Windows 11, version 21H2

The original version of Windows 11 (also retroactively named version 21H2 and codenamed "Sun Valley") was released in October 2021.^[1][2] It carries the build number 10.0.22000.^[3]It was retroactively named "version 21H2" by Microsoft per its naming conventions that are labeled "YYHX", with YY representing the two-digit year and X representing the half-year of planned release (for example, version 21H2 refers to builds which initially released in the second half of 2021).^[4]

Windows 11, version 21H2 (original version)
Predecessor Windows 10 Successor Windows 11, version 22H2

Overview

Further information: Features new to Windows 11 and List of features removed in Windows 11

The first public preview build was made available to Windows Insiders who opted in to the Dev Channel on June 28, 2021. Notable changes in this version include:

• Redesigned Fluent Design System:^[5]
  • Most interfaces in Windows 11 feature rounded geometry, refreshed iconography, new typography, and a refreshed colour palette.^[6]
  • Windows 11 also introduces "Mica", a new opaque Material that is tinted with the color of the desktop wallpaper.^[7]
• Significantly redesigned Start menu, adhering to the principles of the updated Fluent Design System.^[8]
• Center-aligned Taskbar, with new animations for pinning, rearranging, minimizing, and switching apps.^[8]
• The File Explorer has been refreshed with the Fluent Design System and the Ribbon interface has been replaced with a new command bar with a revamped user interface and a Mica background. It also introduces revamped context menus with rounded corners, larger text, and Acrylic.
• New Windows Subsystem for Android.^[9]

The update has reached end of service on October 10, 2023 for Home, Pro, Pro Education and Pro for Workstations editions.^[10] The Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session, IoT Enterprise and Education editions have reached end of service on October 8, 2024.^[11]

Builds

Preview builds

Preview builds of Windows 11, version 21H2
Version	Release date(s)	Highlights
Transitioned from build 21390
10.0.22000.51 [3]	Dev Channel: June 28, 2021	Initial preview release See Features new to Windows 11
10.0.22000.65 [12]	Dev Channel: July 8, 2021	Added search box in the Start menu Updated login experience Redesigned jumplists and full-screen notifications
10.0.22000.71 [13]	Dev Channel: July 15, 2021	New Entertainment widget in Widgets panel Redesigned context menus with Acrylic material Redesigned taskbar previews New SplitButton control for making new folders and files in the File Explorer's command bar
10.0.22000.100 [14]	Dev Channel: July 22, 2021 Beta Channel: July 29, 2021	Integration of Chat from Microsoft Teams[a] Improvements to hidden icons flyout, touch keyboard icon, and calendar flyout on the taskbar Added quick access to Focus assist settings in the Notification Center Redesigned attention indicator of app's background activity on the taskbar New animations in the Microsoft Store
10.0.22000.120 [18]	Dev Channel and Beta Channel: August 5, 2021	New Family widget in Widgets panel Minor updates and improvements New single dropdown button for making new folders and files in the File Explorer's command bar New compact context menu in the File Explorer Updated close button in taskbar previews Adjusted spacing in Alt+Tab ↹, Task View and snap assist interfaces Rollout of notification badging for the Chat icon on the taskbar
10.0.22000.132 [19]	Dev Channel and Beta Channel: August 12, 2021
10.0.22000.160 [20]	Dev Channel and Beta Channel: August 19, 2021
10.0.22000.168 [21]	Dev Channel and Beta Channel: August 27, 2021	Added multi-language support for Chat from Microsoft Teams New Microsoft 365 widget in Widgets panel
10.0.22000.176 [22]	Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: September 2, 2021
10.0.22000.184 [23]	Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: September 9, 2021
Version	Release date(s)	Highlights
Notes: Rollout of this feature to a subset of Insiders in the Dev Channel began on July 20, 2021, and to Insiders in the Beta Channel began on August 12, 2021.[15][16][17]

Public patches

Public patches of Windows 11, version 21H2
Version	Knowledge base	Release date(s)	Highlights
10.0.22000.194 Version 21H2 [24][1]	KB5005635	Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: September 16, 2021 Public release: October 4, 2021
10.0.22000.258 [25]	KB5006674	Beta Channel, Release Preview Channel and public release: October 12, 2021
10.0.22000.282 [26][27]	KB5006746	Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: October 15, 2021 Public release: October 21, 2021	New visual design and animations of the Chat icon on the taskbar Fixed L3 caching latency issue with AMD Ryzen processors
10.0.22000.318 [28]	KB5007215	Beta Channel, Release Preview Channel and public release: November 9, 2021
10.0.22000.346 [29]	KB5007262	Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: November 12, 2021	New fluent designed emojis Added support for Emoji 13.1 Renamed "Ease of Access" folder in Start menu to "Accessibility" Improved the animation performance of icons on the taskbar
10.0.22000.348 [30][31]		Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: November 19, 2021 Public release: November 22, 2021
10.0.22000.376 [32]	KB5008215	Beta Channel, Release Preview Channel and public release: December 14, 2021
10.0.22000.434 [33]	KB5009566	Beta Channel, Release Preview Channel and public release: January 11, 2022
10.0.22000.438 [34]	KB5010795	Public release: January 17, 2022
10.0.22000.466 [35]	KB5008353	Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: January 14, 2022	New "Your Microsoft account" page in the Settings app New "HelpWith" feature that suggests relevant Help topics for each Settings page
10.0.22000.469 [36]		Beta Channel, Release Preview Channel and public release: January 25, 2022
10.0.22000.493 [37]	KB5010386	Beta Channel, Release Preview Channel and public release: February 8, 2022
10.0.22000.526 [38]	KB5010414	Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: February 10, 2022	Updated entry point for Widgets on the taskbar Added a new microphone icon in the taskbar when joining in a Microsoft Teams call Added the ability to share the content from open app windows directly from the taskbar to any Microsoft Teams meeting call Added support of cloud-trust hybrid deployment model of Windows Hello for Business Added clock and date to the taskbars on multiple connected monitors Added support for hot adding and the removal of NVMe namespaces
10.0.22000.527 [39]		Beta Channel, Release Preview Channel and public release: February 15, 2022	The general availability of Windows Subsystem for Android (only in the U.S.)
10.0.22000.556 [40]	KB5011493	Beta Channel, Release Preview Channel and public release: March 8, 2022
10.0.22000.588 [41]	KB5011563	Beta Channel and Release Preview Channel: March 15, 2022	Added the ability to show up to three high priority notifications as stacked and shown alongside the normal priority notification
10.0.22000.593 [42]		Release Preview Channel and public release: March 28, 2022
10.0.22000.613 [43]	KB5012592	Release Preview Channel and public release: April 12, 2022
10.0.22000.651 [44]	KB5012643	Release Preview Channel: April 14, 2022
10.0.22000.652 [45]		Release Preview Channel and public release: April 25, 2022	This update is no longer available from Windows Update, Microsoft Update Catalog or other release channels since May 11, 2022.
10.0.22000.675 [46]	KB5013943	Release Preview Channel and public release: May 10, 2022
10.0.22000.706 [47]	KB5014019	Release Preview Channel: May 19, 2022	Added the ability to display desktop wallpapers in Windows Spotlight
10.0.22000.708 [48]		Release Preview Channel and public release: May 24, 2022
10.0.22000.739 [49]	KB5014697	Release Preview Channel and public release: June 14, 2022
10.0.22000.740 [50]	KB5016138	Public release: June 20, 2022
10.0.22000.776 [51]	KB5014668	Release Preview Channel: June 16, 2022	New highlights feature for Search on the taskbar
10.0.22000.778 [52]		Release Preview Channel and public release: June 23, 2022
10.0.22000.795 [53]	KB5015814	Release Preview Channel and public release: July 12, 2022
10.0.22000.829 [54]	KB5015882	Release Preview Channel: July 14, 2022
10.0.22000.832 [55]		Release Preview Channel and public release: July 21, 2022
10.0.22000.856 [56]	KB5016629	Release Preview Channel and public release: August 9, 2022
10.0.22000.917 [57]	KB5016691	Release Preview Channel: August 16, 2022
10.0.22000.918 [58]		Release Preview Channel and public release: August 25, 2022
10.0.22000.978 [59]	KB5017328	Release Preview Channel and public release: September 13, 2022
10.0.22000.1041 [60]	KB5017383	Release Preview Channel: September 15, 2022	New Notification badging feature for Widgets on the taskbar
10.0.22000.1042 [61]		Release Preview Channel and public release: September 20, 2022	Redesigned Search entry point on the taskbar
10.0.22000.1098 [62]	KB5018418	Release Preview Channel and public release: October 11, 2022
10.0.22000.1100 [63]	KB5020387	Release Preview Channel and public release: October 17, 2022
10.0.22000.1163 [64]	KB5018483	Release Preview Channel: October 18, 2022	New Task Manager item in the taskbar context menu
10.0.22000.1165 [65]		Release Preview Channel and public release: October 25, 2022
10.0.22000.1219 [66]	KB5019961	Release Preview Channel and public release: November 8, 2022
10.0.22000.1279 [67]	KB5019157	Release Preview Channel: November 10, 2022
10.0.22000.1281 [68]		Release Preview Channel and public release: November 15, 2022
10.0.22000.1335 [69]	KB5021234	Release Preview Channel and public release: December 13, 2022
10.0.22000.1455 [70]	KB5022287	Release Preview Channel and public release: January 10, 2023
10.0.22000.1515 [71]	KB5019274	Release Preview Channel: January 17, 2023	New Windows Spotlight theme Added the ability to view details about the OneDrive Standalone 100GB subscription in the Settings app Added the ability to view details about Xbox subscriptions in the Settings app New consolidated storage quota bar under the Accounts page in the Settings app
10.0.22000.1516 [72]		Release Preview Channel and public release: January 19, 2023
10.0.22000.1574 [73]	KB5022836	Release Preview Channel and public release: February 14, 2023
10.0.22000.1639 [74]	KB5022905	Release Preview Channel: February 16, 2023
10.0.22000.1641 [75]		Release Preview Channel and public release: February 21, 2023
10.0.22000.1696 [76]	KB5023698	Release Preview Channel and public release: March 14, 2023
10.0.22000.1757 [77]	KB5023774	Release Preview Channel: March 16, 2023	Re-introduced the search box on the taskbar
10.0.22000.1761 [78]		Release Preview Channel and public release: March 28, 2023
10.0.22000.1817 [79]	KB5025224	Release Preview Channel and public release: April 11, 2023
10.0.22000.1879 [80]	KB5025298	Release Preview Channel: April 13, 2023
10.0.22000.1880 [81]		Release Preview Channel and public release: April 25, 2023
10.0.22000.1936 [82]	KB5026368	Release Preview Channel and public release: May 9, 2023
10.0.22000.2001 [83]	KB5026436	Release Preview Channel: May 11, 2023
10.0.22000.2003 [84]		Release Preview Channel and public release: May 23, 2023
10.0.22000.2057 [85]	KB5027223	Release Preview Channel and public release: June 13, 2023
10.0.22000.2121 [86]	KB5027292	Release Preview Channel: June 15, 2023
10.0.22000.2124 [87]		Release Preview Channel and public release: June 28, 2023
10.0.22000.2176 [88]	KB5028182	Release Preview Channel and public release: July 11, 2023
10.0.22000.2243 [89]	KB5028245	Release Preview Channel: July 13, 2023
10.0.22000.2245 [90]		Release Preview Channel and public release: July 25, 2023
10.0.22000.2295 [91]	KB5029253	Release Preview Channel and public release: August 8, 2023
10.0.22000.2359 [92]	KB5029332	Release Preview Channel: August 10, 2023
10.0.22000.2360 [93]		Release Preview Channel and public release: August 22, 2023
10.0.22000.2416 [94]	KB5030217	Release Preview Channel and public release: September 12, 2023
10.0.22000.2479 [95]	KB5030301	Release Preview Channel: September 14, 2023
10.0.22000.2482 [96]		Release Preview Channel and public release: September 26, 2023
10.0.22000.2538 [97]	KB5031358	Release Preview Channel and public release: October 10, 2023
10.0.22000.2600 [98]	KB5032192	Public release: November 14, 2023	This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only.
10.0.22000.2652 [99]	KB5033369	Public release: December 12, 2023	This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only.
10.0.22000.2713 [100]	KB5034121	Public release: January 9, 2024	This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only.
10.0.22000.2777 [101]	KB5034766	Public release: February 13, 2024	This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only.
10.0.22000.2836 [102]	KB5035854	Public release: March 12, 2024	This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only.
10.0.22000.2899 [103]	KB5036894	Public release: April 9, 2024	This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only.
10.0.22000.2960 [104]	KB5037770	Public release: May 14, 2024	This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only.
10.0.22000.3019 [105]	KB5039213	Public release: June 11, 2024	This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only.
10.0.22000.3079 [106]	KB5040431	Public release: July 9, 2024	This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only.
10.0.22000.3147 [107]	KB5041592	Public release: August 13, 2024	This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only.
10.0.22000.3197 [108]	KB5043067	Public release: September 10, 2024	This update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only.
10.0.22000.3260 [109]	KB5044280	Public release: October 8, 2024	This final update is available for Education, Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session and IoT Enterprise editions only.
Version	Knowledge base	Release date(s)	Highlights