Individuals using Windows 10 computers may manually check for updates and install them at their convenience; otherwise, ITS will automatically install the required update between June 16 and August 5.

To manually check for the required update

Called Feature update to Windows

1. In the Windows search bar, search for Settings.
2. Navigate to Update and Security > Windows Update > Check for updates.
3. If an update is available, it will appear as a separate option, such as:  “Feature update to Windows 11, version 23H2” 
4. Important: Yale ITS recommends verifying that your computer is backed up before proceeding with this update
5. Choose Download and Install.

Once initiated, the update will run quietly in the background with minimal disruption. You can continue to use your computer during this part of the process. The computer will notify you through a taskbar alert to restart your device when it’s ready to complete the installation. You will have five days to restart your computer.

Please keep your computer on with the screen open and connected to power during the update process.

You can expect the update to take between 30 minutes and 2 hours (exact timing depends on various factors, including, but not limited to, the age of your computer, internet connection speed, when you last rebooted the computer, etc.)

If you do not restart the computer before the five-day deadline, the computer will restart automatically outside of your active hours to complete the process.   

If you choose not to manually check for and install the required update

ITS will automatically send the required update to your computer between June 16 and August 5. You will then receive a notification when the update is ready to install. The notification will appear in the taskbar or in Settings > Windows Updates, informing you that a new version of Windows 11 is available.  At this point, you should download and install the update, following step 5 from the manual installation instructions.