diff --git a/src/client/Microsoft.Identity.Client/Http/HttpManager.cs b/src/client/Microsoft.Identity.Client/Http/HttpManager.cs
index f50d325498..b1100572e9 100644
--- a/src/client/Microsoft.Identity.Client/Http/HttpManager.cs
+++ b/src/client/Microsoft.Identity.Client/Http/HttpManager.cs
@@ -199,7 +199,15 @@ private HttpClient GetHttpClient(X509Certificate2 x509Certificate2, Func<HttpReq
         private static HttpRequestMessage CreateRequestMessage(Uri endpoint, IDictionary<string, string> headers)
         {
             HttpRequestMessage requestMessage = new HttpRequestMessage { RequestUri = endpoint };
+            
             requestMessage.Headers.Accept.Clear();
+
+#if NET5_0_OR_GREATER
+            // On .NET 5.0 and later, HTTP2 is supported through the SDK and Entra is HTTP2 compatible
+            // Note that HttpClient.DefaultRequestVersion does not work when using HttpRequestMessage objects
+            requestMessage.Version = HttpVersion.Version20; // Default to HTTP/2
+            requestMessage.VersionPolicy = HttpVersionPolicy.RequestVersionOrLower; // Allow fallback to HTTP/1.1
+#endif
             if (headers != null)
             {
                 foreach (KeyValuePair<string, string> kvp in headers)
diff --git a/tests/Microsoft.Identity.Test.Common/Core/Helpers/HttpSnifferClientFactory.cs b/tests/Microsoft.Identity.Test.Common/Core/Helpers/HttpSnifferClientFactory.cs
index 0cd6178df8..1390cfe1d3 100644
--- a/tests/Microsoft.Identity.Test.Common/Core/Helpers/HttpSnifferClientFactory.cs
+++ b/tests/Microsoft.Identity.Test.Common/Core/Helpers/HttpSnifferClientFactory.cs
@@ -4,9 +4,12 @@
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Diagnostics;
+using System.Net;
 using System.Net.Http;
 using System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates;
+using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
 using Microsoft.Identity.Client;
+using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting;
 
 namespace Microsoft.Identity.Test.Common
 {
@@ -28,7 +31,24 @@ public HttpSnifferClientFactory()
                     req.Content.LoadIntoBufferAsync().GetAwaiter().GetResult();
                     LastHttpContentData = req.Content.ReadAsStringAsync().GetAwaiter().GetResult();
                 }
+
+                // check the .net runtime
+                var framework = RuntimeInformation.FrameworkDescription;
+
+                // This will match ".NET 5.0", ".NET 6.0", ".NET 7.0", ".NET 8.0", etc.
+                if (framework.StartsWith(".NET ", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                {
+                    // Extract the version number
+                    var versionString = framework.Substring(5).Trim(); // e.g., "6.0.0"
+                    if (Version.TryParse(versionString, out var version) && version.Major >= 5)
+                    {
+                        Assert.AreEqual(new Version(2, 0), req.Version, $"Request version mismatch: {req.Version}. MSAL on NET 5+ expects HTTP/2.0 for all requests.");
+                        // ESTS-R endpoint does not support HTTP/2.0, so we don't assert this
+                    }
+                }
+
                 RequestsAndResponses.Add((req, res));
+                
                 Trace.WriteLine($"[MSAL][HTTP Request]: {req}");
                 Trace.WriteLine($"[MSAL][HTTP Response]: {res}");
             });
diff --git a/tests/Microsoft.Identity.Test.Unit/CoreTests/HttpTests/HttpManagerTests.cs b/tests/Microsoft.Identity.Test.Unit/CoreTests/HttpTests/HttpManagerTests.cs
index 66cb40d66f..7d22a3cdb0 100644
--- a/tests/Microsoft.Identity.Test.Unit/CoreTests/HttpTests/HttpManagerTests.cs
+++ b/tests/Microsoft.Identity.Test.Unit/CoreTests/HttpTests/HttpManagerTests.cs
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Linq;
 using System.Net;
 using System.Net.Http;
 using System.Net.Security;
@@ -11,6 +12,7 @@
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
 using Microsoft.Identity.Client;
 using Microsoft.Identity.Client.Core;
+using Microsoft.Identity.Client.Http.Retry;
 using Microsoft.Identity.Test.Common;
 using Microsoft.Identity.Test.Common.Core.Helpers;
 using Microsoft.Identity.Test.Common.Core.Mocks;
@@ -533,5 +535,48 @@ public async Task TestSendPostWithRetryOnTimeoutFailureAsync()
                 Assert.AreEqual(Num500Errors, requestsMade);
             }
         }
+
+        private class CapturingHandler : HttpMessageHandler
+        {
+            public HttpRequestMessage CapturedRequest { get; private set; }
+            protected override Task<HttpResponseMessage> SendAsync(HttpRequestMessage request, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
+            {
+                CapturedRequest = request;
+                return Task.FromResult(new HttpResponseMessage(System.Net.HttpStatusCode.OK));
+            }
+        }
+
+#if NET
+        [TestMethod]
+        public async Task SendRequestAsync_SetsHttp2VersionAndPolicy()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var handler = new CapturingHandler();
+            var httpClient = new HttpClient(handler);
+            var httpClientFactory = Substitute.For<IMsalHttpClientFactory>();
+            httpClientFactory.GetHttpClient().Returns(httpClient);
+
+            var httpManager = new Client.Http.HttpManager(httpClientFactory, disableInternalRetries: true);
+
+            // Act
+            await httpManager.SendRequestAsync(
+                new Uri("https://login.microsoftonline.com/common/discovery/instance?api-version=1.1&authorization_endpoint=https://login.microsoftonline.com/common/oauth2/v2.0/authorize"),
+                null,
+                null,
+                HttpMethod.Get,
+                Substitute.For<ILoggerAdapter>(),
+                doNotThrow: true,
+                bindingCertificate: null,
+                validateServerCert: null,
+                cancellationToken: CancellationToken.None,
+                retryPolicy: Substitute.For<IRetryPolicy>()
+            ).ConfigureAwait(false);
+
+            // Assert
+            Assert.IsNotNull(handler.CapturedRequest);
+            Assert.AreEqual(HttpVersion.Version20, handler.CapturedRequest.Version);
+            Assert.AreEqual(HttpVersionPolicy.RequestVersionOrLower, handler.CapturedRequest.VersionPolicy);
+        }
+#endif
     }
 }