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Windows 11 25H2 is not showing up in Windows Update before 24H2 support ends

Last verified September 2026Tested against Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro (end of updates 13 October 2026), Windows 11 25H2 (supported to 13 October 2027), Windows 11 26H2 (general availability 29 September 2026), Windows 11 23H2 and earlier (already past end of updates)Well documented

Usually nothing is broken: Microsoft ships these feature updates as a controlled rollout and only offers one once it judges your device ready, so two identical PCs can be offered it weeks apart. Since 29 September 2026 a second version might arrive instead — 26H2 reached general availability that day and is being offered to eligible 24H2 and 25H2 devices. With 24H2 Home and Pro losing updates on 13 October 2026, the steps are the same either way: install every pending update, turn on "Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available", and use the Learn more link on the Windows Update page to check for a safeguard hold. If one is listed, wait for it to lift rather than forcing the upgrade.

Start here

  1. Check whether the deadline actually applies to you
  2. Install every pending update, then check again
  3. Turn on "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available"

This page exists because of a deadline rather than a bug. Windows 11, version 24H2 Home and Pro reach end of updates on 13 October 2026, and the versions Microsoft points those devices at are delivered gradually and therefore have not appeared for everyone. As of 29 September 2026 there are two of them: the 24H2 release-health page still names 25H2 as the version unmanaged 24H2 Home and Pro devices receive automatically, while the 25H2 and 26H2 pages say version 26H2 is now available and recommended. The question worth answering is not "how do I install it", which Microsoft documents, but "which of the several reasons it is not being offered applies to me", because the answer decides whether you wait, fix something, or act manually. The distinction matters: one of those reasons is a safeguard hold that exists specifically because Microsoft detected something on your device that breaks after the upgrade.

Symptoms

  • Settings > Windows Update reports the device is up to date, but never offers Windows 11, version 25H2
  • Another PC in the same house or office has already been offered 25H2 on the same Windows build
  • winver or Settings > System > About still reports Windows 11, version 24H2
  • Windows Update shows a reassuring message about the upgrade being on its way, alongside a Learn more link
  • The Windows Update page carries a note that some settings are managed by your organisation
  • You have read that Windows 11 26H2 is out, but Windows Update offers neither 25H2 nor 26H2

Why this happens

The rollout is staged on purpose, and your device has not come up yet

Microsoft delivers 25H2 as what it calls a controlled feature rollout, and describes unmanaged Home and Pro devices as receiving it through a machine learning-based intelligent rollout — updates are delivered when devices are ready. This is the ordinary case and it is not a fault. It is also why two machines on the same build, in the same room, can be offered the update weeks apart, and why nothing on the device tells you where you are in the queue.

Turn on "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" · Install every pending update, then check again

The device is behind on cumulative updates, so the enablement package has nothing to switch on

25H2 is not a full reinstall. Its features already ship inside 24H2's monthly quality updates in a dormant state, and the enablement package is the master switch that turns them on — which is why the upgrade takes a single restart. That design has a consequence: the enablement package requires a prerequisite update level (the August 2025 KB5064081 preview, OS Build 26100.5074, or any later cumulative update). A device that has been paused, offline, or stalled on a failing update can sit below that line and will not be offered 25H2 until it catches up.

Install every pending update, then check again

A safeguard hold is deliberately keeping the upgrade away from your device

Microsoft states plainly that if it detects your device may have an issue, such as an application or driver incompatibility, it may put a safeguard hold in place and not offer the update until that issue is resolved. A hold is device-specific: it is keyed to the hardware, driver versions or software actually on your machine, so it will not necessarily appear as a general entry on the release health page. This is the one cause where the absence of the update is protecting you.

Check whether a safeguard hold is on your device

The PC is managed, and feature updates are an IT decision

Microsoft's wording about automatic delivery is explicitly limited to devices that are not managed by IT departments. On a work or school PC, feature updates are governed by the organisation's update policy and the enablement package can be distributed through WSUS instead, so a device can be held on 24H2 indefinitely by policy rather than by any fault. Windows Update usually signals this with a note that some settings are managed by your organisation.

Check whether the PC is managed by an organisation

Fixes

Check whether the deadline actually applies to you

about 2 min

The October date only affects Home and Pro on 24H2; knowing your version and edition tells you whether there is anything to do at all.

Applies to: Windows 11 24H2, Windows 11 25H2, Windows 11 26H1

  1. Press Windows+R, type winver and press Enter. The box names your Windows 11 version — 24H2, 25H2, 26H1 or 26H2.
    winver
  2. Open Settings > System > About to see the edition: Home, Pro, Enterprise or Education.
  3. If it reads 25H2, you are already on the version Microsoft is pointing 24H2 devices at, and it is supported until 13 October 2027. Nothing on this page applies.
  4. If it reads 26H2, your device has already taken the version that reached general availability on 29 September 2026, and nothing on this page applies.
  5. If it reads 24H2 with Home or Pro, updates for that combination end on 13 October 2026 — Microsoft's lifecycle table records the precise cut-off as 10/14/2026 6:59:59 AM Pacific Time. Continue with the steps below.
  6. If it reads 24H2 with Enterprise or Education, those editions are on a separate lifecycle page with different dates, so check that page rather than assuming the October date applies to you.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: Microsoft, Microsoft, Microsoft

Install every pending update, then check again

about 45 min

The enablement package needs a prerequisite cumulative update level before it will apply, so a device behind on updates will not be offered 25H2 at all.

Applies to: Windows 11 24H2

  1. Open Settings > Windows Update and select Check for updates.
  2. If updates are paused, resume them. A paused device keeps reporting itself as up to date while receiving nothing.
  3. If the connection is set as metered, Windows holds back larger updates — turn that off for the network you are on, or connect to an unmetered one.
  4. Install everything offered, including any update that has previously failed, and restart when asked. Repeat until Check for updates comes back with nothing left.
  5. Confirm the build number in winver is at least 26100.5074 — that is the August 2025 prerequisite level (KB5064081) below which the 25H2 enablement package does not apply. Any recent cumulative update puts you well past it.
  6. Check for updates once more. If the device is ready, Windows Update shows the option to download and install Windows 11, version 25H2.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: Microsoft, Microsoft, Microsoft

Turn on "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available"

about 5 min

Microsoft names this toggle as what puts a device into the controlled rollout, and it is the only lever a home user has over rollout timing. Since 29 September 2026 it is also what makes an eligible 24H2 or 25H2 device a candidate for version 26H2.

Applies to: Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro, unmanaged devices

  1. Open Start > Settings > Windows Update.
  2. Turn on the toggle named "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available".
  3. Select Check for updates again, and if nothing appears, restart the PC and check once more.
  4. Know which version you are opting into. Microsoft states that from 29 September 2026, version 26H2 is available on eligible 24H2 and 25H2 devices for users who have turned this setting on, and that if the update is ready for the device it downloads and installs automatically with a single restart. So on a 24H2 PC this toggle may produce an offer of 26H2 rather than 25H2 — either one takes you off the version whose updates end in October.
  5. Set expectations honestly: the toggle puts the device into the controlled rollout, it does not guarantee the update appears today. Microsoft still decides when your specific device is offered it, and a safeguard hold overrides the toggle entirely.
  6. Understand the trade-off before leaving it on: the toggle also opts the device into non-security preview updates, which arrive earlier and with less soak time than the monthly security updates. Security updates themselves arrive on the same schedule either way.
  7. If you only wanted it for the feature update, turn the toggle back off once the device is on 25H2.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: Microsoft, Microsoft, Microsoft, Microsoft

Check whether a safeguard hold is on your device

about 10 min

A hold is device-specific and is the one reason where the missing update is protecting you; the Learn more link is the only place it is spelled out for your machine.

Applies to: Windows 11 24H2

  1. Open Settings > Windows Update and read the message on the page, looking for a Learn more link next to it.
  2. Select Learn more. Microsoft documents this link as opening a page customised to your device, listing which safeguard holds apply to it and the known issues behind them. That device-specific page is the authoritative answer, not anything you can infer from the Windows Update text itself.
  3. If a hold is listed, read what it names — it is usually a specific driver, application or storage device. Updating that component through its own vendor is what eventually clears the hold.
  4. Check the Windows release health pages for 24H2 and 25H2 for the underlying issue. Microsoft lifts safeguard holds once the originating issue is resolved, so the hold disappearing is the thing to wait for.
  5. Do not treat a hold as something to work around. Microsoft publishes no bypass method, and the hold exists because something on this specific device was detected as incompatible.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: Microsoft, Microsoft

Check whether the PC is managed by an organisation

about 5 min

Microsoft's promise of automatic delivery is limited to devices not managed by IT, so on a work or school PC the absence of the update is a policy decision rather than a fault.

Applies to: Domain-joined, Intune-enrolled or WSUS-managed Windows 11 devices

  1. Open Settings > Windows Update and look for a note that some settings are managed by your organisation.
  2. Check Settings > Accounts > Access work or school. An account listed there means the device is enrolled and its update policy is set centrally.
  3. If it is managed, stop here and raise it with whoever administers the device. Feature-update timing, and whether the enablement package is served from WSUS instead of Windows Update, are theirs to set.
  4. Mention the 13 October 2026 date when you do. A managed 24H2 Home or Pro device left on that version stops receiving security updates on the same schedule as an unmanaged one.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: Microsoft, Microsoft

Last resort: upgrade manually with Microsoft's own tools

Advancedabout 60 min

If no hold is listed and the device is still not offered 25H2 as October closes in, the Installation Assistant performs the same in-place upgrade without waiting for the rollout.

Applies to: Windows 11 24H2 on x64 hardware, unmanaged devices

Before you do this

This bypasses the rollout, and if a safeguard hold applies to your device it bypasses that too. Microsoft's safeguard-hold guidance is to wait until the hold is lifted and publishes no supported way around one — a hold means Microsoft detected an application, driver or hardware incompatibility on your specific machine that the upgrade is expected to trip over. Only take this route when the Learn more link lists no hold for your device.

First:

  • A current backup of anything you cannot afford to lose
  • At least 9 GB of free disk space
  • An x64 PC — this route does not apply to ARM-based devices
  • Confirmation from the previous step that no safeguard hold is listed for this device
  1. Do the previous step first. If a safeguard hold is listed for your device, stop — this step removes the protection that hold represents, and the incompatibility it names does not go away because you installed the update a different way.
  2. Back up anything you cannot lose before starting an in-place upgrade, and make sure you have at least 9 GB of free disk space.
  3. On an ARM-based PC, do not use this route at all. Microsoft's own instruction for ARM devices is to wait until you are notified through Windows Update that the upgrade is ready; the Installation Assistant and media creation tool are x64 only.
  4. On an x64 PC, download the Windows 11 Installation Assistant from Microsoft's Download Windows 11 page and run it. Microsoft describes it as the best option for installing Windows 11 on the device you are currently using, and it keeps your files and applications.
  5. Ignore advice to install "KB5077181, the 25H2 enablement package" from the Microsoft Update Catalog — it circulates widely and it is wrong. Microsoft's own page for KB5077181 describes it as a cumulative update for Windows 11 version 25H2 and 24H2 and never calls it an enablement package; the enablement package is documented separately in KB5054156. Installing KB5077181 on 24H2 gives you a February 2026 cumulative update, not 25H2.
  6. After the upgrade, confirm with winver that the device reports version 25H2, and check Windows Update once for anything that needs reinstalling.
    winver

Source: Microsoft, Microsoft, Microsoft, Microsoft, Microsoft Q&A community

Known issues

  • Windows 11, version 26H2 reached general availability on 29 September 2026. Microsoft says it recommends moving to 26H2, that the rollout is phased over the coming months, and that it is available on eligible 24H2 and 25H2 devices whose owners turned on "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available". A device waiting for 25H2 may therefore be offered 26H2 instead.

    Affects Windows 11 26H2, Windows 11 25H2, Windows 11 24H2 · Status: open

  • Microsoft's two release-health pages currently say different things about which version a 24H2 device should be heading for. The 24H2 page carries a status banner dated 27 March 2026 naming 25H2 as the latest version and saying unmanaged 24H2 Home and Pro devices receive 25H2 automatically, while the 25H2 and 26H2 pages, both dated 29 September 2026, recommend 26H2. Either one leaves the October end-of-updates date behind.

    Affects Windows 11 24H2, Windows 11 25H2, Windows 11 26H2 · Status: open

  • Windows 11, version 24H2 Home and Pro reach end of updates on 13 October 2026. Microsoft's lifecycle table records the precise end as 10/14/2026 6:59:59 AM Pacific Time. After that date those devices stop receiving monthly security updates, fixes for known issues, time zone updates and technical support. Version 25H2 is supported until 13 October 2027.

    Affects Windows 11 24H2 Home, Windows 11 24H2 Pro · Status: open

  • Safeguard holds are device-specific, so a hold can apply to your PC without appearing as an entry on the public Windows release health pages. The Learn more link on your own Windows Update page is the only place Microsoft spells out which holds affect that particular device.

    Affects Windows 11 24H2 · Status: workaround only

If none of this worked

If Windows Update is failing rather than quiet — an update downloads and rolls back, sits at a percentage for hours, or returns an error code — this is not your page; that is an update failure rather than a rollout you are waiting on. If winver reports 23H2 or older, you are in a different situation again: those versions are already past end of updates, the single-restart enablement package path documented here applies from 24H2 rather than from 23H2, and the upgrade you need is a full feature update. And if the device was never eligible for Windows 11 in the first place — no TPM 2.0, an unsupported CPU — no amount of waiting will produce a 25H2 offer, because the block is the hardware requirement rather than the rollout.

Common questions

Will upgrading from 24H2 to 25H2 wipe my files or applications?
No. Microsoft's documentation for the enablement package is explicit that 24H2 and 25H2 share a common core operating system with an identical set of system files. The 25H2 features are already sitting dormant inside your 24H2 monthly updates, and the enablement package is a small master switch that turns them on with a single restart. This is much closer to a monthly update than to a reinstall.
What actually happens on 14 October 2026 if I stay on 24H2 Home or Pro?
The PC keeps working and keeps booting. What stops is servicing: Microsoft's release health page states that devices on those 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. It is the loss of monthly security updates that matters, and it compounds every month afterwards.
How long should I wait before doing something about it?
Nothing in Windows tells you your position in the rollout, so treat the deadline as the clock. Doing the three safe steps — updates current, toggle on, holds checked — costs an hour and covers the ordinary reasons. If those are done, no hold is listed, and it is still not offered as October approaches, that is when the manual route becomes a reasonable call rather than an impatient one.
Should I be on 26H1 instead?
Microsoft's release health page for 24H2 names 25H2 as the latest version of Windows available and says unmanaged 24H2 Home and Pro devices receive 25H2 automatically, so 25H2 is the version that page is steering those devices to. The lifecycle table does also list a version 26H1, which started on 10 February 2026 and is supported until 15 March 2028. Take what Windows Update offers your device rather than chasing a specific version number.
Windows 11 26H2 is out now — should I wait for that instead of 25H2?
You do not really get to choose, and for the October deadline it does not matter much. Microsoft says version 26H2 reached general availability on 29 September 2026, that it recommends moving to it, and that it is being offered to eligible 24H2 and 25H2 devices whose owners have turned on "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" — with the same phased rollout, so turning the toggle on makes your device a candidate rather than guaranteeing an offer. The 24H2 release-health page still names 25H2 as what unmanaged 24H2 Home and Pro devices receive automatically. Whichever of the two you are offered moves you off the version that stops receiving updates on 13 October 2026, so take what you are given rather than holding out for a particular number.

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Related problems

Sources

  • Windows 11, version 24H2 known issues and notificationsOfficial

    Microsoft · Release notes · checked Sep 30, 2026

    • Windows 11, version 24H2 Home and Pro editions will reach end of updates on October 13, 2026, after which those devices no longer receive fixes for known issues, time zone updates, technical support, or monthly security and preview updates.
    • Devices running Home and Pro editions of Windows 11, version 24H2 that are not managed by IT departments will receive the Windows 11, version 25H2 update automatically.
    • Microsoft directs users to check availability by selecting Settings > Windows Update and selecting Check for updates; if the device is ready, the option to Download and install Windows 11, version 25H2 appears.
    • Windows 11, version 25H2 is described on this page as the latest version of Windows available.
    • As of 30 September 2026 this page still carries a status banner dated 27 March 2026 naming 25H2 as the latest version available, while also linking "How to get the Windows 11 2026 Update".
  • Windows 11, version 25H2 known issues and notificationsOfficial

    Microsoft · Release notes · checked Sep 30, 2026

    • Windows 11, version 25H2 is available for all eligible devices, and unmanaged Home and Pro devices receive it through what Microsoft calls a machine learning-based intelligent rollout.
    • Microsoft states that updates are delivered when devices are ready and that no action is required to receive it.
    • The same manual path applies: Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates shows Download and install Windows 11, version 25H2 when the device is ready.
    • As of 29 September 2026 this page recommends moving to Windows 11, version 26H2 and states it is available on eligible 25H2 and 24H2 devices with the "get the latest updates" setting turned on.
  • Windows 11 Home and Pro - Microsoft LifecycleOfficial

    Microsoft · Documentation · checked Sep 30, 2026

    • The lifecycle table lists Windows 11 version 24H2 with a start date of 10/1/2024 and an end date of 10/14/2026 6:59:59 AM Pacific Time, which is the end of 13 October 2026 in that time zone.
    • Windows 11 version 25H2 started 9/30/2025 and is supported until 10/13/2027, giving a device that moves to 25H2 another year of updates.
    • The page covers the Home, Pro, Pro Education, Pro for Workstations and SE editions; Enterprise and Education editions are listed on a separate lifecycle page with different dates.
    • A version 26H1 is also listed, with a start date of 2/10/2026 and an end date of 3/15/2028.
  • How to get the Windows 11 2025 UpdateOfficial

    Microsoft · Documentation · checked Sep 30, 2026

    • Microsoft describes the deployment of 25H2 as a controlled feature rollout using servicing technology like that used for the monthly update process.
    • The update is delivered as an enablement package (eKB), and 24H2 and 25H2 use a shared code base.
    • Devices with the 'Get the latest updates as soon as they're available' toggle turned on receive the update through the controlled rollout.
    • Microsoft states: 'If we detect that your device may have an issue, such as an application or driver incompatibility, we may put a safeguard hold in place and not offer the update until that issue is resolved.'
  • KB5006965: How to check information about safeguard holds affecting your deviceOfficial

    Microsoft · Knowledge base · checked Sep 30, 2026

    • A safeguard hold prevents a device with a known issue from being offered a new feature update.
    • Selecting Learn more on the Windows Update page opens a page customised to that device showing which safeguard holds apply to it and the known issues behind them.
    • Microsoft's guidance is to monitor the Windows release health hub, because once the originating issue is resolved the safeguard holds are lifted.
    • The page gives no method for bypassing a safeguard hold and contains no instructions for forcing the upgrade with the Installation Assistant or installation media.
  • KB5054156: Feature update to Windows 11, version 25H2 by using an enablement packageOfficial

    Microsoft · Knowledge base · checked Sep 30, 2026

    • Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2 share a common core operating system with an identical set of system files.
    • The new features in 25H2 are already included in the latest monthly quality update for 24H2 but sit in an inactive and dormant state until they are turned on through the enablement package, described as a small, quick-to-install master switch.
    • The enablement package updates a device from 24H2 to 25H2 with a single restart, reducing update downtime.
    • A prerequisite cumulative update is required before the enablement package applies: the August 29, 2025 KB5064081 (OS Build 26100.5074) preview update or a later cumulative update.
    • The enablement package is distributed through Windows Update, the Microsoft Update Catalog and WSUS, and applies to Home, Pro, Enterprise, Education, Multi-Session and IoT Enterprise editions running version 24H2.
  • Get Windows updates as soon as they're available for your deviceOfficial

    Microsoft · Support page · checked Sep 30, 2026

    • The toggle is reached through Start > Settings > Windows Update, where it is named 'Get the latest updates as soon as they're available'.
    • Microsoft's wording for turning it on is that the device 'will be among the first to get the latest non-security updates, fixes, improvements, and enhancements at the time they're available'. This page covers the toggle itself; it is the Windows Experience Blog that ties the toggle to the 25H2 controlled rollout.
    • Whether the toggle is off or on, the device still receives the regular security updates as usual; the toggle only governs how quickly the additional non-security updates, fixes, features and improvements arrive.
  • Download Windows 11Official

    Microsoft · Documentation · checked Sep 30, 2026

    • Microsoft publishes the Windows 11 Installation Assistant and describes it as the best option for installing Windows 11 on the device you are currently using.
    • The Installation Assistant requires Windows 10 version 2004 or higher already installed and 9 GB of free disk space, and runs only on x64 processors, not ARM-based devices.
    • For ARM-based devices Microsoft states that users should wait until they are notified through Windows Update that the upgrade is ready.
    • Microsoft also publishes the media creation tool and ISO downloads for x64 devices, intended for a reinstall or clean install rather than a routine feature update.
  • February 10, 2026—KB5077181 (OS Builds 26200.7840 and 26100.7840)Official

    Microsoft · Knowledge base · checked Sep 30, 2026

    • KB5077181 is described by Microsoft as a cumulative update for Windows 11, version 25H2 and 24H2 that includes the latest security fixes and improvements, and it applies to both versions in all editions.
    • Nowhere on the page is KB5077181 described as the Windows 11 version 25H2 enablement package, which is documented separately in KB5054156.
  • Windows 11, version 26H2 known issues and notificationsOfficial

    Microsoft · Release notes · checked Sep 30, 2026

    • Windows 11, version 26H2 reached general availability on 29 September 2026, under a "Current status as of September 29, 2026" banner.
    • Microsoft states the 26H2 rollout is phased and will expand over the next few months.
    • Microsoft states that from that date version 26H2 is available on eligible Windows 11 version 25H2 and version 24H2 devices for users who have turned on "Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available", and that if the update is ready for the device it downloads and installs automatically with a single restart.
  • unable to update my windows 11 version from 23h2 to 25h2Community report

    Microsoft Q&A community · Forum · checked Sep 30, 2026

    • A reader reports Windows Update showing the device as up to date while never offering 25H2, and the thread records seven other people marking the same question, so the symptom is genuinely reported rather than hypothetical.
    • The thread is also where the commonly repeated advice to 'manually install KB5077181, the 25H2 enablement package' appears, which is the mix-up this article corrects: KB5077181 is a cumulative update, not the enablement package documented in KB5054156.
    • Part of the thread's advice is explicitly AI-generated, which is why it is cited here only as evidence that the symptom and the bad advice circulate, never as support for a technical claim.