While we sometimes discuss whether to use Windows PowerShell v5 or PowerShell 7, PowerShell v2.0 is being removed in the newer builds of Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025. In this brief blog post, I will share some information about this topic.
Was PowerShell v2 still in Windows?
Well… Not enabled by Default. Windows 10 (Build 1607), Windows 11, and Windows Server versions from 2016 ship with PowerShell v5.1. However, you could still add it by running “Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName MicrosoftWindowsPowerShellV2” or by clicking through Add/Remove Windows Features, etc.
Does it matter?
You may have some legacy code that requires it, which you haven’t or couldn’t migrate yet. The PowerShell team blog provides more information on this in the Deprecation Blog. However, it could also mean that you need to upgrade to really old versions of Exchange, SharePoint, or SQL… or that your vendor is no longer available…
Timeframe?
It was removed in later releases, starting from August 2025, specifically for Windows 11 24H2, and in the September 2025 release for Windows Server 2025. Newer releases of Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 will no longer include PowerShell v2. Insider Preview versions already got it removed in July 2025.
More information
You can find more information here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/powershell-2-0-removal-from-windows-fe6d1edc-2ed2-4c33-b297-afe82a64200a
Wrapping up
And that’s it, Windows is removing older versions from its installation media… If only they would add PowerShell v7 by default 😉 Have a lovely weekend!