Windows 11 updates are about to become a lot easier with hotpatching

You know how you have to restart your computer after installing a Windows update? And sometimes you even have to reboot several times in a row for everything to apply properly?

It’s been the routine for decades now, basically for as long as Windows updates have been around. We hate it because it interrupts our workflows and forces us to start over, often at the most inconvenient times (even if you tell Windows to only schedule at certain times).

Well, good news! Microsoft also wants to put a stop to this annoyance, and the change might be coming sooner than you expect.

As reported by Windows Latest, Microsoft accidentally published a support page on “Hotpatch for Windows,” referring to a feature that may or may not be coming in Windows 11 24H2, the next major Windows update that’s slated for later this year.

Whereas a regular software patch is any update that fixes issues or implements new features, a hotpatch is a specific type of patch that can be applied without requiring a restart.

For Windows, this would mean being able to update the operating system without the usual reboots involved, making it possible to update in the background without interrupting workflows.

X/Twitter user @phantomofearth first discovered the Microsoft support page on hotpatching and shared it via tweet:

The page was quickly taken down, however, and currently leads to a “Sorry, page not found” error page. You can see an archived version of the page, which was captured by archive.org. (Note that the page doesn’t actually have any details about hotpatching apart from its title.)

When are hotpatches coming?

Hotpatching for Windows first reared its head as a realized idea back in February 2024, when it appeared as an experimental feature in a Windows 11 Insider Preview Build.

With this support page accidentally going live, it’s reasonable to speculate that Windows 11 could possibly get hotpatching this year as part of the major Windows 11 24H2 update to come — at least for x86 versions. Arm versions of Windows may not get it for a while longer.

That said, when it does come, hotpatching will only be available for the operating system’s monthly security updates. Patches involving the addition of new features will still need reboots, and certain emergency patches (e.g., for zero-day exploits) may still require restarts.

Microsoft has plenty of experience with hotpatching, as the Redmond-based company already uses it for Windows servers and Xbox. We don’t know how hotpatching will work exactly, but you’ll likely have to reboot from time to time despite it. Perhaps every few months.

Further reading: Major Windows 11 update is removing these features

Author: Hans-Christian Dirscherl, Managing Editor, PC-WELT