It took about a month to go from first availability to a widespread rollout. Microsoft confirmed that the new version of Windows 11 has reached general availability and should therefore be available to most users.
Microsoft says that users may find the update with a click on the “check for updates” button in Settings > Windows Update. If the Windows 11 version that is installed at the time on the device is eligible, version 26H2 should be returned.
You need to press the download & install option then to install the new version. Since it is just a smaller update, a single restart does the trick. All devices running Windows 11, version 24H2 or later should update very quickly.
What about new features? Microsoft confirms that all the recent features of versions 24H2 and 25H2 are also included in the latest feature release.
Furthermore, Microsoft claims that all known issues are either mitigated or resolved at the time of writing.
With that out of the way, Windows users should not feel a need to rush and install the update. It is still just a month after release and it does not come with a plethora of exciting new features that make life better or more secure.
My advice is to wait at least another month or two before taking the plunge. Yes, there is a great chance that nothing will break when you finally install the update, but since there is not much to gain from installing it in first place, it is probably better for most users to play it safe.
It is also a good idea to create a backup of the system before installing the update. It may be small, but even small updates may cause big issues and a third-party update that is independent from Windows’ own capabilities is always a good idea.