Windows 11 24H2 End of Life: Oct 13 Deadline and 26H2 Fix

Windows 11 24H2 reaches end of life for Home and Pro editions with its last security update on October 13, 2026, and for Enterprise and Education in October 2027. Move those PCs to version 26H2, which Microsoft released September 29, 2026 and installs on a 24H2 machine as a small enablement package. It's a restart, not a rebuild.

Skip it and every vulnerability disclosed after that Patch Tuesday stays open on those machines until they're upgraded.

By Joe Laboy, a systems engineer at The NetSys Group, which has delivered managed IT, cybersecurity and cloud services from Brooklyn since 1998. We work on-site across New York City, Long Island, Westchester, the Hudson Valley, North Jersey and Fairfield County, CT, with remote managed IT nationwide.

When is Windows 11 24H2 end of life?

Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro reach end of life after the October 13, 2026 Patch Tuesday. That's their last security update, with no fixes or support after it.

Enterprise and Education editions of 24H2 get one more year. Most small businesses run Pro, so the October 2026 date is yours.

Microsoft publishes every date on its Windows 11 Home and Pro lifecycle page and its Enterprise and Education lifecycle page.

Windows 11 version	Home and Pro: support ends	Enterprise and Education: support ends
23H2	November 12, 2025 (ended)	November 11, 2026
24H2	October 14, 2026	October 13, 2027
25H2	October 13, 2027	October 11, 2028
26H2	October 10, 2028	October 9, 2029

End dates exactly as Microsoft's lifecycle pages list them (6:59 a.m. Pacific), checked October 10, 2026. For 24H2 Home and Pro, that means the last security update ships on Patch Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Microsoft's Windows 11 release information lists the same releases by the date of their last update.

What happens if you keep running 24H2 after October 13?

The PCs keep working. They just stop getting patched, and attackers go after freshly disclosed flaws in software they know won't be fixed.

It's a compliance problem too. PCI DSS v4.0.1 (Requirement 6.3.3, published by the PCI Security Standards Council) requires critical security patches within one month of release, and an unsupported OS can't get them. HIPAA's Security Rule asks you to manage known risks, and a fleet nobody can patch is one.

Cyber insurance applications ask about patching as well. Good patch management only works while the OS still gets patches.

Should you upgrade to 25H2 or 26H2?

Go to 26H2. It buys Home and Pro machines support through October 2028, a full year more than 25H2.

The effort is the same. Microsoft's 26H2 notes for IT pros say it's "delivered as an enablement package for eligible devices running Windows 11, versions 25H2 and 24H2," because all three share a common servicing branch.

The code is already on the machine. The package switches it on.

Two catches. Microsoft is rolling 26H2 out gradually, so some PCs won't be offered it yet. And TechRepublic reports the package needs the September 22 preview update or a later cumulative update installed first.

If a machine can't get 26H2 before October 13, move it to 25H2 now and take 26H2 later. Either way, it's off 24H2 by the deadline.

How do you roll it out without breaking anything?

Not all at once. In this order:

1. Inventory. On a single PC, press Win+R, type winver, and read the Version line. Across a fleet, pull the same report from Intune or your RMM tool. Note which PCs can't run Windows 11 at all.
2. Patch first. Get every target machine on the latest cumulative update so the enablement package will install.
3. Pilot. Update two machines and confirm your line-of-business apps (accounting, EHR, industry software) still behave.
4. Stage the rest. Pilot, then a wider wave, then everyone. If something breaks, it breaks on two machines, not forty.
5. Deploy centrally. Intune, Windows Update for Business, or your MSP's RMM tool can target the version and schedule it. Nobody should be walking desk to desk.

No management tool? On each PC, open Settings, then Windows Update, turn on "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available," and click Check for updates. Install 26H2 when it's offered. Fine for five PCs. Painful for fifty.

New machines provisioned through Windows Autopilot arrive current. The work is your existing fleet. For what changed in the last release and what it removed, see our Windows 11 25H2 rollout guide.

What about PCs that can't run Windows 11 at all?

They can't take 26H2 or 25H2. Windows 11 needs TPM 2.0 and a supported CPU, and older hardware fails the check. That's a replacement, not an update.

It's the same reckoning a lot of offices went through with Windows 10 end of support. Our take on how often to replace business computers lays out the math, and tracking this across a fleet is what managed IT services are for.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Windows 11 24H2 end of support date?

October 13, 2026, is the last Patch Tuesday for Home and Pro. Microsoft's lifecycle page lists the end as 6:59 a.m. Pacific on October 14, the morning after that final update ships. Enterprise and Education editions of 24H2 stay supported until October 13, 2027.

When does support for Windows 11 end?

Windows 11 itself has no end date yet: as of October 2026, Microsoft's lifecycle page lists Windows 11 Home and Pro as in support with no retirement date. Each yearly version is what expires. Home and Pro versions get 24 months of updates and Enterprise and Education versions get 36 months from release, according to Microsoft's Windows lifecycle FAQ, so a PC stays supported as long as it moves to the next version before its current one runs out. Today that means 24H2 machines move to 26H2.

When is Windows 11 25H2 end of life?

Microsoft lists October 13, 2027, for Home and Pro and October 11, 2028, for Enterprise and Education. That's one reason to skip past 25H2 to 26H2 if you can: same enablement-package install, an extra year of support on Pro machines.

What about Windows 11 Enterprise 24H2 and the LTSC edition?

Enterprise and Education 24H2 on the normal channel runs a year longer than Pro, to October 2027. Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC 2024, the long-term edition built on 24H2 for specialized devices, follows fixed dates instead: mainstream support to October 9, 2029 and extended support to October 10, 2034, per Microsoft's release information. Most offices don't run LTSC on everyday PCs, so check the edition in Settings before you count on those dates.

Does this affect Windows Server 24H2?

No. Windows Server 2025 shares the 24H2 code base (OS build 26100), but it is a Long-Term Servicing Channel release with fixed dates: mainstream support until November 13, 2029 and extended support until November 14, 2034, according to Microsoft's Windows Server release information. The October 2026 deadline applies to Windows 11 PCs, not to your servers.

Can we skip to Windows 11 26H1?

No. Microsoft built 26H1 for certain new devices that reached the market in early 2026 and doesn't offer it as an in-place update from 24H2 or 25H2. For existing PCs, 26H2 is the upgrade.

Is the upgrade free?

Yes. Feature updates are free on any PC already licensed for Windows 11. The only cost is the time to test and deploy, and that's small because both 25H2 and 26H2 install on 24H2 as an enablement package.

Will it break our business applications?

Rarely. 24H2, 25H2, and 26H2 share a servicing branch, so the change is small. Still, pilot it on two machines first, because specialized industry apps are where surprises live.

Is 24H2 the same as the Windows 11 2024 Update?

Yes. 24H2 is the version label for what Microsoft marketed as the Windows 11 2024 Update, and it became generally available on October 1, 2024. The number is the year and the half it shipped. 26H2 is the second-half 2026 release.

Not sure which machines are still on 24H2, or which can't move at all? Book a call with an engineer and we'll help you map the fleet: what can take 26H2 now, what needs a cumulative update first, and what needs replacing.