Is Your PC Still Getting Security Updates? The 60-Second Check

On October 13, 2026, Microsoft released the last security update for Windows 11, version 24H2, Home and Pro. Nothing happened to anyone’s PC that day. The problem is everything after it: every new security hole discovered from here on stays open on a PC that’s still on 24H2.

Some of you are already on a newer version and don’t even know it. Some of you aren’t covered and think you are. It takes about sixty seconds to find out which one you are.

And no, nobody needs to buy a new computer today. Put the credit card down. Slowly.

Prefer to watch instead of read? Here’s the full video — or skip it and keep reading below.

Step 1: The 60-Second Check (winver)

1. Press Windows key + R.
2. Type winver and press Enter.
3. Look for the word Version and the number right after it.

• 25H2: you’re covered until October 2027. Keep reading anyway, because Step 2 still applies.
• 24H2 on Home or Pro: you’ve reached the end of the road. (Work PCs on Enterprise or Education get one more year.)
• 23H2 or older: you’ve been out of support since November 2025. That’s not a computer anymore. That’s a museum exhibit with a web browser.
• Windows 10: the version number won’t tell you whether you’re covered. Skip to the Windows 10 section below.

(For the full background on 24H2’s end of support, see Windows 11 24H2 End of Life: What It Means for Your PC.)

Step 2: The Check Most People Skip

Here’s the part most people don’t think about. Being on a supported version doesn’t mean you’re actually getting the updates. Updates can be paused. They can get stuck. They can fail month after month without Windows making much noise about it.

1. Open Start → Settings → Windows Update.
2. If it says Updates are paused and you didn’t do that on purpose, click Resume.
3. Click Update history and expand Quality updates.
4. Find the most recent Cumulative Update that says Successfully installed, and look at the date.

Microsoft releases security updates on the second Tuesday of every month, so that date should be within the last month or so. If the last successful one was back in the spring… Houston, we have a problem.

Seeing Failed to install over and over? Start here: Windows Update Keeps Failing? Here’s What to Do.

Step 3: On 24H2? Getting to 25H2 the Safe Way

Here’s one thing Microsoft actually got right. (Yes, write down the date.) 24H2 and 25H2 share the same core files. If your PC is up to date, the 25H2 features are already sitting on it, switched off. Upgrading flips the switch: one small download, one restart. Not a reinstall.

For Home and Pro PCs that aren’t managed by a company IT department, Microsoft says it’s installing 25H2 automatically. You can choose when it restarts or postpone it, but it’s coming. So if winver said 25H2 and you don’t remember doing that, now you know why.

Before you click anything, two things:

1. Create a restore point. It protects Windows.
2. Back up your files. This matters more. A restore point doesn’t protect your family photos. Updates usually go fine, and “usually” is a terrible backup plan.

Then go to Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates. If you see Windows 11, version 25H2, click Download and install. When it’s done, run winver again. Trust, but verify. With Windows, mostly verify.

Not offered? If updates aren’t paused, Microsoft may have a safeguard hold on your PC, which means they know something on your system doesn’t get along with this update yet. Don’t bulldoze past that. It’s one of the rare times Windows is protecting you from itself.

Windows 11 on “Unsupported” Hardware

A lot of you put Windows 11 on a PC Microsoft said wasn’t good enough. Here’s the straight answer: Microsoft says PCs that don’t meet the requirements aren’t guaranteed to receive updates, including security updates. In practice, a lot of these machines have kept getting their monthly updates, but “a lot have” isn’t the same as “all of them will.”

Do the Step 2 check. And if 25H2 isn’t offered through Windows Update, you’ll be doing an in-place upgrade yourself from the 25H2 installation media. Back up first. You’re off the path Microsoft tests, so nobody’s catching you if it goes sideways.

Windows 10: Are You Actually Enrolled in ESU?

Windows 10 support ended in October 2025. The only way a Windows 10 home PC still gets security updates is Extended Security Updates (ESU), which Microsoft extended through October 12, 2027. But only if you’re enrolled.

1. Open Start → Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update.
2. If it says you’re enrolled in Extended Security Updates, you’re covered.
3. If it offers to enroll you instead, you’re not. Yet.

You’ll need Windows 10 version 22H2, the latest updates, an administrator account and a Microsoft account. It’s free if you sync your PC settings to that account, or 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, or a one-time $30. One license covers up to 10 PCs. ESU is security updates only: a life raft, not a new boat.

More detail: Windows 10 Just Got Another Year of Security Updates.

The One Thing Not to Do

Scammers love deadline news, because nervous people click things. Microsoft isn’t going to call you about this, and a real Windows update will never pop up a message telling you to call a phone number. If you see one, don’t call. Close it. Real update messages live in exactly one place: Settings → Windows Update.

The Short Version

1. Run winver. 25H2 is covered until October 2027; 24H2 Home/Pro is done; 23H2 and older have been out since November 2025.
2. Check Update history: your last successful cumulative update should be within the last month or so.
3. On 24H2: create a restore point, back up your files, then install 25H2 from Windows Update.
4. On Windows 10: confirm you’re actually enrolled in ESU (good through October 12, 2027).
5. Never call a phone number from an “update” pop-up.

Stay grumpy.