Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 version 24H2 received their final monthly security update in October 2026. Microsoft's servicing for those editions ended on October 13, two years after the release shipped, and devices that stay on it will get no fixes for newly discovered flaws. Enterprise and Education editions of the same version remain in support for another year, until October 12, 2027.
The date is one of several lifecycle milestones Microsoft has been flagging since August 2026. Alongside it the company declared Windows 11 version 26H2 available and warned that a set of the trust certificates Windows Update relies on will expire in May and June 2027, and its support pages state that the consumer Extended Security Updates program for Windows 10 runs until October 2027. Taken together they define what a supported Windows device looks like for the coming year.
Where 24H2 devices should go
Microsoft's advice for Home and Pro devices on 24H2 is to move to version 25H2. That buys roughly a year, since Microsoft's lifecycle database lists 25H2 Home and Pro as serviced until October 2027. The longer runway is version 26H2, which Microsoft announced on September 29, 2026 and which Home and Pro devices can run until October 2028.
Moving between these versions is a small step. According to Microsoft, the three releases are built on one core operating system and have identical system files; the newer features already sit dormant inside the monthly cumulative updates, and a small enablement package acts as a master switch that turns them on after a single restart. The 26H2 package requires the September 22, 2026 preview update or a later cumulative update to be installed first. When it announced 26H2, Microsoft said the update would go first to 24H2 and 25H2 devices whose owners had switched on the toggle for receiving new updates at the earliest opportunity, with a gradual rollout to other devices afterward and safeguard holds where it detects an incompatibility.
Windows 10 gets another year
Support for Windows 10 itself ran out on October 14, 2025, but the consumer Extended Security Updates program Microsoft created for it did not stop there. Microsoft extended the program in 2026, and its support page states that enrollment stays open until October 12, 2027, with coverage for enrolled devices continuing automatically to that date. The program applies to version 22H2 only and delivers critical and important security fixes, nothing else. A household can enroll free by backing up PC settings to a Microsoft account, redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, or pay a one time fee of $30, and a single license covers up to 10 devices. Machines joined to a domain or enrolled in device management are excluded and must use the commercial program instead.
The 2027 certificate deadline
The more unusual item is the certificate rotation. On October 8, 2026 Microsoft said that a set of the certificates Windows Update uses to establish a trusted connection to its servers expires in two batches, on May 17, 2027 and on June 19, 2027. A device that lacks the replacement certificates by the relevant date stops connecting to Windows Update and receives no further updates of any kind. The replacements have been shipping inside ordinary monthly updates, so a device on a supported version that is current needs no action, and devices fed by Windows Server Update Services, or WSUS, are not affected at all. The exposure is on machines that are supported but behind, and on machines that are out of support entirely.
Microsoft's version table sets the minimum update per release. Windows 11 version 25H2 and newer need nothing; for the rest, the rule is:
- Windows Server 2025 and Windows 11 version 24H2: the September 2025 security update at minimum, in place before June 19, 2027.
- Other supported Windows 11 versions, Windows Server 2022 and supported Windows 10 releases: the July 2026 security update at minimum, before June 19, 2027.
- Windows Server 2019 and Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019, plus Windows Server 2016: the July 2026 security update at minimum, and the deadline is the earlier one, May 17, 2027.
Anything older than that has to be upgraded, because systems that are out of support lose their connection to Windows Update once the certificates lapse. Microsoft's suggested plan for administrators is plain: inventory devices on older or unsupported versions, keep supported ones current each month, and have an upgrade plan for the rest in place before May 2027. Machines that cannot reach Windows Update normally can get the same updates through the Microsoft Update Catalog. Whether a machine keeps receiving protection in 2027 depends less on which Windows it runs than on whether it installed the updates that were on offer in 2026.
