It looks like Microsoft is forcing its controversial Windows 11 24H2 update on people and (plot twist!) it might be for the best

A man sitting at his desk in the evening and using a desktop computer

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Jelena Zelen)

Windows 11 24H2 is rolling out automatically to eligible PCs on 22H2 or 23H2
Persistent bugs like Asus compatibility and camera unresponsiveness may delay updates for affected PCs
24H2 brings performance boosts and new features but has had a history of issues for some time

If you’re currently using older versions of Windows 11 (such as 23H2 or 22H2), Microsoft has plans for you, as it has begun automatically updating PCs to the latest version, 24H2. A notification post was added to the “Windows 11, version 24H2 known issues and notifications” document on the Microsoft Learn blog to explain that Microsoft now considers Windows 11 24H2 stable enough to roll out to everyone using eligible Windows 11 PCs.

Those with qualifying PCs will be updated to the latest version of 24H2 and those using devices managed by organizations (such as work laptops) won’t be affected by this.

However, this push to upgrade older versions of Windows 11 to the 24H2 update might not go down too well, as the update itself has had a rocky start, causing problems like games not working properly and malfunctioning HDR (meant to improve colors and brightness on screens).

Because of these well-publicized problems, quite a few people have - understandably - been reluctant to upgrade.

How will this affect you?

As mentioned above, if your PC is eligible and running Windows 11 versions 22H2 or 23H2 (Pro or Home) editions, it’ll be updated automatically to Windows 11 24H2 very soon. If you would rather wait, you can apparently delay the update for up to five weeks, as reported by Tom’s Hardware. You can do this by following these steps:

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Open the Windows Update section, which can be found in the left-hand menu (you may need to scroll down).

3. Find the ‘Pause updates’ option in this section and from the dropdown menu you can select the number of weeks you want to delay updates by (up to 5 weeks).

On the flip side, if you haven’t installed version 24H2 yet and would like to, you can select ‘Check for updates’ on the same Windows Update page as above and click ‘Download & install’ to get the update manually.

A screenshot of the Windows Update screen showing the option to delay the update and 'Check for updates' — (Image credit: Microsoft)

Some things to consider and what's on the horizon for Windows 11 24H2 users

If you have one of Microsoft’s new Copilot+ PCs, which are designed to integrate new AI-powered capabilities, then the 24H2 update will bring the hotly discussed (but not as warmly received) Windows Recall feature to all eligible PCs. Recall requires a Copilot+ PC and it’s currently being previewed with members of the Windows Insider Program. Recall is a feature intended to improve productivity for Windows 11 users by capturing snapshots of their PC activity and making them searchable to make finding past information easier. Despite the intended benefits, Recall’s been met with notable controversy due to privacy and security concerns, especially around the possibility of malicious actors getting access to the information stored by Recall.

If you’re not using a Copilot+ PC, 24H2 still promises to bring improved performance and swifter updates going forward for PCs equipped with AMD's Ryzen CPUs and running Windows 11. Those with PCs that have Intel chips will also get some special Windows 11 24H2 patches that will reportedly ensure optimal performance for its Arrow Lake processors (although it seems like this hasn’t led to noticeable improvements for the people who have already updated).

Windows 11 laptop showing Copilot — (Image credit: Microsoft)

When it comes to the steady stream of issues we’ve seen plague 24H2, it does seem like most of these have been addressed through patches released by Microsoft. Tom’s Hardware went through Microsoft’s bug log in the document listing known issues and confirmed that this seems to be the case.

However, there are apparently still some problems that persist and have yet to be resolved. For example, some Asus PCs can’t install the update, wallpaper apps might play up unexpectedly, and some PCs might experience unresponsiveness from their cameras. If your PC is affected, Microsoft will hold back the update, putting it on a ‘safeguard hold’ until it’s all good to install.

In short, the update should hopefully improve your PC’s performance (and eventually bring new features), but if you’re wary about the automatic update to 24H2, you’ve got a bit of time. If Windows 11 24H2’s track record is anything to go by so far, Microsoft will have to keep its eye on the ball, stay alert for possible issues, and release fixes as soon as it can if there’s going to be an influx of new users upgrading. Also, if you choose to delay updates, you could be opening up your PC to potential risks that go unaddressed and might come up unexpectedly, which is why we always recommend moving to the latest version of software (especially operating systems) as soon as you can.

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Kristina is a UK-based Computing Writer, and is interested in all things computing, software, tech, mathematics and science. Previously, she has written articles about popular culture, economics, and miscellaneous other topics.

She has a personal interest in the history of mathematics, science, and technology; in particular, she closely follows AI and philosophically-motivated discussions.