Thanks to a new server-side change, which is still rolling out, you can now directly upgrade to Windows 11 23H2 from Windows 10.
Previously, some users were offered Windows 11 22H2 when they checked updates on Windows 10. As a result, those users were forced to download Windows 11 22H2 and then perform another system reboot to install version 23H2.
I don’t know why Microsoft has been pushing Windows 11 22H2 over Windows 11 23H2 on some PCs, but the new server-side update finally skips version 22H2 to download and install 23H2 directly. It is worth noting that this was not the case for everyone, as some of you have always been offered Windows 11 23H2 directly.
I observed that Microsoft quietly started offering a direct upgrade to Windows 11 23H2 over the past few weeks. In the last week of April, my ASUS PC started seeing “Windows 11 23H2” on the Windows Update page.
Previously, the same device was offered to download the older version 22H2. Similarly, my Lenovo’s Legion 5 Pro also started seeing version 23H2.
Windows Latest has observed similar patterns across all our virtual machines in VMWare.
All these devices run Windows 10 22H2 with recent cumulative and driver updates installed, but they were never offered the newer version 23H2 until recently.
This never made sense, especially since version 23H2 is just an update for version 22H2, and is as stable as the previous version. In fact, 23H2 comes with Windows 11 Moment 4 features already turned on, which makes it much better than 22H2.
I looked into it a bit, but I still can’t figure out why the company would offer an older update for Windows 11, and then install a newer update, leading to multiple system reboots.
It’s also worth pointing out that support for Windows 11 22H2 will end on October 8, 2024. This means after this date, Microsoft will no longer provide updates.
On the other hand, Windows 11 23H2 is supported for another year, which could explain why the company has fixed Windows Updates on Windows 10 to push the newer version correctly.
Windows 11 23H2 comes with all the new features from the Moment 4 update, including support for taskbar ungrouping, a new volume mixer, and native 7Zip integration, which lets you open more compressed files.
Support for Windows 10 ends soon
Windows 10’s support is ending in less than two years, and Microsoft will begin nagging people to install the new operating system soon.
If you don’t have a supported device, you must upgrade your hardware, buy a new PC, or pay Microsoft for extended security updates.