Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro users have three months before security updates stop
Microsoft has set 13 October 2026 as the cut-off for monthly patches on Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro, and on Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016.
Key points
- Microsoft will stop sending security updates to Windows 11 version 24H2 Home and Pro on 13 October 2026.
- Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016 loses updates on the same date.
- Enterprise and Education editions of Windows 11 24H2 keep getting patches until 12 October 2027.
- Home users are being pushed to upgrade to Windows 11 25H2, released in September 2024 as a small add-on update.
- The free Windows 10 Extended Security Updates programme for consumers now runs until 12 October 2027.
Microsoft has told customers, through a message centre notice first reported by BleepingComputer, that two versions of Windows will stop getting security fixes in about three months.
The date to circle is 13 October 2026.
After that day, if you are running Windows 11 version 24H2 Home or Pro, or Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016 (a stripped-down version of Windows 10 sold to businesses that want a stable system with no feature changes), Microsoft will not send you any more monthly patches. That includes the security fixes that protect against newly discovered flaws.
In practice, that means an unpatched machine becomes an easier target every week that passes.
What should home users actually do?
Upgrade to Windows 11 version 25H2, and in most cases you will not have to lift a finger.
Microsoft released 25H2 (marketed as the Windows 11 2025 Update) in September 2024. It is a small update that sits on top of 24H2, delivered through what Microsoft calls an "enablement package", basically a tiny installer that flips on features already sitting on your PC. So the download is quick and the reboot is short.
If your PC is a personal machine not managed by a company IT team, the update will arrive on its own. You can still delay it, and you get to choose when to restart.
To check manually: open Settings, go to Windows Update, and hit Check for updates. If your device is ready, you will see "Download and install Windows 11, version 25H2".
Why do businesses get an extra year?
Microsoft is giving Enterprise and Education customers until 12 October 2027 on the same 24H2 build.
The reasoning is boring but familiar: large organisations test every Windows release against their own apps, printers, custom software and compliance rules before they roll it out to thousands of staff. Home users do not have that overhead, so Microsoft moves them along faster.
One thing the post-mortem will say, when some small business gets hit next year, is that nobody realised the "Pro" edition on their office laptops was on the consumer clock, not the enterprise one. Pro sounds enterprise. It is not.
What about older Windows 10 machines?
Microsoft quietly extended its free Extended Security Updates programme for consumer Windows 10 devices back in June. Enrolled machines will now receive security patches until 12 October 2027.
That buys time for anyone whose PC cannot run Windows 11 because of the hardware requirements. It is not a permanent fix. It is a runway.
Microsoft also stopped patching Windows 11 23H2 Home and Pro back in November, so the pattern is clear: consumer editions get roughly two years, then you move or you go dark.
The failure mode here is not dramatic. It is the family PC, or the two-person accountancy office, that keeps running 24H2 into 2027 because nobody sent a reminder. Set a calendar note for October 2026 and check Windows Update. That is the whole job.
Operational takeaway: if the device says "Home" or "Pro" on the box, treat 13 October 2026 as a hard deadline, not a suggestion.
