Image: Melnikov Dmitriy / Shutterstock
A new mandatory security patch for Windows 11 was released this past Tuesday, known as update KB5046633 for Windows 11 23H2. Users who have installed the update, however, are reporting a strange message that’s showing up ever since.
It appears that the Windows Update service warns of end of support for Windows 11 23H2 and asks you to download a newer version of Windows to stay up to date. It’s as confusing as it sounds. Keep reading to understand what’s happening and what you should do.
End of support for Windows 11 23H2?
This news is justifiably surprising, as Windows 11 23H2 is still expected to remain supported — with both security and feature updates — until November 11, 2025. (Official confirmation on this page.)
A Microsoft support representative confirmed with Windows Latest that this message is indeed a bug, stating: “This is just a reporting bug on our side.” The issue is already being investigated and will be addressed in a future server-side update, likely within a week.
In addition to this warning about the alleged approaching end-of-support, users are also offered the opportunity to check for updates, which has raised eyebrows because this patch — the KB5046633 update — is already the latest version.
What you can do if you’re affected
If you’re seeing this warning, it may help to log off and restart your system. Otherwise, you can wait for the server-side fix to happen, at which point it should disappear. It’s still unclear how this erroneous message came about.
Note that there was indeed an end-of-support message at the start of October, but for users of Windows 11 22H2. If you’re still on Windows 11 22H2, you should switch to a newer version because you won’t be getting security or feature updates anymore.
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This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC-WELT and was translated and localized from German.
