Microsoft reminds Windows 11 users on original version that they’ll soon be forced to upgrade
Windows 11 21H2 users will be automatically upgraded to 22H2
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Are you still runningWindows 1121H2? Theoriginal version of Windows 11is about to run out of road for support, and Microsoft has reminded us that users are going to have to upgrade to a newer version imminently.
Neowinspotted thatMicrosofthas updated its release health dashboard to make things clear for those on Windows 11 21H2 (Home and Pro, plus Pro variants).
The company reminds us that support ends on October 10, 2023, and that the cumulative security update for October, to be released on that day, will be the last ever update that Windows 11 21H2 receives.
Microsoft furtherclarifies: “The September 2023 non-security preview update will be the last optional release and the October 2023 security update will be the last security release for Windows 11, version 21H2. Windows 11, version 22H2 will continue to receive security and optional releases.”
Analysis: Only one road ahead
Users on 21H2 will therefore be pushed to upgrade to22H2 and Windows 11will automatically fire up the update to do so when this end date rolls around – or up to a couple of months before that. So, if you are still on Windows 11 21H2, you might experience this forced upgrade very soon.
It is, of course, of paramount importance that your copy of Windows 11 remains in date and keeps up with the flow of security fixes, otherwise your PC could be open to being exploited by hackers and opportunists out there.
If Windows 11 23H2 emerges very soon, it’s possible you could get pushed to move to that instead of 22H2. However, we don’t think that’s too likely – although itcould arrive later this month, as we’ve previously observed, but most rumors have it penciled in for Q4, which of course means October at the soonest, and quite possibly not early in the month. We shall see.
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Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - ‘I Know What You Did Last Supper’ - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).
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