Microsoft has once again made the mistake of offering the Windows 11 upgrade to PCs with unsupported hardware. The mistake was pointed out by Twitter user PhantomOcean3, who noticed that Microsoft was displaying fullscreen prompts on unsupported hardware. Although Microsoft has now explained that the PCs that did not meet the minimum requirements for Windows 11 were not able to complete the upgrade, it’s the second time in less than a year that Microsoft has made this mistake.
In a support note, Microsoft explained the situation: “Some hardware ineligible Windows 10 and Windows 11, version 21H2 devices were offered an inaccurate upgrade to Windows 11. These ineligible devices did not meet the minimum requirements to run Windows 11. Devices that experienced this issue were not able to complete the upgrade installation process.”
This is not the first time that Microsoft has offered the upgrade to PCs that aren’t officially supported. Last year, a similar issue occurred that allowed those unsupported PCs to upgrade, which highlighted the controversial strict minimum hardware requirements for Microsoft’s latest operating system.
Windows 11 officially requires Intel 8th Gen Coffee Lake or Zen 2 CPUs and up, with very few exceptions. While there are easy ways to install Windows 11 on unsupported CPUs, Microsoft has been testing a new desktop watermark on unsupported hardware.
Despite the recent mishap, Microsoft is expected to deliver some additional improvements to Windows 11 soon. The update, referred to internally as “Moment 2,” is expected to add a full search box to the taskbar, improve search in the Start menu, add a tablet-optimized taskbar, and roll out a redesigned system tray.
While the latest mistake isn’t likely to have a significant impact on users, it underscores the need for Microsoft to refine its upgrade process and ensure that users are not misled. With the ongoing development of Windows 11, it’s possible that such issues may arise again in the future, but it’s important that Microsoft takes steps to ensure that the process is as smooth and error-free as possible.
