The use of Microsoft with the “school-friendly” version of Windows 11 is officially ending. The Windows 11 SE, the cut-down version is aimed at classes and low-cost laptops, being sent to recycling bin a few years after the first launch. Originally unveiled in 2021, Windows 11 SE was billed as a north of Microsoft’s Chrome OS, a well-organized, cloud-first operating system designed to run on cheap education-centric laptops. The pitch was simple: make the windows less complex, less resource-shifting and more teacher friendly.

But now the company has confirmed that the curtain is being closed. Support for Windows 11 SE, including security updates, technical assistance and feature fixes, will end in October 2026. In other words, the clock is standing.

Microsoft also dropped another small bomb: Windows 11 SE has already updated its last major update. The 24h2 version is its final feature release; When a broad 25h2 update ships at the end of this year, the SE users will be stuck on what it has received.

In a note published on Microsoft Learn, the company said, “Microsoft Windows 11SE, version 24h2 will not release a feature update after 24H2. Windows 11SE support, software updates, including software updates, technical assistance and security reforms, will end in October 2026, while your device will continue to work, we will continue to work, we will continue to work, we will support a device and safety to ensure a other Let’s recommend to do. “

When the Windows 11 SE was launched, Microsoft described it as “a cloud-first operating system that provides the power and reliability of Windows 11 with a simplified design and tool designed for schools.” It was already installed on some laptops, which began with the surface laptop SE, but never widely available.

For schools and users who still rely on Windows 11 SE, advice is simple: enjoy it while it remains. After October 2026, they will still switch laptops, but they will not get security updates or new features. If your device supports it, Microsoft recommends migration to the full version of Windows 11.

All this is not doom and sadness, though. Microsoft still provides Windows 11 education, a version sewn to the academic environment, minus the app restrictions and simplifies multitasking by disappointing SE users. Hunt? The cost of education version is high.

Despite the ambition, SE was never really light. Below, it was still Windows 11, so performing on low-end hardware was best. And while it included some students-friendly quirks-as the ability to stick digital stickers on your wallpaper, it also came with heavy restrictions, such as only advertising-analoged apps and reducing multitasking facilities.

This is not the first attempt to take Microsoft on Chrome OS. The company’s nearest brush was Windows 10x with success, which actually works beautifully on cheap equipment. But 10X was scraped before the launch, leaving the Windows 11 SE to take the baton. Unfortunately, it never found close to the smooth, light experience of the chromebook.

Meanwhile, Google’s Chrome OS thrives in classes around the world. Many schools now release chrombooks instead of Windows machines, and students are using them. Microsoft plans to bring this market back with a strip-back OS, once again decreased.

For now, Windows 11 SE is leading to history books, and Microsoft is once again left without a true Chrome OS contestant.