Microsoft Drops Support for Windows 10 Version 21H2

Windows 10

Microsoft has officially dropped support for Windows 10 version 21H2. The company announced yesterday that it will no longer ship monthly security updates and bug fixes to PCs running Home and Pro editions of the operating system.

Microsoft launched Windows 10 version 21H2 in the second half of 2021. It was a pretty minor update with several features geared toward business customers. The main highlights of this release include support for WPA3 H2E to improve Wi-Fi security and GPU compute support in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Windows 10 version 21H2 also introduced simplified deployment of passwordless Windows Hello-enabled systems in enterprise environments.

Microsoft provided support for Windows 10 version 21H2 Home, Professional, Professional Education, and Professional for Workstations SKUs for around 18 months. Meanwhile, the company plans to service the Education and Enterprise editions of the operating system until June 2024.

Microsoft to force upgrade Windows 10 version 21H2 PCs to version 22H2

Last month, Microsoft announced that it will automatically update all PCs that are approaching end of support to Windows 10 version 22H2. The forced upgrade will affect both consumer and non-managed business devices running Windows 10 version 21H2. It should help to protect users against security threats and vulnerabilities.

“This keeps your device supported and receiving monthly updates that are critical to security and ecosystem health. For these devices, you will be able to choose a convenient time for your device to restart and complete the update.” Microsoft explained.

Microsoft confirmed that Windows 10 version 22H2 is the final version of Windows 10 that will hit end of support in October 2025. Meanwhile, Windows 10 users with devices that meet the minimum hardware requirements can choose to upgrade to Windows 11 version 22H2. Microsoft also plans to release Windows 11 LTSC in the second half of 2024.