Some Windows 10 users have been given a treat they weren’t expecting this week thanks to an error from Microsoft. It appears a bug in the firm’s update schedule gave owners of unsupported PCs the chance to download the very latest version of Windows 11. If you weren’t already aware, Windows 11 caused a fair amount of controversy when it launched last year with this software not working on machines that didn’t have the latest processor with TPM 2.0 security.
This piece of hardware makes things far more robust by offering an additional layer of security on the PC itself.
Anyone with an older device – without a TPM – has since been forced to buy a new computer if they wanted Windows 11 but this latest release has meant even those with unsupported laptops have been given access.
Windows 10 fans have been quick to post images of the update arriving on their devices with one user saying, “My old Dell Optiplex 7040, i7-6700 3.4GHz, 16GB, Intel HD 530 became eligible today, and I’ve upgraded it.”
Whilst another added: “I got the update on my Surface Pro 4, i5, 4gb ram. Works fine!”
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It’s worth noting that this latest Windows 11 upgrade, which included changes to the Start Menu and Task Manager, didn’t self install on these older machines but it’s still caused a fair amount of confusion.
In a statement, Microsoft has confirmed that it was an error and the system requirements for Windows 11 remain unchanged.
“It’s a bug and the right team is investigating it,” Microsoft said. “The requirements have not changed.”
Although many users have had luck installing this Windows 11 update on unsupported PCs others have had issues with one user saying, “I have a 7700HQ and for some reason, it allowed (and even forced) me to upgrade to W11. I had a terrible time, went back to W10.”
However, with some Windows 10 users clealry having success, it will raise question marks over why Microsoft isn’t letting some older machines have access to its very latest software.
If you have an unsupported machine and are hoping to grab Windows 11 you are out of luck with the Redmond firm removing the update from its servers.