Editor's Note: After this article was published, Microsoft announced in a blog post that PCs that are beta testing Windows 11 through the Windows Insider Program and that meet both the minimum requirements for Windows 11 and the Windows Insider Program requirements, will no longer receive new builds of Windows 11 if they do not meet both requirements However, they will still receive cumulative updates to current builds that include security and bug fixes An updated version of the original article follows

Windows 11 is scheduled for full release on October 5, but Microsoft has begun telling Windows Insider Program beta testers to roll back to Windows 10 if their PCs do not meet Windows 11 system requirements Reports are circulating today that they are beginning to tell people to

This is an important step for Microsoft to bring Windows 11 to market It may also seem a bit cold to those who have been passionate about trying Windows 11, even if their PCs do not meet Microsoft's requirements

Perhaps Windows Insiders with PCs that did not meet the minimum requirements for Windows 11 were allowed to install and test an earlier version of the OS to see how well it would (or would not) work on unsupported hardware It is likely that they were Therefore, after some internal testing, Microsoft relaxed the initially strict Windows 11 system requirements and added some older 7th generation Intel processors to the list of CPUs compatible with Windows 11

Now, according to a screenshot posted on Twitter by BetaWiki, when some Windows Insiders try to sign up, "Your device is not eligible to join the Windows Insider Program for Windows 11 According to ZDnet, reliable sources who have been testing Windows 11 on non-target PCs have also performed clean installations and attempted to join the Windows Insider Program for Windows 11 After attempting to join the Windows Insider Program, they saw the same message

This appears to be contrary to the Windows 11 beta testing program plan that Microsoft outlined in a June blog post The post stated that all Windows Insiders would be allowed to check out Windows 11 updates even on PCs that did not meet the minimum requirements until the operating system was generally available, at which point they would have to roll back to Windows 10 They claimed that they might have to

Microsoft has since posted on its blog that PCs that do not meet the minimum system requirements but are allowed to participate in the Windows 11 public beta test Dev channel will only be able to participate until the version of Windows 11 that is released to the general public is distributed for testing The blog post clarified that they will only be allowed to participate until the version of Windows 11 that is released to the general public for testing is distributed Since those currently participating in the Dev Channel are beta testing Windows 11, which will be released after the operating system ships, the minimum requirements for Windows 11 and the Windows Insider Program requirements (participants do not have to meet the minimum CPU and TPM requirements to pass), those with PCs that do not meet both will no longer receive new builds of Windows 11 However, they can still receive cumulative updates for the current build, including security and bug fixes

This is a strong pushback from the company, which has had more bark than bite when it comes to setting minimum requirements for the next big Windows release In addition to expanding the list of acceptable CPUs, Microsoft has also confirmed that Windows 11 can be installed on older PCs that do not meet the Windows 11 system requirements by using the official ISO instead of upgrading through Windows Update We have confirmed that this is possible On these machines, Windows 11 will run in an "unsupported state" and may not receive critical security fixes or Windows updates This also means that technically TPM 2 is not required According to Microsoft, a TPM 12 chip is required to run Windows 11 Older TPM 12 chips will work, but with the caveat that copies of Windows are no longer supported and may be more vulnerable to attack

However, if you plan to try the Windows 11 beta on an unsupported PC, you may be out of luck Fortunately, Microsoft has promised to continue support until October 2025