Windows 11 26H2 ISO images are now available, and you can download them directly from Microsoft’s download portal. This is Microsoft’s 2026 annual feature update for the OS, where 26H2 stands for the 2026 second half (H2) release.
PCs that are already running on Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 get 26H2 through a tiny enablement package, but if you download the ISO, it will still be a full Windows installation image.
According to a Microsoft document seen by Windows Latest, the final code is “built, packaged, and shipped through various media types,” including ISO images and feature update packages on Windows Update.
Windows 11 26H2 ISO file is approx 7.9GB in size, which is same as the last year’s feature update. But if you compare that to Windows 10, it’s almost 40% bigger i n size, and it’s due to AI models being bundled. The ISOs are offered in 64-bit, and there’s no 32-bit version, but there’s a separate version for ARM PCs.
To download the ISO file for Windows 11 version 26H2, you can use the Media Creation Tool or follow our guide to generate direct download links, and install the operating system or upgrade an existing device.
Windows 11 ISOs are also refreshed with monthly cumulative updates, so the most recent file has the September 2026 Patch Tuesday. And it’s also why these ISOs are perfect for clean installs.
Direct download Windows 11 26H2 ISO files from Microsoft
Windows Latest has added the official download links for 26H2 ISO files from Microsoft. All you need to do is click the right link, and the download will begin immediately.
- Windows 11 26H2 x64 ISO (all editions, English US) – approximately 7.9 GB
- Windows 11 26H2 Arm64 ISO (English US) – approximately 7.9 GB
The x64 ISO is a multi-edition image, so one file covers Home, Pro, and the other consumer editions, and your product key or digital license decides which edition gets installed and activated.
Note that Microsoft has a separate page for Arm64 media. If you have a Snapdragon X series laptop, grab the Arm64 ISO, as Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool can’t create installation media for Arm-based PCs.
Microsoft’s download page says generated links are “valid for 24 hours from time of creation.” So, if a Microsoft ISO link stops working later, the ISO hasn’t been pulled. The link has simply expired, and we’ll refresh ours regularly. Make sure your PC doesn’t sleep during the download, as it may pause the download. The same goes for network issues.
Check the ISO before installing it
If you got the ISO from anywhere other than Microsoft, or you just want peace of mind, verify its SHA-256 hash. Open PowerShell and run the following command, replacing the path with the ISO’s file location.
Get-FileHash C:\Users\username\Downloads\Windows11_Client_x64_en-
us 26300 9457.iso
PowerShell generates a SHA-256 value, which you can compare with the hash Microsoft published for the language and architecture you downloaded, or check the screenshot below.
If the two don’t match, delete the file and download it from official sources, like the one we provided, because a corrupted or tampered ISO is the last thing you want on a bootable USB.
How to download Windows 11 26H2 ISO in all languages
- Open Microsoft’s official Windows 11 download page and scroll down to “Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices.”
- Select “Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO for x64 devices)” from the dropdown menu.
- Click Download Now.
- Choose your preferred language from the “Select the product language” dropdown.
- Click Confirm.
- Click the 64-bit Download button to start downloading the generated ISO.
Microsoft says you should pick the language you’ll use during installation. You can check your current language under Settings > Time & language > Language & region.
Each language has its own ISO, so you don’t need to install a language pack after setup. The x64 ISO is the right pick for Intel and AMD PCs, while Arm-based PCs should use the separate Arm64 download page.
Why you should always keep a Windows 11 ISO (almost as important as a backup)
An ISO is almost like a backup for Windows, and you only realize you need one if (or when) your PC breaks. Microsoft says installation media can be used to install a new copy of Windows, perform a clean installation, or reinstall Windows, and there are four practical reasons to keep one handy.
- Clean installation: When Windows becomes unstable or bloated, a clean install is the most reliable fix.
- Offline installation: The ISO is several gigabytes, so having it on a USB drive saves you time.
- Recovery: If the built-in recovery tools are damaged, a known-good copy of Windows on bootable media can repair or reinstall the OS.
- Virtual machines: You can mount the ISO in Hyper-V, VMware, VirtualBox, or other virtualization software.
Note: An ISO isn’t a backup of your personal files. It’s a copy of Windows installation media, and it has no information about your photos, documents, or apps. Keep your regular file backup on a separate drive or in the cloud.
How to install Windows 11 26H2 using ISO
Upgrade existing Windows using the ISO without losing your data
- Download the Windows 11 26H2 ISO.
- Right-click the ISO and select Mount. Windows creates a virtual DVD drive.
- Open the new drive in File Explorer and run setup.exe.
- Select Yes when Windows asks for permission to make changes.
- Let Windows Setup check for updates, or click “Change how Setup downloads updates” and choose “Not right now” to skip them.
- Accept the license terms and continue until you reach the “Ready to install” screen.
- Click “Change what to keep” if needed, and make sure “Keep personal files and apps” is selected.
- Click Install.
Microsoft’s reinstall guide confirms that Setup lets you keep personal files and apps, keep personal files only, or keep nothing. Your PC restarts a few times during the upgrade.
However, if your PC is already on Windows 11 24H2 or 25H2, you don’t need the ISO to get 26H2. Windows Update uses a tiny enablement package because these versions share one servicing branch, and as we reported earlier, Windows 11 26H2 is just 174KB, which is 0.003% of 24H2’s size. Microsoft’s Release Preview announcement says 24H2, 25H2, and 26H2 “use a shared servicing branch.”
So why use the ISO? An in-place upgrade from the ISO rewrites the Windows system files while keeping your apps and data, which is useful if the OS is misbehaving and Windows Update is failing.
Windows 11 26H2 clean install using ISO
You can directly mount an ISO file in File Explorer and reinstall Windows. But if you prefer the USB route, make sure you’ve a USB with at least 16GB of free space.
Back up everything before you start. Deleting partitions during setup wipes the data on them, and there’s no undo button.
- Create a bootable USB from the ISO using the Media Creation Tool or a tool like Rufus.
- Restart the PC and boot from the USB drive. You may need to open the boot menu or change the boot order in the UEFI settings.
- When Windows Setup starts, select your language, time format, and keyboard, then click Next.
- Select Install Windows 11 and confirm that you understand everything will be deleted, where the new setup asks for it.
- Enter a product key if prompted, or select “I don’t have a product key” if the PC was activated before.
- Pick the edition that was previously installed on the PC, such as Home or Pro.
- Choose the drive where you want to install Windows. Delete or format old Windows partitions only if you’ve backed up everything.
- Click Install and wait for Windows 11 26H2 to finish copying files and restarting.
- Complete the out-of-box experience (OOBE).
As for activation, you don’t need a new license for a clean install. Microsoft says a product key isn’t required for digital licenses, and if a key is embedded in the PC’s firmware and matches the edition you install, Windows applies it automatically. A PC that was already activated with a digital license usually reactivates once it connects to the internet, provided you install the edition it was licensed for on that PC.
Windows 11 26H2 clean install using Media Creation Tool
If you want Microsoft to build the bootable USB for you, the Media Creation Tool makes it too easy.
- Go to Microsoft’s Windows 11 download page.
- Under “Create Windows 11 Installation Media,” select Download Now.
- Run exe. You need to be an administrator.
- Accept the license terms.
- Choose your language and edition, or keep the recommended options for this PC.
- Select “USB flash drive” and click Next.
- Select your empty USB drive from the list.
- Let the tool download Windows 11 and create the bootable media.
Microsoft says you need a blank USB flash drive with at least 8GB of space, and any content on the drive will be deleted. The tool can also save an ISO file instead of a USB installer, which is useful for VMs or burning a DVD.
Also, as I said earlier, the Media Creation Tool “can only create media for x64 processors,” so if you have an Arm-based PC, use the Arm64 ISO.
Once the USB is ready, boot from it and follow the clean install steps from the previous section.
What to expect during Windows 11 26H2 installation
After installation, Windows 11 takes you through the out-of-box experience, where you’ll typically:
- Select your region and keyboard layout
- Connect to a network
- Sign in with a Microsoft account
- Pick your privacy settings (deny everything that’s optional!)
- Decide whether to restore from or set up Windows Backup
The screens can vary by edition, device, and whatever Microsoft is testing in OOBE at the time. As we found earlier this year, Windows 11 OOBE is a long and cluttered process, so expect a few ads and promotional cards along the way.
How long the installation takes depends heavily on your PC, SSD speed, USB drive, and whether Setup needs to download extra updates. A modern NVMe PC can take anywhere between 20 and 45 minutes.
Windows 11 26H2 is mostly a version and servicing change
I can’t call Windows 11 26H2 a traditional feature update. Microsoft says many of its features “might already be familiar, as they have been gradually introduced through monthly updates.”
Our hands-on testing of the release preview build proved it. The test PC moved to Build 26300 after installing 26H2, but the three biggest consumer features didn’t show up automatically because Microsoft still gates them behind Controlled Feature Rollout (CFR).
Anyway, Windows 11 September 20206 update gave the biggest features we were waiting for, including the movable taskbar, customizable Start menu and more, and all these (at least the code) will be in 26H2.
Here’s what you’re getting with the ISO, and none of it is exclusive to 26H2.
The taskbar can finally move
Five years after Windows 11 took it away, the movable taskbar is back. Under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors > Taskbar position, you can pick Left, Top, Right or Bottom, and tooltips, flyouts and animations follow the taskbar to its new spot.
You can also set Taskbar size to Small, which shrinks both the icons and the taskbar height. However, the search box and the small taskbar only work at the top or bottom, so a vertical taskbar drops both.
These changes shipped to 24H2 and 25H2 with the September 2026 update, so a fully patched 25H2 PC gets them too.
The Start menu is finally resizable
The new Start menu that rolled out to everyone in July could take up a huge part of the screen on small laptops. Now, Settings > Personalization > Start has a size option with Automatic, Small and Large, and you can shrink it whenever you like.
The Pinned, Recent and All sections can be controlled independently, Recommended has been renamed to Recent, and you can hide your account name and profile picture.
Windows Search can finally lose Bing
Microsoft decluttered Windows Search in July after years of MSN tiles and trivia. Then it released a faster, Bing-free Search with a new setting in Settings > Privacy & security > Search that lets you turn off web and Microsoft Store suggestions.
The Search home is cleaner, and results now show labels for whether an item is an app, setting, file, web result or Store suggestion. Windows can also index your most-used folders automatically, and search is better at handling typos and partial words.
Enterprise changes
When Microsoft first detailed 26H2, it said the release enables experiences that weren’t previously on by default for business devices, for commercial customers, including Windows settings backup and app-specific actions from the taskbar. Windows settings backup was previously called Windows Backup for Organizations.
Point-in-time restore, which rolls a PC back to an earlier state using local restore points, is also on by default for Enterprise and Education devices and organization-managed Pro PCs with an OS volume of 200GB or more. These are defaults for managed PCs, not new consumer features.
Windows 11 26H2 doesn’t mean a huge new Windows release
When you install 26H2, the build moves from 26100 (24H2) or 26200 (25H2) to 26300, and the version gets a new servicing lifecycle. 24H2, 25H2 and 26H2 all share the Germanium servicing branch, and most consumer-facing features came through monthly updates first.
It’s also why our testing didn’t see anything switch on after the version number changed.
The lifecycle is the reason 26H2 exists. Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro stop getting updates on October 13, 2026, while 26H2 should be supported until October 2028 for Home and Pro, and October 2029 for Enterprise and Education.
Why Windows 11 26H2 is different from 25H2
Both 25H2 and 26H2 use the enablement package model, and 26H2 continues Microsoft’s shared-servicing strategy on the 24H2 codebase. The eKB is about 174KB for x64.
The tiny file is why Windows Update can move an existing 24H2 or 25H2 PC to 26H2 with a single restart, but the ISO is still several gigabytes, because a clean install has to include the whole OS.
| Installation method | What it does |
|---|---|
| Windows Update | Uses the 26H2 enablement package on supported 24H2 and 25H2 PCs |
| ISO mounted in Windows | Performs an in-place upgrade or reinstall |
| Bootable USB | Performs a clean installation |
| Media Creation Tool | Creates bootable installation media or an ISO |
| Arm64 ISO | Installation media for supported Arm PCs |
If you still need the previous version for some reason, our Windows 11 25H2 ISO guide is still up. Also, PCs running Windows 11 26H1, which shipped only on select new Arm devices, won’t be offered 26H2, as 26H1 is based on a newer platform.
Windows 11 26H2 system requirements
Windows 11 26H2 doesn’t bring new hardware requirements. Microsoft’s Windows 11 specifications still apply.
- Processor: 1GHz or faster with two or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or SoC
- RAM: 4GB
- Storage: 64GB or larger
- System firmware: UEFI, Secure Boot capable
- TPM: Trusted Platform Module 2.0
- Graphics: DirectX 12 compatible with a WDDM 2.0 driver
- Display: Larger than 9 inches with 720p resolution
You don’t need a Copilot+ PC or a 40 TOPS NPU to install 26H2, but some AI features have hardware requirements.
Who should download the Windows 11 26H2 ISO?
Download the ISO if you want to:
- Perform a clean install
- Create installation media for another PC
- Reinstall Windows without downloading everything again
- Install Windows offline
- Run Windows in a virtual machine
- Keep a known-good copy of the current Windows release
You probably don’t need it if you’re already on 24H2 or 25H2, have a stable internet connection, and just use Windows Update to get the latest version.
