Windows 11 version 25H2 now available for everyone interested enough

This may be the most pointless story of the year, but – for better or worse, definitely worse – Windows is still the most widely-used operating system for personal computers in the world, so there. Microsoft announced that it its latest annual Windows 11 update (known as 25H2) is now available, offering no new consumer-facing features whatsoever. There are a few improvements under the hood, mostly having to do with security, but users will not see any changes in the user interface or any new functionality in the included apps and utilities. Windows 11 will look, feel, function and perform exactly the same after the update.

As is usually the case, Microsoft is rolling out this new OS upgrade gradually – so it will not show up in Windows Update for everyone at once. In order to avoid disastrous situations it did not manage to contain in the past, the company has also put install blocks for PC configurations known to have specific driver issues with this new Windows 11 version or for PCs running incompatible apps. Those blocks are lifted once problems such as these are resolved over time.

Yours truly has already installed Windows 11 25H2 on four laptops and three desktop PCs without any issues, which led him to also install it on his own production PC without problems too. In practice the updated version behaves exactly as described earlier: no discernible changes in terms of memory footprint, CPU performance or system stability. Once Windows 11 25H2 is installed and debloated again (sigh), it works exactly like 24H2 did so the improved security features are rather welcome (if one takes Microsoft’s word for it).

This being an exceptionally uninspiring upgrade, there’s no reason for anyone using the 24H2 version of Windows 11 normally to rush into updating his/her computer: 25H2 will show up on its own in their system’s Windows Update section sooner or later. For people who really want to upgrade now, for some reason, the update can be forced in two ways. The obvious one: activate the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” option in Windows Update and check for updates (the install blocks feature mentioned earlier obviously applies).

The faster, but somewhat more involved one: download the official, full Windows 11 25H2 ISO file (around 7.2 GB in size), mount it on the PC in question as a virtual DVD disc and start a new installation. The process will check for any necessary system updates before proceeding to do an “in-place” upgrade, keeping apps and files intact (a complete system backup in case something goes wrong is highly recommended). This is how yours truly did all of the system upgrades he has performed so far, all without any issues.

Windows Central offers a helpful, complete list of direct download links for all Windows 11 25H2 ISO versions and languages right here. It’s a good idea to keep that ISO file around and maybe make a bootable USB drive out of it too – you know, just in case. This is Windows 11, an AI-debugged operating system, after all.