read the version number.
- If it says 24H2 and you are running Home or Pro, you are affected.
- Open Settings, then Windows Update, then Check for updates.
- If 25H2 does not appear, run the Windows Update troubleshooter and check again.
- Confirm with winver that it now reads 25H2.
- On Enterprise or Education, you have until October 2027 and no rush.
25H2 Home and Pro are supported through 12 October 2027. Enterprise and Education on 25H2 run to 10 October 2028.
What to watch
Whether the automatic rollout actually reaches stalled machines before 13 October, or whether a large number of Home installs sit on 24H2 past the date without anyone noticing. That population is exactly what gets swept up when a new exploit lands in the CISA known exploited vulnerabilities catalogue, which is where unpatched consumer devices usually end up in the story. Deadlines with a countdown are easy to ignore right up until the patches stop.
