The day is finally here, Windows 11 is now officially rolling out. In fact, Microsoft opened the platform for download a day earlier than the official October 5 release. Specifically, eligible devices in New Zealand were getting Windows 11 on October 4. Either way, today is the official launch date and the global update is underway.
Microsoft says the update is gradual and in stages. Newer Windows 10 machines should be eligible for update now or soon, while others will get the upgrade later. The company is clear that newer machines are first, with older eligible devices coming later, maybe much later:
“We expect all eligible Windows 10 devices to be offered the upgrade to Windows 11 by mid-2022.”
You can check if your device is ready to upgrade to Windows 11 through the Windows Update section in the Windows 10 Settings app. However, eligible is the keyword that keeps cropping up, because the reality is millions of devices are not eligible.
Just yesterday we reported on a Lansweeper survey that found a majority of enterprise machines are not eligible for a Windows 11 upgrade. This means they will be stuck on Windows 10 for years. While Microsoft will continue to support Windows 10 until 2025, it will not be the focus of new features.
According to its Windows 11 readiness survey, Lansweeper shows 55% of enterprise workstations do not match Microsoft's upgrade requirements.
TPM 2.0
Microsoft's requirements including TPM 2.0 and 4GB of RAM, but also a GPU compatible with DirectX 12 or newer, UEFI secure boot, a WDDM 2.0 diver, and CPU stipulations. Microsoft also says these requirements also reflect on virtual machine installations.
This means many “older” machines are out of the loop for a Windows 11 upgrade. Microsoft is taking a particularly strict stance on TPM 2.0. According to the company, anyone installing Windows 11 without TPM 2.0 available will not get any feature or security updates. In other words, their machine will not be supported.
We advise checking our tutorial to see if your Windows 10 machine has TPM 2.0. Some users will be willing to take the plunge and download Windows 11 without TPM 2.0 on their laptop. Our easy tutorial shows you exactly how to install Windows 11 without TPM 2.0.
If you have an eligible PC and want to get Windows 11 early without waiting in a queue, the Microsoft Installation Assistant can help you do a clean install.
Tip of the day: Worried about your privacy in Windows 10 or want to keep different PCs linked to your Microsoft account strictly separate? We show you how to adjust your Windows 10 sync settings , including the clipboard, activity history/timeline, and themes.
Last Updated on February 16, 2022 3:46 pm CET by Markus Kasanmascheff
