What do we think of this? (Windows ENT LTSC 24H2 + 26H2 Enablement Package)

[Sonicmojo]

Watched an interesting video this week:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

Rich made a solid case for being able to apply the 26H2 Feature Enablement Package against a standard install of Win 11 ENT LTSC 24H2 - and "claims" the installation should be valid and even went as far as indicating that this could be updated properly in the future - even tho this process does not make a lot of sense. (to me anyway)

Today - I loaded up a LTSC Enterprise image (From my VS Enterprise sub) to test this theory using NT Lite 2026.10.12522 and noticed this blurb in the "Updates" area:



This makes 100% complete sense to me - but also begs a question: If these enablement package are not supported - and judging by these scary messages - will most likely put one on doomed path - why would these be offered in this online Updates dialog in the first place?

I would think that we all want to end up with a custom ISO that actually can be counted on - yet offering these options here - seems to set the trap for failure.

Thoughts? Has anyone out there actually applied a feature update to LTSC and had success with future servicing updates?

S

 

[nuhi]

Yes, exactly because of this vagueness, where it can be installed, but not certain does it break LTSC licensing or updatability, it's there for users to choose.
Will lighten up the note to be less scary, even thinking of hiding it for LTSC, let me know if you have a strong opinion either way.

 

[Sonicmojo]

Yes, exactly because of this vagueness, where it can be installed, but not certain does it break LTSC licensing or updatability, it's there for users to choose.
Will lighten up the note to be less scary, even thinking of hiding it for LTSC, let me know if you have a strong opinion either way.

I am not really worried about the messaging - more about the potential awesome possibility of actually moving the build number on LTSC to keep it from stopping future installations of required software.

S

 

[princealex]

Yes, exactly because of this vagueness, where it can be installed, but not certain does it break LTSC licensing or updatability, it's there for users to choose.
Will lighten up the note to be less scary, even thinking of hiding it for LTSC, let me know if you have a strong opinion either way.

Hide it

 

[nuhi]

Thanks for the input. Next build changes how these behave on LTSC:

- Enablement packages are never pre-selected on an LTSC image, not by Default and not by Select all (GUI or CLI). You only get one by ticking it yourself.
- The note no longer claims servicing breaks, because Microsoft doesn't state that anywhere. It now says what Microsoft does document: enablement packages are not offered for LTSC editions, and an LTSC image moves to a new release only by an in-place upgrade. It's also grey instead of red, since it is information about an opt-in, not an error.

Why not hide it: raising the build number so newer software installs is exactly the case Sonicmojo describes, and hiding the package removes the only route for it. 24H2, 25H2 and 26H2 share one servicing branch and the same monthly cumulative update, so the package itself installs and later updates keep applying.

If anyone runs one of these long-term on real LTSC media, please report back how activation and Windows Update behave.