Windows 10: Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro Reach End of Support, Microsoft Recommends Upgrading to 26H2

Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 11 version 24H2 Home and Pro reached the end of updates on October 13, 2026, according to a new entry in the Windows release health message center. The October 2026 monthly security update is the last update these editions will receive.

The same notice covers Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016, which also reached end of updates on October 13. Devices that stay on these editions no longer get monthly security updates or the optional non-security preview updates, so they lose protection against the latest security threats from November onward.

Business editions follow a different schedule. Under the Microsoft lifecycle policy, Windows 11 24H2 Enterprise and Education stay in mainstream support until October 12, 2027.

Windows 11 26H2 Is the Recommended Upgrade Path


Microsoft advises affected users to move to Windows 11 26H2, also known as the Windows 11 2026 Update. Version 26H2 became generally available in September 2026 as an enablement package, and consumer editions of 26H2 are supported until October 2029.

The rollout is phased. Microsoft says it is currently offered to eligible devices where the "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" option is turned on, and that availability "will expand over the next few months." When the update is ready for a device, it downloads and installs automatically, and a single restart completes the process.

Home and Pro users still on 24H2 can check their version and request the upgrade manually:

1. Open Settings and go to System, then About, and check the Version entry under Windows specifications.
2. If it shows 24H2, open Settings, then Windows Update.
3. Turn on "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available."
4. Select Check for updates and install the Windows 11, version 26H2 feature update if it is listed.
5. Restart the PC when prompted.

Users who do not see the offer yet should leave the toggle on. The phased rollout means some eligible devices will only receive 26H2 later, at which point it installs automatically.

Other Windows End of Support Dates


The 24H2 deadline is not the only Windows cutoff coming up. Microsoft has already set November 10 as the final security update for Windows 11 23H2 Enterprise and Education, along with IoT Enterprise. Windows 11 23H2 Home and Pro lost support in November 2025.

Windows Server 2022 also left mainstream support on October 13, although it remains in extended support until October 2031. Earlier this year, Microsoft extended the free Windows 10 Extended Security Updates program for home users to October 2027.

Microsoft has separately warned that PCs running unsupported Windows versions will stop receiving security updates after next year's Windows Update certificate rotation.

Microsoft has not said how long the phased 26H2 rollout will take to reach all eligible Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro devices.

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro Reach End of Support, Microsoft Recommends Upgrading to 26H2 appeared first on gHacks.

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Windows Security Issue: Missing 'windowsdefender' in Windows 11 24H2 (26100.863)

Chewed on this for a day. My first post as well. Hopefully this finds people in the same boat.

KB5043950: Windows 11, version 24H2 support - Microsoft Support

Known issue

New Windows 11, version 24H2 devices that are intended to be onboarded to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint might require customers to enable the prerequisite feature. This affects all supported architectures.

IT admins might observe devices not being able to be onboarded to the Defender for Endpoint cloud service, and not receiving the expected protection as a result, even if Intune is expected to execute the onboarding sequence by applying an endpoint detection and response (EDR) policy. Intune will also display an error as it is unable to successfully apply the policy. Users may also not be able to connect to corporate resources if a Conditional Access policy is configured to require Defender for Endpoint being enabled and actively reporting in. Compliance status is visible in the Microsoft Intune device compliance dashboard. This might happen in one of the following scenarios.

• A user buys a new device that has the Home SKU. This SKU does not support Defender for Endpoint. Then the user upgrades to Pro using a Pro product key. This process, called “transmog,” does not install Defender for Endpoint, which is by design. The Defender for Endpoint agent is not correctly enrolled in the Defender for Endpoint service, and the device is not protected.
  
• A user buys a new device that has the Pro SKU, and the OEM did not install the required feature.
  

Important Defender for Endpoint has been removed from the base image for Windows 11, version 24H2 and needs to be manually installed whenever a device goes from Home to Pro.

Workaround

Use the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) command-line tool to install the Windows Sense Client from an elevated command prompt. See the command below.

DISM /online /Add-Capability /CapabilityName:Microsoft.Windows.Sense.Client~~~~

KB5043950: Windows 11, version 24H2 support - Microsoft Support

 

Microsoft Silverlight will reach end of support on October 12, 2021


Microsoft Silverlight will reach the end of support on October 12, 2021. Silverlight development framework is currently only supported on Internet Explorer 10 and Internet Explorer 11, with support for Internet Explorer 10 ending on January 31, 2020. There is no longer support for Chrome, Firefox, or any browser using the Mac operating system. Read more: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...d-74f0a64f1788

 

Windows 11 Pro Upgrade from Windows 10 Pro Edition

No but after it installed the malfunctioning Windows 11 upgrade it was listed as Windows 11 Pro. Microsoft Windows support advised I reinstall Windows 10 Pro and said that Windows 11 is really only meant for new PC's that come with it preinstalled. MSI website doesn't list my 2020 GT76 Titan dt-039 notebook on their Windows 11 upgrade eligibility list so I guess that's why the Windows 11 Pro upgrade failed. I suggest being careful with trying the Windows 11 upgrade despite it stating my notebook was capable of running Windows 11 it was wrong. Luckily I have the original Windows 10 Pro USB Flash drive because the Windows 11 Pro upgrade was so incomplete I had no way of reverting notebook back to Windows 10 without reinstalling from a USB Flash.