Microsoft Confirms Rollout Schedule for Windows 11 Version 24H2 (Updated)

UPDATE: Shocked to discover that another part of the company provided clarity about the release schedule for Windows 11 version 24H2, Microsoft updated the blog post referenced below to remove the bit about some Copilot feature rollout being tied directly to that of 24H2. (“The dates conveyed below are for our regular monthly servicing updates for supported versions of Windows 11 and unrelated to when Windows 11, version 24H2 will be generally available,” it now reads.) I don’t believe this changes a thing, but we’ll find out next Tuesday when or if we get the preview version of the 24H2 update via Windows Update. –Paul)

 

As expected, Microsoft will begin broadly shipping Windows 11 version 24H2 to customers in October after a preview release next week. This is the schedule we’ve been predicting since well before its initial release to Qualcomm Snapdragon X-based Copilot+ PCs in June, but it’s the first time Microsoft has publicly provided specific dates.

But this is Microsoft. So this revelation didn’t come from an obvious place. It came via a Microsoft Tech Community blog post about Copilot.

“The annual Windows 11 feature update release … will be rolled out to … PCs starting with the optional non-security preview release on September 24, 2024, and following with the monthly security update release on October 8 for all supported versions of Windows 11,” this post notes. To be clear, it’s referring to the rollout of a new version of the Copilot app that supports Enterprise Data Protection (EDP), which only impacted managed PCs running Windows 11 Enterprise, and not specifically to 24H2. But that release “aligns” with that of 24H2, as the post notes. And Microsoft has never upgraded one Windows 11 product edition before the others.

At Microsoft, this is what clarity looks like these days. It’s better than nothing, which is what we usually get.

As we’ve discussed so many times in the past, Microsoft has taken a unique approach to rolling out Windows 11 version 24H2 by splitting it into two major milestones. I first wrote about this way back in March. And then I followed up on that in May when Microsoft finalized the first milestone.

That first milestone officially arrived in June, as noted, though those with traditional x64-based PCs could upgrade in-place beginning in May using the tip I published then. That method still works today: You just need to download the latest Release Preview Channel build from the Windows Insider Preview Downloads website (26100.1150 at the time of this writing). I’ve done this many times on many different types of PCs–I’ve even done it with an older Arm-based PC, using an ISO I created through UUP dump–and it works perfectly everywhere, with the PCs supported normally and not enrolled in the Insider Program.

The second milestone is now rolling out, starting with a soft rollout to new AI PCs based on an AMD Zen 5-series or Intel “Lunar Lake” Core Ultra Series 2 processor. If you buy such a PC now, you will be upgraded in-place to 24H2 during a lengthier than usual Out of Box Experience (OOBE) the first time you power it up, as was the case with Snapdragon-based PCs back in June.

The rest of us on compatible, supported PCs can opt into 24H2 starting next week on the Tuesday of Week D, September 24, or we can wait until the next Patch Tuesday on October 8. That’s when Microsoft will start rolling out this updated version of 24H2 via a cumulative update to everyone, including those who got the earlier version on Arm- and x64-based PCs. You can get it immediately at that time by checking Windows Update. Or you can just wait for it to happen on its normal, tortured schedule.

For all the drama and chaos this year, Windows 11 version 24H2 is a minor update with no major new features from a user experience standpoint, as I noted in What’s New in Windows 11 Version 24H2. But Microsoft has added useful tweaks throughout the system, and some of the low-level changes will add impressive performance gains too. (This is especially true for AMD-based PCs like the HP OmniBook Ultra I’m now testing.)

I will be updating the Windows 11 Field Guide throughout October and beyond to support Windows 11 version 24H2, though some recent updates already include new content tied to this release.