What you need to know
- Windows 11 is being offered to unsupported PCs that do not meet the minimum requirements of the operating system.
- Several posts mention upgrade prompts appearing on older PCs, including models up to ten years old.
- Following the prompts on an unsupported PC fails to install Windows 11, at least based on what we’ve seen online.
Windows 11 has a strict set of minimum requirements that preclude many older PCs, and some newer ones, from installing the OS. But a recent issue causes the operating system to be offered to unsupported PCs. The bug was flagged up by Twitter user @PhantomOfEarth and has also been discussed on Reddit.
Based on people’s experiences that have been shared online, the prompts appear on PCs that fail to meet the minimum requirements of Windows 11 but following those prompts fails to install the upgrade.
“If you attempt to upgrade, you will still be met with an error that your PC does not meet the requirements,” said Froggypwns, one of the moderators of the Windows 11 subreddit. That subreddit created a megathread for Windows 11 being offered to unsupported PCs because of how many reports had appeared.
A user known as motionbot said that their school computer was offered the update despite having 2GB of RAM, a 1.12 GHz CPU, DDR3, and “barely [being] able to run Windows 10.”
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This issue appears to be unintentional, rather than a push to get Windows 11 on older systems. Microsoft outlined the minimum requirements of Windows 11 when it announced the operating system. Despite pushback and criticism, Microsoft maintained the requirements, including TPM 2.0.
It is possible to upgrade an unsupported computer to Windows 11, though doing so could lead to compatibility issues.
We’ve reached out to Microsoft for comment on why unsupported PCs are being prompted to install Windows 11. We’ll upgrade this article as more information becomes available.
