MICROSOFT has issued a notification to enterprise IT administrators regarding mandatory reboots for devices enrolled in the hotpatch program in September and October 2026. This program, designed for large enterprises, typically requires only four scheduled reboots per year but will now necessitate an additional reboot in September for essential security feature updates. October's reboot will establish the new quarterly update baseline.
The hotpatch program is exclusive to Windows 11, Windows Server, and devices managed via Windows Autopatch, requiring a dedicated commercial subscription, thus not available for individual consumers. IT administrators are advised to plan for these updates to mitigate business interruptions.