On September 30, 2025, Microsoft began rolling out Windows 11 2025 Update (also designated as 25H2), which is the fourth significant upgrade to Windows 11. This release includes a series of refinements to the Windows 11 interface.
At the time of release, Information Systems & Computing (ISC) strongly recommended that all University users adopt a “wait and see” approach and continue using earlier Windows versions for at least three weeks and perhaps longer following the release. This period allows for any initial bugs and compatibility issues in Windows 11 2025 Update to be identified and usually either fixed or avoided.
Windows 11 2025 Update is now cleared for general use by University constituents. This clearance supports Penn users with new systems that ship with Windows 11 25H2 pre-installed. Windows 11 24H2 remains Penn’s supported and recommended Windows version and will likely remain so until the end of FY2026. Please refer to the Operating System Life Cycles charts for ISC's current support of and long-term guidance on operating systems.
ISC recommends that those with niche needs of untested apps or features continue to exercise caution before upgrading their Windows devices to 25H2. Institutional users should also ensure they are running at least version 7.28 of the CrowdStrike sensor, now present on approximately 92% of the University's managed Windows systems.
Challenges Regarding Microsoft Recall
Microsoft Recall is a tool designed to assist with finding items from past use and is available only for Copilot+ PCs. Recall introduces substantial and unacceptable security, legality, and privacy considerations.
ISC will continue to prevent the use of Microsoft Recall via an enforced Group Policy Object (GPO) on compatible managed systems affiliated with KITE, and strongly suggests that administrators of other Windows environments at Penn disable Recall as well. Microsoft’s instructions for disabling Recall in a managed environment are here.
University constituents with unmanaged or individually-owned systems should not use Microsoft Recall. Windows Central has published instructions on disabling or removing Recall on these systems.
Additional Details
The increase in processor options and the introduction of NPUs have made the Windows 11 support matrix complex.
| x64 (AMD/Intel) | ARM (Qualcomm) | |
| Mainstream PCs (under 40 TOPS) | 23H2 (supported) 24H2 (recommended) 25H2 (supported) | No plans to support |
| Copilot+ PCs (40 TOPS and above, Recall must be disabled) | 23H2 (supported) 24H2 (recommended) 25H2 (supported) | 25H2 (supported) |
Previous versions of Windows for ARM-based systems have not been supportable for general use at the University. ISC now believes that Windows 11 25H2 is supportable on ARM-based systems, specifically with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processors. Configuration advice for these Snapdragon-based systems has been added to the Notebook Purchasing Guide.