Microsoft is making Windows 11 version 25H2 available to participants in the Windows Insider Program. Wider availability is planned for the second half of 2025.
For organizations, this release means a reset of the support period. Editions such as Enterprise and Education will again receive 36 months of support, while Pro, Pro Education, Pro for Workstations, and Home editions will receive 24 months.
For users already working with Windows 11 version 24H2, the transition to 25H2 is straightforward. The new version can be activated via an enablement package (eKB). This type of update is designed to enable new features that are already present on the system via previous monthly updates with just one restart.
This update process, which Microsoft calls feature updates via servicing, uses the same technology as the monthly updates. Since the introduction of combined maintenance stack updates with cumulative updates, the size of update packages has been reduced by approximately 40%. This contributes to faster and more stable installations. Microsoft first applied this technique during the transition from Windows 10 version 1903 to 1909.
Same source code for 24H2 and 25H2
Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2 share the same source code. New features for version 25H2 are therefore already present as inactive code on systems running version 24H2. Once the eKB is applied, these features will be activated and the system will officially run on version 25H2.
In practice, this means that users only need to restart their system to access the new features. The transition should not affect compatibility with applications or devices. However, it is still advisable to test the newly added features specifically.
For users of older Windows versions, such as Windows 11 versions prior to 24H2 or Windows 10, this simplified update path does not apply. A full feature update is required for these systems. Microsoft recommends that organizations rolling out new devices or switching from Windows 10 install version 24H2 first. This will make the later transition to version 25H2 easier and faster.