Windows 11 24H2 End of Support Hits Oct. 13: Steps to Take

The Windows 11 24H2 end of support date is October 13, 2026, for Home and Pro editions, six days from today. After that, Microsoft stops shipping fixes for known issues, time zone corrections, technical support, and the monthly security and preview updates that close newly found vulnerabilities, according to PCWorld, citing Microsoft's own support page.

The cutoff only hits Home and Pro machines running 24H2. Enterprise and Education editions of the same version get another year, with support running until October 12, 2027, PCWorld reports.

Here's the sequence to work through: confirm your version and edition, back up your files and locate your BitLocker recovery key, then install whatever feature update Windows Update offers. 25H2 is the confirmed way off 24H2. Treat 26H2 as still unsettled until Microsoft's release-health page spells out its own servicing dates.

Check whether your Windows 11 24H2 PC is affected

Press Windows key + R, type winver, and press Enter to see the installed version number, a step confirmed in CyberBasics' checklist from two weeks ago.

If that dialog reads "24H2," check the edition in Settings, under System, then About. Home and Pro are the editions facing this deadline; Enterprise and Education on 24H2 aren't, per PCWorld and CyberBasics.

Three outcomes matter here. 24H2 Home or Pro means back up and update now. 24H2 Enterprise or Education means no action is needed yet. Any other version number, like 26H1, puts the PC on a different servicing clock, covered further down.

What changes once Windows 11 24H2 security updates end

October 13 is a patch-eligibility cutoff, not a shutdown date. Microsoft's language, quoted by PCWorld, spells out what disappears for affected devices: fixes for known issues, time zone updates, technical support, and the monthly security and preview updates guarding against current threats.

Microsoft published an advisory last month for a vulnerability in the Windows Universal Disk Format driver affecting 24H2, a privilege-escalation flaw rated "Exploitation Unlikely," according to MSRC's advisory. That rating isn't evidence of anything happening in the wild right now. It does show the kind of fix 24H2 Home and Pro machines stop qualifying for once the deadline passes.

Back up your files and BitLocker key first

Back up before touching Windows Update, not after. Windows Backup saves files, themes, settings, and some installed apps and Wi-Fi info, according to CyberBasics. A free Microsoft account only includes 5 GB of storage, so check how much space the files need first, or copy them to an external drive instead.

Locate the BitLocker recovery key too. Windows asks for a 48-digit recovery key when BitLocker can't unlock the drive automatically, often after a hardware or firmware change, and Microsoft's own support documentation states it cannot retrieve or recreate a lost key, according to CyberBasics, which cites that documentation directly. Resetting the device to regain access removes every file on it.

How to upgrade Windows 11 24H2 to a supported version

Open Settings, go to Windows Update, and select Check for updates. If 25H2 appears, installing it is enough to leave 24H2 behind. Windows 11 25H2 Home and Pro editions carry support through October 12, 2027, per CyberBasics.

26H2 complicates the picture. PCWorld reported this week that 26H2 was already appearing in Windows Update and recommended installing it where available, while an earlier CyberBasics report from two weeks ago found no general-availability date published, with Microsoft describing the release only as "later this calendar year." Readers don't need to chase upgrading Windows 11 24H2 to 26H2 specifically. Leaving 24H2 for any currently supported version clears the deadline, and 25H2 is the version with confirmed servicing dates right now. Check Microsoft's release-health page directly before treating 26H2's own support window as settled.

A toggle in Settings called "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" can surface updates sooner, but switching it on doesn't guarantee a specific feature update appears on a given PC, per PCWorld. Wait for Windows Update to name the version before installing anything.

If Windows Update offers nothing

Look for a compatibility warning or other explanation in Settings before trying anything else. Microsoft documents that feature updates can be paused on specific hardware or driver combinations until a known issue is resolved; see Microsoft's safeguard hold documentation for how that works.

If nothing explains the gap, a Microsoft Q&A response addressing this exact scenario points to downloading the Windows 11 ISO directly from Microsoft, matched to the PC's current display language. Done this way, the respondent says it behaves like an update rather than a reinstall, and files, settings, and installed software shouldn't be affected. During setup, choose the option to keep personal files and apps.

If that option doesn't appear, or the install fails outright, stop. Treat it as a sign the PC has a compatibility problem worth resolving first, not a cue to push into a clean install that could undo the backup work already done.

Exceptions: 26H1, unsupported hardware, and ESU

Some new devices released in early 2026 may run version 26H1, a separate release line built on a different Windows core, according to CyberBasics. Microsoft says those devices can't move directly to 26H2 and will get a path to a future release instead; Home and Pro editions of 26H1 are supported until March 14, 2028. If winver shows 26H1, the October 13 deadline doesn't apply.

For a PC that genuinely can't run any currently supported Windows 11 version, the same Microsoft Q&A response names two options: install Windows 10 on hardware that meets its own requirements, or move to a new PC with a supported Windows 11 version preinstalled. Windows 10's own support ended last year, on October 14, 2025, so the first option applies to a narrower set of hardware than it sounds.

Windows 10's Extended Security Updates program is a separate program for a different operating system, and its consumer tier reaches its own end date on October 13, 2026, according to a Microsoft Q&A clarification. It doesn't extend coverage to a Windows 11 24H2 PC that can't update.

One more October date worth a glance after updating: Secure Boot certificates issued in 2011 expire on a rolling basis through October 19, 2026, and Microsoft delivers replacements through monthly updates, per CyberBasics. That's a separate issue from the 24H2 deadline, not a reason to delay leaving 24H2.

What to do now

Run winver tonight, then check Settings, System, About for the edition. If the result is 24H2 Home or Pro, back up the files, write down the BitLocker recovery key, and install 25H2, or whatever feature update Windows Update names, before October 13.