Back in May it was made known that Microsoft has officially signed off on the Windows 11 22H2 RTM (Release to Manufacturing) build 22621 that was released to Windows Insiders in early May. That is the build that will be released to everyone on Windows 11 through Windows Update, possibly as far out as September. The only difference will be that it will have already received a good number of updates.
If you don"t want to wait to be officially updated through Windows Update, you can get it right now through the official channels via Microsoft, and enjoy all of the new features. Check out this article for a complete run down of what"s new in Windows 11 22H2.
You are already a Windows Insider
There are two official ways of going about this The first requires that you are already a Windows Insider, this could be through a VM you have installed and then enrolled for Windows Insider updates, or maybe you are enrolled through Release Preview to get Cumulative Updates earlier. If you are already a Windows Insider, then you can follow the steps below:
- Go here and ensure you are signed in to your (Windows Insider) Microsoft Account
- Select Build 22621 from the dropdown
- Select your preferred language (it comes in 21 languages)
- Download the ISO, it"s around 4.7GB
- Right-click on the file and select Mount via File Explorer
- Run Setup
You can check out the above gallery for the entire process too. As an added bonus, if you are not logged in to Windows with a Microsoft Account, setup will complete without forcing you to login to Microsoft"s servers. As you can see from my screenshots, the entire process completed with a Local Account.
Become a Windows Insider:
If you have never enrolled in the Windows Insider program, but you want to upgrade to Windows 11 22H2 now, then it is also relatively painless to do so, by following the steps below. You will need a Microsoft Account to do this.
- Open Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program
- Click on Get Started and link a Microsoft Account
- Optional: Choose for Microsoft apps only (this lets you retain a local account)
- Choose Release Preview Insider Channel
- Restart to confirm
- Now you can Download the ISO (you may have to login on the page)
- Go to Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program
- Toggle "Unenroll this device when the next version of Windows releases"
- Open Downloads via File Explorer
- Right-click on the ISO file you downloaded and select Mount via File Explorer
- Run Setup
Important: Once you have installed Windows 11 22H2 via the ISO, you can immediately leave the Windows Insider Program via this page. This action unenrolls you everywhere, but if you "fix" Windows Insider settings on one device, this fixes them on all, if you have multiple VMs enrolled with the same Microsoft Account email address.
As with the first option of having already enrolled as a Windows Insider in Windows or in a VM, I have also captured the whole process of enrolling as a Windows Insider in order to officially download the ISO, which you can view above.
After leaving the Windows Insider Program and rebooting Windows 11 22H2
Enterprise?
In case you are wondering, it is also possible to install a Pro SKU without a key and then do an inplace upgrade to Enterprise, for those on Volume Licensing.
Wrapping up...
There are many unofficial ways to get the ISO, including semi-official ways like UUP dump, (this downloads the files directly from Microsoft, but a third-party script "packages" the downloads into readable formats). However, those packages now no longer include any of the basic inbox apps, like the Settings app, or even Notepad; they all have to be downloaded through the Microsoft Store.
Ultimately it is up to you, the way I have described is a totally legitimate and official way to get the bits, or you can wait until Microsoft releases the Feature Update through Windows Update.
Good Luck.