Will Update from 1909 to 20H2 break anything?

I did an Upgrade from Win10 Home Version 1903 two days ago to Version 20H2, only thing that 'broke' was an older USB printer and HP no longer had drivers posted in HP's Support but Windows Update did.

According to what I read 21H2 reaches end of support in October 2025.

Source:
Windows 10 21H2 entered broad deployment and is now available to everyone

Callender said:

According to what I read 21H2 reaches end of support in October 2025.

No. Your source is wrong. October 2025 is when Windows 10 itself reaches end of support, but there will be several more new feature updates before then.

Windows 10 version 21H2 reaches end of support on 10th October 2023.

Microsoft said:

Support Dates

Listing	Start Date	Retirement Date
Windows 11 Home and Pro (Version 21H2)	Oct 4, 2021	Oct 10, 2023

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lif...o-version-21h2

Bree said:

No. Your source is wrong. October 2025 is when Windows 10 itself reaches end of support, but there will be several more new feature updates before then.

I can see that the wording is wrong. You are correct.

So, what happens if my system can not update to Windows 11? Not to go too OT here.

MPSAN said:

So, what happens if my system can not update to Windows 11? Not to go too OT here.

Technically, your system can't update to Windows 11. But there are workarounds.

MPSAN said:

So, what happens if my system can not update to Windows 11? Not to go too OT here.

Do you expect to still have the same system more than three years from now? If so, then you have to make a choice.

There's no reason you cannot continue using Windows 10 after support ends. It won't stop working, it just won't get any new security fixes. There are many people still using Windows 7 long after its support ended, as you can see if you visit our sister site Seven Forums.

Or you could use one of the known workarounds to install Windows 11 on an unsupported device. Microsoft have even published a workaround themselves, though they say that you do so entirely at your own risk.

Microsoft said:

Microsoft recommends against installing Windows 11 on a device that does not meet the Windows 11 minimum system requirements. If you choose to install Windows 11 on a device that does not meet these requirements, and you acknowledge and understand the risks, you can create the following registry key values....

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...b-2ce77ac7c70e.

Bree said:

Do you expect to still have the same system more than three years from now? If so, then you have to make a choice.


https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...b-2ce77ac7c70e.

Well, I built this myself and it is fast and has ssd and lots of memory. I used an ASUS MoBo and my other system...which may be in the same boat is newer but may also not update to Win 11. I have a third Laptop that is even newer and MS wants to update it to Win 11 now but I am staying on 10 pro for now on all of them!

MPSAN said:

Well, I built this myself and it is fast and has ssd and lots of memory. I used an ASUS MoBo and my other system...which may be in the same boat is newer but may also not update to Win 11. I have a third Laptop that is even newer and MS wants to update it to Win 11 now but I am staying on 10 pro for now on all of them!

Windows 11 is pretty much Windows 10.01 with some useless hardware requirements.
You're not really missing anything.

MPSAN said:

Well, I built this myself and it is fast and has ssd and lots of memory. I used an ASUS MoBo and my other system...which may be in the same boat is newer but may also not update to Win 11....

Well there's no need to make any rush decisions, you have until October 2025 to make up your mind. Windows 10 is in full support until then.

The key stumbling blocks are (for Intel) a minimum of an 8th gen processor, and the requirement for TPM 2.0. For an Intel system that TPM requirement can be met by turning on Intel Platform Trust Technology (PTT) in the bios (or for AMD their fTPM) both of which are a firmware TPM solution. See:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...7-ae6b0c90645c

But with workarounds Win11 can be installed on almost any unsupported device. The workarounds are only to bypass the system checks at install time, once installed there are no further checks. I have it running well on a 1st gen i5 for example.