Microsoft has released the Patch Tuesday updates for November 2025. For home users of Windows 11 23H2, this also means the end of support. The company is urging users to switch to version 25H2.
Microsoft previously announced that Windows 11 23H2 Home and Pro would no longer be supported as of November 11, 2025. Enterprise and Education editions will continue to receive updates until November 2026. For users who were running Windows 11 23H2 on unsupported hardware, this means the end of the road. These systems cannot upgrade automatically and will no longer receive security updates.
Windows 11 23H2 is actually the last version of Microsoft’s operating system to include Windows Mixed Reality, the ill-fated VR platform used by HP, Samsung, Dell, Lenovo, Asus and more. After the initial rollout in 2017, commitment from both Microsoft and OEMs faded quickly.
Automatic updates for unmanaged systems
Home edition users will automatically be offered the 25H2 update via Windows Update, provided their PC meets the system requirements. The transition to 25H2 is done via a small enablement package (KB5054156), as this version is largely based on 24H2. For users who want to update manually, this can be done via Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates.
For some systems, the upgrade to 25H2 is not possible. Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 require processors with SSE4.2 and PopCnt instructions. Virtually every chip after 2008 supports these features, so this is not a problem for almost all users.
New features in 25H2
The 25H2 update brings several improvements. Microsoft shared a list of new features at the launch in October. The updates are available for both 24H2 and 25H2, as both versions are technically almost identical. Some features can be enabled via a simple hack. The November 2025 Patch Tuesday also provided updates for Windows 10, including a fix for an ESU enrollment issue via KB5071959. Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 received update KB5068861, while 23H2 received KB5067112.
Read also: The dates Microsoft will discontinue Windows 10 and Windows 11