The first hotpatch for Windows 11 is coming next week alongside Patch Tuesday and such, Microsoft has announced that it has released resources for it such that IT admins and system admins have an easier time working out how the new type of update deployment will work.
For those not familiar, hotpatching is meant to keep devices secure without causing downtime or interruptions. That is because these security updates install automatically and take effect without needing a device restart.
Hotpatch works as an extension of Windows Update and requires Autopatch to create and deploy these updates to devices enrolled in the Autopatch quality update policy.
To help, Microsoft has shared technical documentation, the hotpatch calendar, and many more items for use by administrators. Microsoft writes:
Resources to get started with hotpatch updates for Windows 11, version 24H2The first Windows 11 hotpatch update since general availability is coming to enterprises in the second week of May 2025. Here is a list of recently published resources to help you get started and make the most of this feature.
- Official announcement: Hotpatch for Windows client now available
- Technical documentation, including prerequisites, enrollment instructions, and troubleshooting: Hotpatch updates
- Windows 11, version 24H2 Enterprise hotpatch calendar: Windows 11 hotpatch calendar
- Monthly update contents: Release notes for hotpatch public preview on Windows 11, version 24H2 Enterprise clients
- User readiness information to share with people at your organization: Understanding security updates that get installed without a restart
- Per-policy level view of the current update statuses: Hotpatch quality update report
- Technical demo: The hottest way to update Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025
Note: A hotpatch calendar is now also incorporated into the Windows Server release information.
You can find the post here on Microsoft"s Windows Health dashboard website message center.
Update, May 8 2025, 4.25 GMT: Microsoft has also published the message on the Microsoft 365 Admin Center portal. Alongside the links to resources, M365 post also adds the requirements that admins need to check before hotpatching via Autopatch:
Windows Autopatch prerequisites
- Devices running Windows 11 Enterprise, version 24H2 (Build 26100.2033 or later) and with the current baseline update installed
- An x64 CPU including AMD64 and Intel (Note: Arm64 devices are still in public preview)
- Microsoft Intune to manage deployment of hotpatch updates with a hotpatch-enabled Windows quality update policy
To receive the May 2025 hotpatch update, enroll your devices into hotpatching and update them with the April 2025 baseline update
You can find the message under ID MC1068897 if you have access to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.