Enhance your organization’s Windows update reliability with Windows Autopatch update readiness. Designed to help IT teams proactively prepare devices for upcoming Windows updates, update readiness surfaces risks and blockers before updates are deployed, reducing failures, downtime, and reactive troubleshooting. Built into Windows Autopatch, it provides actionable insights that help ensure that devices are in a healthy, update-ready state across your fleet. With update readiness insights, you gain early visibility into configuration gaps, policy conflicts, and device conditions that commonly prevent updates from successful installation. This shifts update management from a reactive model to a proactive, insight-driven approach helping keep devices secure, compliant, and productive. When will this happen: Windows Autopatch update readiness is available to those using Windows Autopatch and
New documentation is now available to help IT administrators prepare for Secure Boot certificate updates and manage update readiness across virtual and cloud‑managed Windows environments. The documentation covers Secure Boot certificate updates for Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365 Cloud PCs, as well as monitoring Secure Boot certificate status using Microsoft Intune remediations to provide visibility into readiness across managed devices. Together, these resources help ensure virtual and cloud‑managed Windows environments remain secure and continue to receive updates after June 2026. When will this happen:This documentation is available now. Secure Boot certificates begin expiring in June 2026. How this will affect your organization:Organizations managing virtual or cloud‑managed Windows environments may need to review Secure Boot certificate update planning and readiness. The docum
Windows first sign-in restore experience is now generally available as part of Windows Backup for Organizations. Users signing in for the first time on an eligible device will see a restore experience at first sign-in, even if it was missed the first time the device was turned on (Windows out of box experience). This allows users to restore Windows settings, restore their Microsoft Store app list, or choose to configure the device as new. This update extends restore capabilities beyond Microsoft Entra-joined devices to support hybrid-managed environments, improving readiness for new or reimaged Windows 11 devices. For more information, see Windows first sign-in restore experience now available When this will happen:General availability begins with devices that have installed Windows updates released February 24, 2026, and later. How this affects your organization:This feature is availabl
The February 2026 non-security preview update is now available for Windows 11, versions 26H1, 25H2, and 24H2. Information about the contents of this update is available from the release notes, which are accessible from the Windows 11 update history page. To learn more about the different types of monthly quality updates, see Windows monthly updates explained. Looking to explore upcoming features and improvements in Windows 11? Check out the Windows roadmap. It includes what’s coming to the Windows Insider Program, what’s gradually rolling out, and what’s generally available. Highlights for the Windows 11, version 25H2 update: The Emoji 16.0 release introduces a small, thoughtfully curated set of new emojis, one from each major category. Each emoji carries timeless symbolism and practical versatility. These new emojis now appear in the emoji panel. A built‑in network speed test is now ava
Learn about tools and options available to organizations to update Secure Boot certificates on Windows Server. Certificates begin expiring in June 2026. You must update them before that date to help keep your security posture. Many recent platforms already include the supported 2023 certificates in firmware. However, for the ones that need to be updated, you need to manage this process manually. When will this happen: The tools are already available to help you to proactively inventory, monitor, and apply updated certificates to your Windows Server devices. June 2026: The 2011 Secure Boot certificate authorities (CAs) begin expiring. How this will affect your organization: Systems on the 2011 CAs after June 2026 are at risk of running on degraded security posture. To update these systems, please be proactive and follow our recommended approach. What you need to do to prepare: Read comple
Three Windows products first released in 2016 are close to reaching end of support. If your organization has devices running Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016, Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2016 LTSB, and Windows Server 2016, plan to migrate devices to a newer, supported version. If you cannot move to a newer, supported version in time, the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program offers a temporary solution to help keep devices protected in the meantime. When will this happen:Here are the upcoming end-of-support dates to note:Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016: October 13, 2026 Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2016 LTSB: October 13, 2026 Windows Server 2016: January 12, 2027 On these dates, devices running these versions will receive a final monthly security update. After that, devices will no longer receive Windows security updates, non-security updates, bug fixes, technical support, or online technica
Updated February 20, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. Disclaimer: The original message center post was published on August 1, 2025. We previously stated that this is a new feature when it is an expanded capability of the existing feature memory in Copilot. This expanded capability requires new processing of users' data, which is outlined below. We have edited the content below for accuracy and clarity. Thank you to the customers who provided feedback over the past few weeks. We have adjusted our roadmap to address your needs and concerns. Starting September 1, 2025, Microsoft 365 Copilot will start remembering key highlights from your person-to-person communications in chats, emails, and meetings. Initially these memories will be used to improve the quality of Copilot responses to people-related questions. These memories are private to the user. This featu
The Microsoft 365 admin center Message center includes personalization features that help you focus on Windows-related updates and reduce information overload. By configuring service preferences, filters, and columns, you can prioritize Windows feature updates, security updates, hardening changes, and lifecycle announcements that are most relevant to your environments. Additional tools such as Planner syncing, search, and email notifications can help track actionable messages and support effective change management across Windows devices and environments. When will this happen:This capability is already available in the Microsoft 365 admin center. How will this affect your organization:By tailoring the Message center to focus on Windows content, you can more easily identify feature updates, security and out‑of‑band updates, hardening changes, and lifecycle announcements that require awar
Updated February 19, 2026: Performance may be slower on some browsers for large basic plans with more than 300 tasks. For best results, please use the latest versions of Edge (144 or higher) or Chrome (144 or higher). Meanwhile, we're also working on an update that we expect to improve performance. [Introduction] In early 2026, a major update of Planner will begin rolling out. This update will introduce several new capabilities. In addition, several features will be retired from Microsoft Planner. These changes will begin rolling out between mid-January 2026 and mid-February 2026. [When this will happen:] Refer to the sections below for details on timing. [How this affects your organization:] Who is affected: All users of Microsoft Planner in your organization, including those using Planner components in Loop, integrations with Viva Goals, and premium Planner plans. What will happen: In
The updated Start menu is gradually rolling out. It brings the “All \[apps\]” section to the top level of the Start menu with new views (category and grid). The size of the Start menu is dynamic to the user's device. Additionally, updated policies now make it easier for you to configure Start. When will this happen: Start menu began gradual rollout in October 2025 to general audiences. The rollout of Start menu to organizations will begin in the second quarter of the calendar year 2026. How this will affect your organization: Devices will begin updating to show the new Start menu. In addition to the existing policies, the following policies give you more control:HideCategoryView: This is a net new policy that can be applied to the updated Start menu design. Turn off the new category view in the "All \[apps\]" section, so devices show the grid view by default. Note: If you already have Hi
If you are an IT admin with questions about managing and updating Windows, we want to help. Every third Thursday of the month, we host a live chat-based event on the Tech Community called Windows Office Hours. Members of the Windows, Microsoft Intune, Windows Autopilot, Windows Autopatch, and Windows 365 engineering teams will be standing by to answer your questions. We also have experts from FastTrack, the Customer Acceleration Team, and Microsoft public sector teams. Want to attend the February 19 session of Office Hours? Add it to your calendar and select Attend on the event page to let us know you’re coming. There is no video or live meeting component. Simply visit the event page, log in to the Tech Community, and leave your questions in the Comments section. You can also bookmark https://aka.ms/Windows/OfficeHours for upcoming dates (and the ability to add this event to your calenda
Windows 11, version 26H1 is a hardware‑optimized release designed to enable next‑generation silicon developed in partnership with device manufacturers and silicon partners. This release will be available exclusively as a preinstalled experience on select new devices beginning in early 2026. It is not intended as a feature update for existing Windows 11 devices and will not be offered through Windows Update. When will this happen: The first devices with Windows 11, version 26H1 preinstalled will start shipping in early 2026. This release is limited to select new devices only and is not offered as an in‑place update for devices running Windows 11, versions 25H2 or 24H2. How this will affect your organization: Windows 11, version 26H1 is scoped specifically for select new hardware platforms, so it will not be offered through Windows Update for existing devices and will not impact ongoing ro