Microsoft to force Windows 11 24H2 on Home and Pro users
Ready or not, here I come
Microsoft has begun distributing Windows 11 24H2 to user devices as the company enters the next stage of the operating system's rollout.
Enterprises need not worry at this stage – devices managed by IT departments won't be updated. But users with an eligible machine running the Home or Pro version of Windows 11 will eventually get an automatic upgrade. A convenient time can be chosen, and the update can be postponed, but it will be installed at some point in the future.
Windows 11 24H2 has not gone entirely to plan for Microsoft. While most users have had no problems with the update, there have been issues for some. The company has an ever-lengthening list of known issues, many of which remain unmitigated or unresolved since the operating system was launched in the second half of 2024.
Recently resolved issues include problems with Ubisoft games, and USB devices that support the eSCL scanner protocol – although the latter might not have been entirely fixed, according to disgruntled users in hardware support forums.
Microsoft has form when it comes to forcing new versions of its operating system onto user hardware. Almost a year ago, Windows 11 23H2 was rolled out in the same way – the company's support lifecycle means Home and Pro users must be kept up to date, whether those users like it or not, in order to receive support.
- Windows 11 24H2 can run – sort of – in 184MB
- Microsoft adds another problem to the Windows 11 24H2 naughty list
- Microsoft coughs up yet more Windows 11 24H2 headaches
- Windows 11 24H2 strikes again – Outlook might not start with Google Workspace Sync running
Forcing Windows 11 24H2 onto users won't affect machines subject to a safeguard hold where Microsoft has decided to block the installation (likely due to one of the documented known issues.) Nor does it affect users sticking with Windows 10 – devices that don't meet Microsoft's hardware requirements for its flagship operating system won't suddenly be able to pass muster for Windows 11 24H2. There is also little in Windows 11 24H2 to attract users who have chosen to skip previous versions.
Instead, IT professionals around the world should gird their loins for the inevitable friends and family support calls when Windows 11 24H2 makes a surprise appearance, and uncle Fester is surprised that things have suddenly started working a little differently. ®