What are the minimum system requirements to upgrade to Windows 11?

Recently, different users reported receiving a Windows 11 upgrade banner on their Windows 10 devices despite not meeting the minimum requirements. Microsoft has already explained that this was a mistake, saying the upgrade offer was “inaccurate” and accepting it would only result in failure. Nonetheless, it has caused confusion among those who didn’t know the current Windows 11 minimum requirements. So who is eligible to upgrade to Windows 11?

Windows 11 was just released in October 2021. With this, you can expect most devices purchased in the past 18-24 months to be compatible with Windows 11. If you want a better way to check the eligibility of your device, you can use the Microsoft Health Check PC, an application that can inspect your device. This can be a useful tool to help you determine why your device is not suitable for Windows 11 upgrade. It will also provide suggestions that you can apply to get the Windows 11 upgrade in case you would not meet the minimum requirements. You can install this app by going to https://aka.ms/GetPCHealthCheckApp.

If you don’t want to install the app and check the requirements yourself, here’s a quick summary of what you need to meet to be eligible to upgrade to Windows 11.

Hardware Setup

Selon Microsoft document updated in February 2023, you must meet the minimum hardware requirements to get the upgrade. Besides the internet connectivity you need for the process, here is a detailed list of requirements shared by Microsoft:

Graphic card: Compatible with DirectX 12 or later, with a WDDM 2.0 driver.

System Firmware: UEFI, Secure Boot compatible.

TPM : Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0.

Display: High definition display (720p), 9″ or larger monitor, 8 bits per color channel.

Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with two or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or system-on-chip (SoC).

Memory: 4 gigabytes (GB) or more.

Storage: 64 GB or more of available disk space.

Currently, Microsoft only needs 64GB for the latest storage requirement. However, it is important to note that given frequent Windows 11 updates and the rollout of new features, higher storage might be necessary to ensure that you receive updates in the future. Microsoft explains that different factors will determine the amount of free space required for these Windows 11 updates in the future. These factors include:

  • Previously installed versions of Windows
  • Amount of free storage space available from Windows files to reuse
  • Currently installed apps
  • Data storage behavior of said applications

With this, although you can get the Windows 11 upgrade by meeting the 64 GB storage requirement, we suggest you go beyond the said number to prepare for the upcoming Windows 11 updates.

For a virtual machine (VM), on the other hand, here are the configuration requirements to be met:

Generation: 2 (Note: In-place upgrade of existing Generation 1 VMs to Windows 11 is not possible.)

Storage: 64 GB or more of disk space.

Security :

  • Azure: Secure Launch with vTPM enabled.
  • Hyper-V: Secure Boot and TPM Enabled. (General Settings: Secure Boot Compatible, Virtual TPM Enabled.)

Memory: 4 GB or more.

Processor: Two or more vCPUs.

  • The VM host processor must also meet Windows 11 processor requirements. (Note: There may be cases where this requirement for the VM host does not apply. For more information, see Windows Usage Options 11 with Mac computers.)
  • The procedures for configuring the required virtual machine settings depend on the type of virtual machine host. For example, VM hosts running Hyper-V, virtualization (VT-x, VT-d) must be enabled in the BIOS. Virtual TPM 2.0 is emulated in the guest VM regardless of the presence or version of the Hyper-V host’s TPM.

Software requirements

In addition to hardware requirements, you must also meet some current operating system requirements if you are using Windows 10. Specifically, Microsoft says Windows 10 devices must be on version 2004 or later with security update 14. September 2021 or later already installed.

Also, it is important to note that Windows 11 in S mode is only available in the Windows 11 Home edition. That said, you won’t be offered an upgrade from Windows 11 if you’re running the Pro, Enterprise, or Education editions of Windows 10 in S mode. Fortunately, you can fix this problem by simply exiting S mode. cannot switch back to S mode later.)

Additionally, for users running Windows 10 Enterprise and Education editions, it is suggested to wait for signal from their IT administrators as to when they are ready for an upgrade to Windows 11.

Optional requirements for specific features

Moving from Windows 10 to Windows 11 is a big step, as you will get a variety of new Windows items and features. Meeting the minimum requirements will get you the system upgrade, but some features will only be provided to specific machines with particular hardware specs. These features and their requirements include:

5G support: requires a 5G compatible modem.

Auto HDR: requires an HDR monitor.

Takeaway BitLocker: requires a USB key. This feature is available in Windows Pro and higher editions.

Client Hyper-V : requires a processor with second-level address translation (SLAT) capabilities. This feature is available in Windows Pro and higher editions.

Cortana: requires microphone and speaker and is currently available on Windows 11 for Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Direct storage: requires an NVMe SSD to store and run games that use the Standard NVM Express Controller driver and a DirectX12 GPU with Shader Model 6.0 support.

DirectX 12 Ultime : available with supported games and graphics chips.

Presence: requires a sensor that can detect the human distance from the device or the intention to interact with the device.

Smart video conferencing: requires video camera, microphone and speaker (audio output).

Assistant vocal multiple : requires a microphone and a speaker.

To break: three-column layouts require a screen width of 1920 effective pixels or more.

Enable and disable sound: from the taskbar requires a video camera, a microphone and a speaker (audio output). The application must support the functionality to enable/disable global audio.

Son spatial : requires hardware and software support.

Microsoft Teams: requires video camera, microphone and speaker (audio output).

Touch: requires a display or monitor that supports multi-touch.

Two-factor authentication: requires the use of a PIN, biometric (fingerprint reader or illuminated infrared camera) or a phone with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth capabilities.

Voice input: requires a PC with a microphone.

Voice wake-up: requires Modern Standby power supply model and microphone.

Wi-Fi 6E: requires new IHV WLAN hardware and driver and a Wi-Fi 6E compatible access point/router.

Windows Hello : requires a camera configured for near-infrared (IR) imaging or a fingerprint reader for biometric authentication. Devices without biometric sensors can use Windows Hello with a Microsoft-compatible PIN or portable security key. For more information, see IT tools to support Windows 10, version 21H1.

Projection Windows : requires a graphics card that supports Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 2.0 and a Wi-Fi card that supports Wi-Fi Direct.

Application Xbox : requires an Xbox Live account, which is not available in all regions. Go to the Xbox Live Countries and Regions page for the latest availability information. Some Xbox app features require an active Xbox Game Pass subscription.

While these features might be expected when upgrading to Windows 11, some features and elements might also be removed. For example, some of the significant changes to Windows startup include the removal of live tiles and named app groups and folders. Other features that will be removed from your system when upgrading to Windows 11 include Wallet, Windows Store for Business and Windows Store for Education, Timeline, Quick Status, and Math Input Panel . For a full list of those features that will be deprecated or removed, click ici.

Final thoughts: Install Windows 11 on eligible and non-eligible devices

If you think your Windows 10 device is eligible for an upgrade to Windows 11 and meets the minimum requirements, you can visit your PC’s Windows Update page to check for a notification that your device is ready for an upgrade. at the level. Just go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates.

If you do not meet the requirements (or if your device has Known issues), Windows 11 installation is not suggested. Nevertheless, if you decide to have the new version of the operating system despite the possible consequences, you can always upgrade to Windows 11 in various ways, including using the installation wizard or creating media Windows 11 installer.

But then once more, it is best to avoid doing them as force upgrades result in compatibility issues and will soon cause the device to malfunction. Also, getting Windows 11 updates (especially security updates) on those ineligible devices that used forced installs is not guaranteed.

In such cases, you might find yourself having to roll back to Windows 10 (Start > Settings > System > Recovery > Roll Back). Note, however, that this option will only be available for 10 days following the forced upgrade, as it will soon be removed to free up disk space on your device. If you miss this, going back to Windows 10 will be an additional problem for you besides a faulty Windows 11 system.

That said, if you find that your device does not meet the minimum requirements, you are left with two options to safely upgrade to Windows 11: follow the suggestions provided by the PC Health Check app or get a new device. that meets Windows 11 requirements (or buy a new one with Windows 11 already installed).

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