Still don't want to upgrade to Windows 11? Microsoft hopes 24H2 update might change your mind

Microsoft has again kicked off another initiative to get Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11, extolling the virtues of the latest 24H2 take on the newer desktop OS.

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The new nag banner that pushes Windows 11 24H2 (Image Credit: Windows Latest)

Windows Latest spotted the new banner that Microsoft is pushing (via a server-side update) to Windows 10 users, on the Windows Update panel.

The banner proclaims that "Windows 11 version 24H2 is ready - and it's free" in an effort to persuade those with a Windows 10 PC that's compatible with the newer operating system to hit the upgrade button, which, of course, is right there in the advert.

The 'download and install' Windows 11 24H2 option is naturally highlighted, or to dismiss the banner, you can click to 'Stay on Windows 10' although that choice is a bit less visible (as is always the case with these kind of nudges from Microsoft).

The banner itself is nothing new, of course, and makes regular appearances in Windows Update for Windows 10 users - the difference being that it now pushes 24H2 specifically.

Although given that 24H2 has got off to a pretty shaky start in terms of bugs popping up a fair bit, we wonder if mentioning the latest version is much of an incentive. Maybe it'd be a good idea to wait for some of these issues to be ironed out.

Upgrade woes

This nag banner won't intrude on those whose PC isn't compatible with Windows 11, of course. Instead, those Windows 10 users will get a message informing them that their device doesn't meet the system requirements for Windows 11, prompting them to run the PC Health Check app to find out exactly what's amiss (and how to remedy that, in theory).

With Microsoft stepping up its messaging around leaving Windows 10 for Windows 11 elsewhere, now that the end-of-life is less than a year away for the older OS, we can expect similar 'support is running out soon' nudging to come to the Windows Update panel in short order.

It's something of a thorny situation for those whose PCs aren't compatible with Windows 11 without a major upgrade, though - like swapping out the CPU (and therefore the motherboard, and possibly RAM plus other components).

Those people have a choice of either trying to fudge a Windows 11 installation - swerving the compatibility issues, as the risk of running into problems late on - or paying for Windows 10 extended support (for an extra year). In the latter case, that's just kicking the issue down the road, of course.

Microsoft has previously suggested folks in this boat should simply buy a new PC, but that's not exactly an environmentally-friendly, sustainable solution.