Upcoming Mandatory Windows 11 Version 23H2 Update: What You Need to Know

Microsoft launched Windows 11 23H2 back in September, about five months ago. The update introduces a lot of changes, such as deeper Copilot integration, a redesigned Outlook app, and much more. Yet, it seems that a lot of people have been putting the update off, which is a problem as Microsoft continues to work on 24H2 (or 2024 Update) to eventually release it to users later this year. Now, it looks like Microsoft is getting ready to force the update.

Microsoft just put up a notice on its Release Health dashboard warning users that “we are starting to update eligible Windows 11 devices automatically to version 23H2.” It’s not clear which devices are eligible to be updated this way, but we’ll have to wait and see in the coming weeks which computers get updated to the latest version of Windows 11. It’s not like you have much time left, either, as Windows 11 22H2 will reach end-of-life (EOL) on October 8th. 21H2 is already EOL since October 10th, 2023. Major Windows releases only last about a year, so it’s always a good idea to keep your computer up-to-date.

Windows 11 23H2 was released back in September , but we wouldn’t blame you for not noticing. Microsoft is not great at letting people know about new updates and releases. The company will only suggest you to update if you go into Windows Update, and it will even show you a “You’re up-to-date” text blurb. You don’t get any notifications or anything of the like. That’s okay for the first one or two months of release, where people might want to wait until all potential bugs have been sorted out and fixed. When you feel the need to force an update on people 5 months in because no one is installing it, though, it becomes clear you kind of need to fix things.

If you haven’t updated Windows 11 to 23H2, make sure to do so now before Microsoft forces you to. It’s good practice to stay updated anyway. Fun fact: I was still running 22H2 until I started writing this article, because Windows never told me it was available.

Source: The Register