You checked for updates and 25H2 is simply not there. In almost every case the PC is fine - the update is staged, your 24H2 is not fully patched, or Microsoft is deliberately holding the offer back to protect your machine. Here is how to tell which reason is yours.
A missing feature update feels like a fault, but Windows Update is behaving as designed. 25H2 is offered in stages, it needs a fully patched 24H2 underneath it, and it is withheld on purpose from PCs with a known clash. Work through the four reasons in order - most people find theirs in the first two.
Microsoft does not release a feature update to every PC on day one. 25H2 rolled out in stages starting 30 September 2025, and the offer expands device by device. Two identical PCs can be weeks apart. This is deliberate: if a problem appears, only a slice of machines is affected.
The enablement package can only switch on features that are already on the disk, and those arrive inside the monthly cumulative updates. A 24H2 PC that has skipped months of updates may literally not contain the 25H2 features yet.
winver and note the build - it should start with 26100Once the PC is current, the feature update offer normally follows within days.
Sometimes Microsoft knows that a specific driver, security tool or app version clashes with the new release. In that case it deliberately withholds the offer - this is called a safeguard hold. The hold lifts when the driver or app is updated, or when Microsoft ships a fix.
Do not try to defeat a safeguard hold with registry edits or third-party scripts. The hold exists because PCs like yours failed the upgrade in testing; forcing past it is how people end up on the "upgrade broke something" page of this set.
On an office or school PC, the IT department controls feature updates through policy, and 25H2 will arrive only when they approve it - that is normal and not a fault. At home, a PC that does not meet the Windows 11 requirements (TPM 2.0, Secure Boot capable, supported CPU) is not offered feature updates through Windows Update at all. The companion page on unsupported PCs explains that situation honestly, including what the bypass route in the video does and what Microsoft says about it. For a supported PC that is simply not being offered the update, the manual ISO in-place upgrade from the core guide is the legitimate way in.
The video shows the 25H2 upgrade path on screen, including where the offer appears and what the install looks like once it does.
Watch Full VideoThe rollout is staged by device readiness, not by country or luck. Microsoft expands the offer gradually and also responds to the Get the latest updates toggle. Identical PCs can genuinely be weeks apart, and both are normal.
On a supported PC, yes - run the in-place upgrade from the official ISO as the core guide describes. That is Microsoft's own manual route. What you should not do is use scripts that remove safeguard holds, because the hold usually marks a real known clash on your hardware or drivers.
Most clear within a few weeks, once the clashing driver or app is updated or Microsoft ships a fix. Keeping drivers and software current is the fastest legitimate way to clear one - there is no supported way to appeal or skip a hold.