You’d be forgiven for not knowing about it, but despite the fact that Windows 11 24H2 has been out for several months now, not everyone was eligible for the update—with an issue impacting a considerable contingent of users holding it back. Microsoft is now continuing its rollout with the lift of a compatibility block.

Microsoft has resolved a significant compatibility issue that previously prevented a subset of AutoCAD users from upgrading to the latest Windows 11 24H2 update. The issue caused launch failures and crashes specifically for AutoCAD 2022 installations, meaning that everyone using this software couldn’t install the latest major update to Windows 11 unless they were willing to juggle with constant crashes left and right. Now, though, the issue has been addressed, and if you’re using AutoCAD 2022 for your work needs, you can officially safely update your Windows install to the latest version.

The problem itself was acknowledged by Microsoft last month, and it stemmed from a conflict between this older version of AutoCAD, which predates the update by a couple of years, and underlying changes that were rolled out with the 24H2 version. If you attempted to launch the CAD software after installing the Windows update, you would encounter critical errors and, potentially, crashes. The issue was isolated to the 2022 version of AutoCAD; other releases, including AutoCAD 2023, 2024, and 2025, were unaffected.

Microsoft initially responded by implementing a “safeguard hold” (identified as safeguard ID: 56211213 in Windows Update for Business reports), which meant that if you had AutoCAD 2022 installed on your computer, it wouldn’t get the update automatically. Since 23H2 isn’t deprecated yet (it will continue to receive security updates until the end of this year), you could safely stay on it while the issue itself was resolved. The company also advised against manual updates using tools like the Windows 11 Installation Assistant or the Media Creation Tool—there was technically nothing stopping you from getting 24H2 this way, but it wasn’t the best idea considering the circumstances.

Ultimately, though, the issue needed a fix on the developer’s end rather than Microsoft’s. Autodesk, the developer of AutoCAD, has released a fix in the form of the AutoCAD 2022.1.4 S182.0.0 update. You can verify your installed AutoCAD version through the software’s “About” box to ensure you have the necessary update. If Windows 11 detects that you have this update or a higher update, it will remove the safeguard hold and allow you to install Windows 11 24H2 through the Windows Update panel. Microsoft notes that it may take up to 48 hours for the Windows 11 24H2 update to be offered through Windows Update after installing the required AutoCAD 2022 update, so don’t be surprised if you don’t get the update immediately.

Microsoft has implemented safeguard holds like this one for a variety of other reasons, and it’s not rare to see them after a major update is rolled out. After all, they’re fundamental feature updates that also tend to change a lot of stuff under the hood. It’s been a few months since Microsoft started to roll out 24H2, and this particular hold was one of the biggest remaining ones, so we can now safely say that everyone, or almost everyone, can now grab the update to 24H2 on their computers. If you haven’t done so yet, go into Windows Update and download it now—23H2 will be deprecated in November, so the clock is now ticking.

Source: Bleeping Computer