Solved A bit confused again. What actually is/isn't possible, re keeping Home 23h2 and avoiding 24h2 being forced on us?

Hi everyone. :)

We got Win11 Home 23h2 (22631.2861) installed on my husband's new (DIY) build. The plan was to tweak the registry to force it to stay on 23h2, get all the updates for it and just hold it there until 23h2 EOL. We don't want 24h2 yet if it's at all possible to avoid it. I spent a lot of long hours trying to research about this stuff (probably could've saved a lot of time if I'd found this forum at the start, oy yoy). After all that, my understanding was we could set the system to do what we'd hoped -keep receiving 23h2 updates and avoid the feature 24h2 forced upgrade. I saw some tutorials saying that 'specifying target feature update version' was the way to keep windows on a leash in this regard. But now today, I stumbled across some old threads here saying that trick doesn't work for Home users, only for Pro.

So my question is, given the older 23h2 version we have installed (22631.2861), is there any way I can get it more up-to-date without microsoft immediately trying to convert the system to 24h2? Or are they forcing all 23h2 Home users to change now? (I found out about the 20-year pause on updates that's possible via registry editing. And I did that. But I'd much prefer if there was a way to keep on getting security updates, while still saying no to 24h2.)

(We do have another Home ISO that is actually up-to-date as of March 2025. But I didn't try installing that one yet -I wasn't sure if it might've gotten corrupted when I downloaded it since our internet connection was being slow and wonky with repeated interruptions of the process. And I don't know if there's a way to check the file for corruption before trying to use it.)

Do you know of any other way to reach our goal? Or do you know if we might be able to allow windows to update without it forcing 24h2 on us yet?

you may find this of help but its quite involved.

best of luck, Steve ..

I use InControl from GRC


I was also offered 24h2 and it was downloading without my approval.
Been using incontrol for about 4 months now and have not been offered
it again. Be advised that 23h2 will be end of life in either October or November
and am not sure if incontrol will still be useful after that date.

windows 11 22631.5039

@XxXxX and @Flashorn Thank you. I'll start reading about these things right away. :)

Trying to learn said:

@XxXxX and @Flashorn Thank you. I'll start reading about these things right away. :)

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You're welcome.
Anything from GRC is usually pretty good.
You can release the control anytime just by clicking on the Release button.
This is a simple .exe and no install needed.

Flashorn said:

You're welcome.
Anything from GRC is usually pretty good.
You can release the control anytime just by clicking on the Release button.
This is a simple .exe and no install needed.

Click to expand...

GRC or aka Shields UP is a pretty good site i still use some of their security software.
best of luck, Steve ..

Why not use Brink tutorial

Update & quick question -A little while ago, I discovered that the ISP technician finally fixed a problem with our internet today which I guess was the reason for the difficulties I previously had in trying to download the newer 23h2 ISO mentioned in my OP (the one that's up-to-date pr March 2025). So while I was looking at what you guys shared with me, I also tried downloading that newer ISO again. And this time it worked like a charm. No problems at all.

Since I think it would take me some hours to read and learn the stuff at those links (and I'm under some work-related time pressure), couldn't I simply replace the older ISO on my husband's new computer with the newer up-to-date one that I just finished downloading? Then I'd do the '20-year pause' registry trick to prevent the system from updating, and get it quickly customized for hubby so he can start using it tomorrow. Later this month, when there's more time, I could come back to the links you guys gave me, to figure out a better solution for getting security updates while blocking 24h2.

If you think that's a good idea, could you tell me what tutorial I should use, to remove the older 23h2 ISO and replace it with the newer one I just downloaded? I wasn't sure which one would be the right one for the job. Would it be the 'clean install' one? Or...?

@Megahertz That was what I originally thought I could use when I first discovered people talking about that. I saw some YT videos where people said it could be done with Win 11 Home. But then I saw in threads here in the forum today that it doesn't work with Home. Only with other versions like Pro.

Megahertz said:

Why not use @Brink tutorial

Specify Target Feature Update Version in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to specify a TargetReleaseVersion version of Windows 11 you want to move to or stay on in Windows Update until it reaches end of service in Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education. Windows Update keeps Windows 11 updated by automatically downloading and...

www.elevenforum.com

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@Trying to learn
You just need to follow that tutorial I gave you (above) step by step and all good.

As for that 2nd ISO I uploaded for you, don’t forget that is a UK/English ISO.
I’d suggest you stay on the US/Engish and use that turtorial. Then you can update Windows to the latest 23H2 via the normal Windows Update channels.

Trying to learn said:

@Megahertz That was what I originally thought I could use when I first discovered people talking about that. I saw some YT videos where people said it could be done with Win 11 Home. But then I saw in threads here in the forum today that it doesn't work with Home. Only with other versions like Pro.

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I have Home and with InControl I haven't seen 24h2 offered again.
Like I said, it's an .exe and no install. Just choose which version you want to stay on
and click the button take control. Close the app and keep it in a safe place.
But remember that , 23h2 does have a end of life and after the above dates mentioned, you will not receive
any security updates.

antspants said:

@Trying to learn
You just need to follow that tutorial I gave you (above) step by step and all good.

As for that 2nd ISO I uploaded for you, don’t forget that is a UK/English ISO.
I’d suggest you stay on the US/Engish and use that turtorial. Then you can update Windows to the latest 23H2 via the normal Windows Update channels.

Click to expand...

Ohhhh! Having a bit of a lightbulb here. I saw a guy on YT (before I discovered the forum here) who was saying basically the same as Brink in that tutorial. So I carefully followed each step the YT guy said to do on my own Win11 (OEM) work computer and it seemed like it had worked. But then when I went back into the registry to look at it again afterward, the 'Windows Update' and 'AU' keys he said to make had disappeared, even though I know I clicked to save everything and rebooted afterward as instructed. So between that and seeing things written here (like Brink's comment at the top about it not working for the Home version), I thought the instructions from the YT guy must've been a dud. But I do see a line in Brink's tutorial for the regedit that wasn't in the YT guy's tutorial ("TargetReleaseVersion"=dword:00000001). So maybe that's why the YT guy's tutorial didn't show in the registry like it should've...

And maybe Brink meant that the first thing about group policy doesn't work for Home, but that the regedit stuff lower down would work for Home? It would be great if it could be so easy for getting hubby's computer ready for him. :)

I just keep pausing updates for five weeks. Then pausing them again

Hazel123 said:

I just keep pausing updates for five weeks. Then pausing them again

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I was doing that too, because I didn't know for all this time that there was any other alternative. But I'm glad to learn now that there are more options. Especially because I know it would bug my husband to no end if he had to fuss with always having to keep 'on guard' like that against automatic updates he may not want and the timing issues because of his work.

Trying to learn said:

It would be great if it could be so easy for getting hubby's computer ready for him. :)

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I sent you something.

If you want to go Pro, as you know, there’s something we can do about that.

antspants said:

I sent you something.

If you want to go Pro, as you know, there’s something we can do about that.

Click to expand...

Just saw it and replied. :)

I also use InControl - It's so easy to use my grandmother could use it. It works on both Home or Pro.

No need for tweaking the registry or any other method to complicate things.

Trying to learn said:

Just saw it and replied. :)

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I sent another.

Flashorn said:

I use InControl from GRC

GRC | InControl

InControl - Disable Windows automatic updates and upgrades

www.grc.com

Be advised that 23h2 will be end of life in either October or November


windows 11 22631.5039

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Yowzers. Just about the same time that Windows 2H22 is going bye-bye. I can only hope that Win 11 2H25 is decent enough.

Flashorn said:

I use InControl from GRC

GRC | InControl

InControl - Disable Windows automatic updates and upgrades

www.grc.com

Be advised that 23h2 will be end of life in either October or November
and am not sure if incontrol will still be useful after that date.

windows 11 22631.5039

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And then the next new version of InControl will be offered. I will probably wait until the last minute before I update. Give 24H2 more time to get more of the bugs kinked out.