If your PC runs Windows 11 Home or Pro on version 24H2, Microsoft stops shipping security fixes for it after 13 October 2026, according to the product lifecycle table on its site. The machine keeps working, but any hole found after that date stays open.
Find your version in a minute
- Right-click Start and choose Settings.
- Go to System, then About.
- Under Windows specifications, read the Version line. If it says 24H2, this is for you.
What stays supported
- 25H2 shipped on 30 September 2025 and gets Home and Pro updates until 12 October 2027.
- 26H2 shipped on 29 September 2026 and is covered until 10 October 2028.
- 26H1 is not an option for the PC you already own. Microsoft says it is scoped to new devices that began reaching the market in early 2026, and it is not offered as an in-place update from 24H2 or 25H2.
How to move
Open Settings, then Windows Update, and select Check for updates. If an offer to move to a newer version appears, download and install it. Back up the files you care about first, and keep the laptop plugged in until it finishes.
Enterprise and Education editions of 24H2 get an extra year: their updates run until 12 October 2027.
Photo: a laptop open on a wooden desk. By Pixel.la, CC0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Source: “Windows 11 Home and Pro”, Microsoft Lifecycle; “Windows 11 release information”, learn.microsoft.com; “Find information about your Windows device”, Microsoft Support.
Kuwait One, once a week.
The most useful stories we published this week, in your inbox.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
