Windows 11's big 2024 Update: How and when you'll get it

Beginning right now...but also rolling out over the coming weeks.

- MARK HACHMAN

Microsoft announced the beginning of the rollout of the Windows 11 2024 Update (version 24H2) October 1, but it may be a while before you get it.

Microsoft is implementing what it’s calling a “phased rollout” of the Windows 11 2024 Update and the first phase will begin “over the coming weeks,” said John Cable, Microsoft’s vice president of program management, Windows servicing and delivery, in a blog post (fave.co/3XWnCbT).

The Windows 11 2024 Update will be available to everyone and not just those who have bought a Copilot+ PC. But Copilot PC+ owners will be among the first to sample new Windows experiences that Microsoft will subsequently launch, with the goal of pushing them out to as many users as possible by the 2024 holiday season.

HOW TO GET THE WINDOWS 11 2024 UPDATE

If you wish to be among the group that upgrades to the Windows 11 2024 Update/Windows 11 24H2 as quickly as possible, follow the same best practices as you have previously. Your PC will need to be upgraded to either Windows 11 22H2 or Windows 11 23H2 and updated. The first group to upgrade will include those PCs that have opted in to new updates as quickly as possible.

Put another way, the express lane to Windows 11 24H2 begins with navigating to the Windows 11 Settings menu, then to Windows Update, and toggling on the option to “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available.” This will signal Microsoft that you and your PC want to upgrade to the Windows 11 2024 Update immediately. You’ll also need to download the May 2024 non-security preview update beforehand.