Why didn’t I get the Windows 11 24H2 update?

Even though Windows Update works fine and delivers quality updates and other updates correctly, you wonder why it doesn’t offer the latest Feature update (e.g., Windows 11 24H2) on your system.

There are many reasons why the latest Feature update is not delivered to your system.

1. The Feature update is a phased rollout, which means, it can take several weeks to be delivered via Windows Update. The 24H2 update is being delivered to eligible devices running Windows 11, version 22H2 and 23H2 that have the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” option set to On.
2. The Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser scheduled task is turned off.
3. There are some hardware or software hardblocks that prevent the latest Feature update from being offered for your device.
4. Some Windows Update policies are blocking the latest Feature update.

Resolution

Case 1: Phased rollout

Unless you need the latest Feature update immediately, please wait for Windows Update to offer the update for your system. Meanwhile, see if refreshing the Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser report helps.

Case 2: Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser task is turned off

If the Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser scheduled task is turned off, it can’t update the assessment, and hence, the latest Feature update won’t be offered via Windows Update.

To turn on the task and run an assessment, launch Task Scheduler.

In the Task Scheduler window, navigate to the following task:

Task Scheduler Library → Microsoft → Windows → Application Experience

Right-click on the Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser task and then select Enable.

Right-click on the Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser task and then select Run.

CompatTelRunner.exe -m:appraiser.dll -f:DoScheduledTelemetryRun

Once the assessment is over, to view the updated eligibility assessment status, open Windows Update settings. The latest feature update will be offered if your system is eligible.

Case 3: Incompatible drivers or Safeguard holds

Certain software or drivers can prevent the Feature Update from being delivered to your device. For example, to safeguard your update experience, Microsoft has applied a compatibility hold on devices running the incompatible Easy Anti-Cheat drivers or Voicemeeter drivers.

To determine the incompatible software or drivers, run Setup.exe from the latest Windows ISO and inspect the setupact.log file. For more information, see This PC can’t be upgraded to this version of Windows (24H2 Setup).

To see if there are any 24H2-specific safeguard holds (a.k.a, compatibility hold) applicable to your device, please open a Command Prompt window and run this command:

REG QUERY "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\TargetVersionUpgradeExperienceIndicators\GE24H2"

The output tells whether your system has a 24H2 safeguard hold. Check out the two values, GatedBlockId and GatedBlockReason. If they’re set to “none”, there are no compatibility holds for your system.

If GatedBlockId and GatedBlockReason are not set to “none”, visit the Windows 11 24H2 known issues and notifications at Microsoft Learn to see if the GatedBlockId (i.e., safeguard id) is mentioned there.

Here are some of the Gated Block IDs, also known as “Safeguard ID”, and the reasons.

Case 4: Windows Update Policies

The following policies can block a Feature update from being offered via Windows Update.

"ProductVersion"

"TargetReleaseVersion"

"TargetReleaseVersionInfo"

To remove those policies and other Windows Update policies, delete the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate

Restart Windows after deleting the above key.

Workaround: In-place Upgrade using the Windows 11 ISO

For Case 1, 2, or 4, as a workaround, you can use the ISO to upgrade to Windows 11.

If you don’t want to wait until 24H2 is offered via WU, you can immediately upgrade to 24H2 using the Windows 11 ISO.

To download the Windows 11 ISO:

1. Download Windows 11 Media Creation Tool (MCT) from this link:

   https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2156295

   RELATED: How to Download Windows 11 ISO Using Media Creation Tool
2. Run MCT and download the ISO it recommends for your system. Do not uncheck “Use the recommended options for this PC”.
3. Right-click on the downloaded ISO and choose “Mount.” This assigns the ISO a drive letter.
4. Run setup.exe from the ISO drive. This starts the in-place upgrade.(Your files, settings and applications will be preserved if you use the ISO recommended for your system by the Media Creation Tool.)

Note: If you wish to clean install Windows 11 using the USB setup disk, see article How to Clean Install Windows 11 (24H2) using USB Setup Disk.