October 1, 2024: Windows 11 version 24H2 ships. September 30, 2025: version 25H2 replaces it. October 13, 2026: Microsoft stops sending updates to 24H2 on Home and Pro editions, along with Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016. That last date is less than four weeks out, and any Home or Pro PC still on 24H2 after it gets no more security patches.
Microsoft’s own wording, from its Message Center notice, is that devices on those editions “will cease to receive the monthly security and non-security preview updates which include protections against the latest security threats.” The Windows 11 release health page gives the same date: Home, Pro, Pro Education and Pro for Workstations get 24 months of servicing from release. Enterprise and Education editions get 36 months and stay supported until October 12, 2027, so managed business machines are not affected yet.
The replacement is version 25H2, available since September 30, 2025. It is not a full new build. Microsoft ships it as an enablement package on the same code base as 24H2, which is why the two versions carry matching patch numbers right now: build 26100.9457 for 24H2 and 26200.9457 for 25H2 as of the September 14 update. In practice that means a small download and one restart, not the hour-long feature upgrade people remember from earlier years. Once you are on 25H2, Home and Pro are covered until October 12, 2027.
Microsoft says unmanaged Home and Pro PCs still on 24H2 will be moved to 25H2 automatically, and the user only chooses when to restart. PCs managed by an organization are the exception, and a PC where you have paused updates will not get it until the pause ends.
Two minutes of checking settles it. Open Settings, go to System, then About, and read the Version line (typing winver into the Start menu works too). If it says 24H2 and your edition is Home or Pro, open Windows Update and check for updates; 25H2 should be offered there and installs in one pass. If it already says 25H2, there is nothing to do. For what comes after, our note on the Windows 11 26H2 update covers the next version, and the rest of our Operating Systems coverage is the place for Windows setup and update guides.
