Microsoft ending Windows 11 SE support October 2026 — Chrome OS competitor also won't get version 25H2 update coming later this year
Microsoft suggests transitioning to a device that supports another edition of Windows 11
Microsoft has confirmed that it is ending support for Windows 11 SE, the education-focused edition of Windows 11 meant for low-cost student laptops.
According to a recently updated Microsoft document, the company plans to retire the operating system by October 2026, putting a halt on future software updates, technical assistance, and security fixes. Additionally, it will also miss out on the upcoming 25H2 update later this year, meaning version 24H2 was the final major feature release for Win 11 SE.
Introduced in 2021 as a direct response to Google’s classroom dominance with Chrome OS, Windows 11 SE was specifically designed for K-8 (kindergarten to eighth grade) classrooms. Meant to be a ‘cloud-first’ operating system, it includes the necessary tools and apps to offer support for remote management by school administrators.
This version of Windows is also locked down to reduce distractions while app selection is strictly controlled and limited to essential preloaded educational apps like Microsoft Office, Teams, and Minecraft for Education. Additionally, administrators can install a small list of other approved apps, such as Google Chrome and Zoom.
Microsoft’s Surface Laptop SE, one of the first devices to run Windows 11 SE, came with the OS pre-installed. Similarly, Windows 11 SE is available only on special laptops from OEMs that sell directly to educational institutions. This means it isn't available for everyone as it cannot be installed on your home laptop or desktop PC.
Microsoft hasn't given a formal reason as to why they are ending Windows 11 SE. Presumably, one of the biggest challenges was that despite being a version meant for classrooms, it was fundamentally based on the full version of Windows 11. This meant it struggled to run well on the low-cost devices that schools often buy, a space where Chrome OS thrives. Google’s offering continues to be a truly lightweight cloud-based operating system designed from the ground up for this purpose.
The end of Windows 11 SE means that schools and administrators must prepare for a significant transition. Once supports ends, devices running the operating system will no longer receive crucial security updates which means there is no choice but to purchase new devices that support Windows 11. Ultimately, schools must plan and budget for this change to ensure their students' devices remain secure and functional.
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Kunal Khullar is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. He is a long time technology journalist and reviewer specializing in PC components and peripherals, and welcomes any and every question around building a PC.
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abufrejoval Weren't those devices also locked? So you can't just go and install any other OS?Reply
And what happens to the management suite? Is its funcionality available in any other form?
Or are we talking a 100% loss of everything for everyone who trusted Microsoft to support them at least as long as those devices would hold up? -
USAFRet Reply
How many people or orgs do you know that have one of these?abufrejoval said:Weren't those devices also locked? So you can't just go and install any other OS?
And what happens to the management suite? Is its funcionality available in any other form?
Or are we talking a 100% loss of everything for everyone who trusted Microsoft to support them at least as long as those devices would hold up?
They are not normal consumer devices.
Chromebooks.abufrejoval said:Is its funcionality available in any other form? -
ezst036 Microsoft wants to drive everybody into Windows 11 Advertising Edition that way they can maximize the Microsoft Online Accounts which really is all about maximizing ad revenue.Reply
Welcome to your future of adware. Which used to be considered a form of malware, but its really just the mainstream reality these days. It's the model perfected by Google.
They spy on you - you receive advertisements. Oh joy! Popups and selectively placed......
Hey did you know Amazon is running a sale right now? Yeah that thing you were looking for (cause we spied on you and we know you want it) is 30% off!!! Act today! Click here on your start menu for it -
das_stig OK you have the right to stop supporting and even remove the right to use the OS iwth your licence agreement, you don't have the right to stop owners using bought for hardware that is now their property from using alternative OS's, time for somebody to challenge this in court !Reply -
USAFRet Reply
The hardware is so underpowered, that any entities that have some of these aren't interested in "alternative OS's"das_stig said:OK you have the right to stop supporting and even remove the right to use the OS iwth your licence agreement, you don't have the right to stop owners using bought for hardware that is now their property from using alternative OS's, time for somebody to challenge this in court ! -
edzieba Reply
Surface Laptop SE is not locked down (can't speak for other vendors models*) so you can install Linux or ChromeOS or whatever.abufrejoval said:Weren't those devices also locked? So you can't just go and install any other OS?
But the only customers who would have bought these (education institutions who want a centrally managed device-as-a-service) will not be doing so. If they were willing to roll-their-own deployment and management system in the first place they would not have been using these (or Chromebooks) to start with.
The upshot is that there will be a glut of these devices that enter the market ripe for trivial hacking.
*I would not imagine other vendors would lock them down either though: there's no need to, you buy these to use Windows SE, if you wanted to run something other than Window SE these devices would be pointless in the first place. -
DS426 Reply
ChromeOS?USAFRet said:The hardware is so underpowered, that any entities that have some of these aren't interested in "alternative OS's" -
USAFRet Reply
Possibly.DS426 said:ChromeOS?
But the very low end hardware involved here is only a small part of the whole thing. -
usertests ReplyThis meant it struggled to run well on the low-cost devices that schools often buy, a space where Chrome OS thrives
I don't buy it.
I still see a Jasper Lake Windows laptop w/ 4 GB RAM being sold at a nearby Walmart. Probably an N100/N200 with 4 GB as well (perfectly adequate performance from the chip, but pitiful low RAM).
Schools are probably paying more than the market rate for their Chromebooks to add warranty and other services. If Windows needs to move to 8 GB minimum, that shouldn't inflate the cost much. New Chromebooks have abandoned 2 GB, come with 4 GB minimum last time I checked, with 8 GB required to get Chromebook Plus branding. They should be using similar x86 processors, but also MediaTek processors that Windows can't use because of the bizarre Windows on ARM strategy.
Any newer budget x86 chip like the N100 should run fine. I imagine SE was optimized to use less of the full OS and need less RAM (like the Xbox Ally handheld).
They must have axed Windows 11 SE because it makes no sense to maintain as a separate offshoot, and it wasn't popular. There's still that Windows 11 Home edition "S mode" that could fill the same role if it got locked down further for the education market. I bet the same remote management features in SE are in all versions and some have been around for decades. -
jlake3 Reply
The article doesn't seem to say that they're removing the right to use the installed OS, nor that owners are being denied the right to use alternative OSes?das_stig said:OK you have the right to stop supporting and even remove the right to use the OS iwth your licence agreement, you don't have the right to stop owners using bought for hardware that is now their property from using alternative OS's, time for somebody to challenge this in court !
They article does say "schools must plan and budget for this change to ensure their students' devices remain secure and functional", but it never says they're revoking the right to use the OS, just that they're pulling technical support and security patches, which I assume also means that replacement hardware will be limited to whatever new-old-stock is left over. There doesn't seem to be any indication that the Win11SE key will become invalid... just that there won't be the ecosystem to support an enterprise deployment.
As for the issue of using alternative OSes, there does not seem to be anything in the article or any comments saying that you don't have the right to install whatever you want? Just that the nature of the hardware may make it more difficult (although I feel probably not as hard as fully removing and replacing ChromeOS)... and that it's not something a resource-strapped educational IT department is likely going to want to do.