‘Hotpatch’ Updates for Windows 11 Enterprise PCs Cut Down on Reboots

We’ve all been there. You sit down at your PC only to be met with notifications to reboot your PC to finish installing updates. Microsoft is finally doing something about that by allowing certain updates to install without requiring reboots.

These “hotpatch updates” are rolling out in public preview for Windows 11 Enterprise, version 24H2, says Microsoft’s David Callaghan. “With hotpatch updates, you can quickly take measures to help protect your organization from the evolving landscape of cyberattacks, while minimizing user disruptions.”

Expect the hotpatches between the standard quarterly security updates. Those larger updates—which usually arrive in January, April, July, and October—include the latest security fixes, new features, and enhancements. “The following two months, devices are offered hotpatch updates, which include only security updates and install without the need to restart,” Callaghan says. “At the start of the next quarter, the cycle repeats.”

“Devices stay secure and productive, and you reduce the number of required restarts for Windows updates from twelve to just four,” he adds.

Microsoft has successfully used hotpatching on Windows Server for two years. On Windows 11 Enterprise PCs, there are a few requirements:

• A Microsoft subscription that includes Windows Enterprise E3 or E5 (e.g. Microsoft 365 A3/A5 or Microsoft 365 F3); or a Windows 365 Enterprise subscription

• Targeted devices running Windows 11 Enterprise, version 24H2 (Build 26100.2033 or later)

• Microsoft Intune

Hotpatching is exclusive to Windows 11, so if your office is still running Windows 10, “now is a great time to plan for and upgrade to Windows 11,” Callaghan says.

The standard Windows 11 24H2 update rolled out in October with new platform code, an updated Start Menu, new features for File Explorer and the taskbar, and updated settings.