Credit: Microsoft

Microsoft says it plans to stop providing updates for Windows 11 SE, the special Windows 11 variant intended to compete with Google's ChromeOS in schools. The change was announced quietly via this Microsoft support document (spotted by the German-language site Dr. Windows), which says that Windows 11 SE will not be getting a version of this year's Windows 11 25H2 update. Security updates for Windows 11 SE will end in October of 2026, when Windows 11 24H2 stops receiving updates.

"Support for Windows 11 SE—including software updates, technical assistance, and security fixes—will end in October 2026," the document reads. "While your device will continue to work, we recommend transitioning to a device that supports another edition of Windows 11 to ensure continued support and security."

Microsoft has fielded multiple would-be ChromeOS competitors over the years, looking to prevent, suspend, and/or reverse Google's success in selling the laptops to schools and price-conscious laptop buyers.

"Windows 8.1 with Bing" in 2014 gave PC makers lower-cost Windows licenses in exchange for mandating Bing as the default search engine; Windows 10 S in 2017 was meant to make IT administrators' lives easier by only running apps from the Microsoft Store. That iteration morphed into "S Mode" in 2018, allowing the restrictions to be turned off easily and free of charge.

And then Windows 11 SE—a separate variant of Windows, not a replacement for S Mode, which still ships on low-cost systems—arrived in 2021. It was its own, purpose-built thing, designed specifically to replicate some of the things that make Chromebooks work well in schools. Students' files were automatically stored in OneDrive so they would automatically be available no matter what laptop the student was using; some standard Windows features had been removed to improve performance on low-end hardware and reduce distractions; and administrators could easily control what apps and extensions were installed via Microsoft Intune.

Windows 11 SE was only available on a handful of purpose-built, low-cost PCs for education, including Microsoft's own Surface Laptop SE. It was never offered as a standalone product, and users couldn't download a version to try on a regular PC.

We've asked Microsoft if it has any official recommendations for schools that want to convert existing Windows 11 SE laptops to a different edition of Windows. We've also asked what buyers who wanted Windows 11 SE should buy instead. We'll update this article if we receive a response.