Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- PCWorld reports Microsoft is now mandatorily upgrading all Windows 11 Home and Pro PCs to version 25H2, affecting systems not managed by IT departments.
- This quick upgrade requires minimal time and a single restart while extending PC support by 12 months to ensure continued updates.
- The forced rollout prepares systems for the upcoming Windows 11 26H2 release, which shares a common codebase with 25H2.
Microsoft has quietly followed through on its past announcement by rolling out Windows 11 25H2 to all compatible PCs running Windows 11 Home or Pro. Until now, the upgrade was optional and required user consent, and only computers running Windows 11 24H2 got the upgrade. However, Microsoft is now also rolling out 25H2 to computers running even older versions of Windows 11.
According to Windows Latest, the mandatory upgrade to 25H2 is now being rolled out to all Windows 11 PCs that aren’t managed by IT departments. Microsoft states on this page:
Devices running Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 that are not managed by IT departments will receive the update to Windows 11, version 25H2 through the machine learning-based intelligent rollout.
In effect, this means that all home user PCs will get the upgrade, including those still running 23H2 (which has been officially unsupported since November 2025). All PCs will receive the upgrade to 25H2, regardless of whether their users want it or not.
This mandatory upgrade appears to be linked to the confirmed release of Windows 11 26H2, which is coming later this year. Both 26H2 and 25H2 share the same code base, and upgrading to 26H2 requires only a small download of an enablement package, which then unlocks 26H2 features (the code for which is already included in 25H2).
Since 25H2 shares its code base with the previous 24H2, the upgrade to 25H2 should take just a few minutes and require only a single restart. You’ll also extend your PC’s support period, ensuring your Windows 11 system continues to receive updates for another 12 months.
However, if the upgrade to 25H2 is not yet appearing on your PC, you can search for and install the upgrade to 25H2 manually in Windows Settings under Windows Update → Check for updates.
This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC-WELT and was translated and localized from German.