Windows Server 2025 Hotpatching Available as a Subscription

• Windows Server 2025 hotpatching, enabling security update patches without reboots, is generally available as of July 2025.
• It allows hotpatching of Windows Server 2025 outside of Azure hosting, including on-premises and at third-party hosters.
• Hotpatching on Windows Server 2025 requires a paid subscription, unlike Windows Server Azure Edition.
• Hotpatches cover only the OS and do not eliminate reboots for quarterly baseline updates or unscheduled security updates.

Windows Server 2025 hotpatching, which has been available as a no-cost preview since late 2024, is generally available. Hotpatching enables planned security updates without reboots, which can result in faster update deployment and reduced maintenance downtime. Previously, hotpatching was available only for Windows Server Azure Edition running in Azure hosting environments like Azure VMs and Azure Local. This new feature brings hotpatching to all editions of Windows Server 2025 running on bare metal, on other hypervisors, and in third-party hosting. However, Windows Server 2025 hotpatching requires Arc enrollment and a Per-Core subscription fee, and systems still need conventional baseline updates and reboots at least quarterly.