Windows 11 should have been an easy upgrade - Microsoft chose to unleash chaos on us instead

Matthias Kulka/Getty Images

In my three-plus decades of watching Microsoft, I've seen the institution bash some truly dumb things. The modulation from Windows 10 to Windows 11 deserves a spot astatine the apical of the list. What's astir awesome is that the strategy it's been executing is atrocious for Microsoft's customers, and atrocious for the company's bottommost line. A existent lose-lose proposition.

Also: Microsoft unveils Windows 11 25H2 - here's who tin effort it present and how

In 2021, erstwhile Microsoft's engineers were putting the finishing touches connected what would go Windows 11, the program was to marque it a accepted merchandise that would person allowed astir Windows 10 PCs an casual upgrade path. But idiosyncratic astatine Microsoft killed that plan, creating a bid of headaches that volition go exceptionally costly and achy for businesses and consumers astatine the extremity of 2025. 

And it didn't person to beryllium this way. To recognize why, we request to speech astir the agelong past of Microsoft Windows enactment policies.

Microsoft's 10-year enactment lifecycle

Since the mid-1990s -- the commencement of the modern Windows epoch -- Microsoft has committed to enactment each caller commercialized merchandise of Windows for astatine slightest 10 years -- 5 years of mainstream enactment and 5 years of extended support. That committedness was formalized a quarter-century agone with the merchandise of Windows 2000; it expanded to officially see consumers successful 2012.

And that 10 years was astir the operating system, not the hardware. Because of the company's obsessive absorption connected backward compatibility, you could beauteous overmuch number connected your PC being capable to tally the latest mentation of Windows for astatine slightest a twelve years and possibly adjacent 15 years. If you bought a PC with Windows 7 preinstalled successful 2010, you were capable to upgrade it to Windows 8 successful 2012 and past Windows 10 successful 2015, and galore of those devices are inactive moving Windows 10 productively successful 2025.

Also: How to get Windows 10 extended information updates for free: 2 options

That's wherefore it was specified a rude daze erstwhile Microsoft released Windows 11 successful 2021 with a acceptable of unexpectedly rigid hardware restrictions. The requirements were truthful terrible that they blocked upgrades adjacent connected PCs that had been purchased caller lone 2 oregon 3 years earlier Windows 11 was released. That efficaciously reduced the enactment lifecycle to good nether 10 years for hundreds of millions of PCs designed and built betwixt 2016 and 2019.

If you felt similar you'd conscionable had the rug pulled retired from nether you by idiosyncratic successful Redmond, well, you're not alone.

The chaotic motorboat of Windows 11

Windows 11 went done 1 of the astir compressed improvement cycles successful the agelong past of the OS. Announced successful June 2021, tested successful an Insider Preview rhythm for astir 3 months, past released successful October 2021.

The mode that announcement played retired was conscionable an implicit messiness from a firm communications standpoint. The online motorboat lawsuit connected June 24, 2021, was truthful glitchy that astir of the invited property and analysts were incapable to ticker it. And that was conscionable the start. To punctual myself of however insane that week was, I reread a portion I wrote astatine the time: "Will your PC tally Windows 11? Even Microsoft can't accidental for sure."

Also: Can't upgrade your Windows 10 PC? Here are your options earlier it each ends successful 3 months

Oh man, did that bring backmost a flood of unpleasant memories. I promote you to work that station and look astatine the fig of times I had to update it aft Microsoft execs backtracked, revised, hemmed and hawed with each item of the launch. They past memory-holed the confusing grounds they had created, doing specified a thorough occupation that adjacent the Internet Archive can't find the archetypal documents.

But aft doing that probe and speechmaking contemporaneous posts from different sources covering the aforesaid taxable astatine the aforesaid time, I deliberation I cognize what happened.

When Windows 11 was announced, Microsoft had prepared 2 sets of strategy requirements.

• The archetypal acceptable of requirements included elaborate CPU compatibility checks arsenic good arsenic the request for a TPM 2.0. Microsoft called this the Soft Floor.
• The 2nd acceptable would person allowed immoderate instrumentality that was made for Windows 10 to beryllium upgradeable to Windows 11, though they would spot a connection informing them that an upgrade is not advised. This was called the Hard Floor, and it would person fixed PCs built betwixt 2015 and 2018 an upgrade way that would support them moving aft Windows 10 enactment ended successful 2025.

Those requirements were nationalist connected June 25, 2021, erstwhile a Microsoft unpaid moderator connected the Windows assemblage treatment forum reassured immoderate anxious questioners that their unsupported processors were a "soft level requirement." He adjacent quoted from the Compatibility Cookbook.

Also: How to instal Windows 11 your mode (and debar Microsoft's restrictions)

The adjacent day, helium edited the station to admit that the accusation was nary longer valid and that the referenced pages had been removed. You tin spot the archetypal substance successful strikeout mode here:

In a substance of astir 48 hours, Microsoft changed and past memory-holed its archetypal strategy requirements for Windows 11.

Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET

Oops.

What happened?

I person nary wrong cognition astir what was going connected wrong the league rooms astatine One Microsoft Way that week, but my conjecture is that 2 factions successful the enforcement suite were warring implicit what to bash with 1 Windows 11.

One radical was holding retired for allowing some sets of requirements to coexist truthful that they could clasp Microsoft's accepted 10-plus-year enactment lifecycle.

Also: How to bash a cleanable instal of Windows 11: See which enactment is champion for you and why

All the documentation that came retired astir the Windows 11 announcement successful June 2021 acknowledged some sets of requirements. The engineers who had been gathering Windows 11 wanted to merchandise a wide acceptable of compatibility recommendations that discouraged -- but did not prohibit -- upgrades connected older PCs that met the hard floor. "Devices that bash not conscionable the hard level cannot beryllium upgraded to Windows 11, and devices that conscionable the brushed level volition person a notification that upgrade is not advised."

The different radical wanted to gully a enactment successful the sand, customers beryllium damned.

Guess who won.

As portion of their triumph lap, those hard-liners ruthlessly erased each hint of the archetypal requirements, astatine slightest successful papers form. For much than 3 years, a Microsoft Support leafage called "Ways to instal Windows 11" included elaborate instructions connected however to modify the registry and make installation media to upgrade Windows 10 PCs that contained astatine slightest a TPM 1.2 and had an unsupported CPU. Microsoft removed those instructions successful December 2024. (You tin find a copy of the archetypal page connected the Internet Archive.)

But it didn't region the registry keys and different workarounds that had made it imaginable to upgrade those older but inactive functional Windows PCs truthful they could person their mean 10-plus years of life. You tin inactive usage those tiny tweaks contiguous to instal and tally Windows 11 connected hardware that met the "hard floor" requirements. (That's Option 1 successful my guide: "How to upgrade your 'incompatible' Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 - 2 escaped options.")

Also: How to wide the cache connected your Windows 11 PC (and wherefore you shouldn't hold to bash it)

Blocking those perfectly functional machines from upgrading was rude, it was thoughtless, and it was, from a purely capitalist constituent of view, an amazingly effectual mode to alienate a immense proportionality of your lawsuit base.

Why did this happen?

Hundreds of millions of PCs that are moving Windows 10 contiguous can't beryllium upgraded to Windows 11 utilizing supported tools. How many? Who knows? My champion conjecture is that astir 50% of the Windows 10 installed basal is ineligible for an upgrade, which adds up to astatine slightest 500 cardinal PCs -- possibly a mates 100 cardinal more, if you judge Microsoft's optimistic numbers.

For PCs successful managed firm environments, Microsoft tin compression retired $427 per instrumentality for a three-year subscription to the Extended Security Updates program, oregon person those customers to upgrade to caller hardware oregon determination those workloads to cloud-based Windows 365 PCs. Either strategy volition enactment wealth successful Microsoft's pocket.

Also: 6 things I ever bash aft mounting up Windows 11 - and wherefore you should too

As for consumers and small, unmanaged businesses, well, y'all person been an afterthought for the past 4 years. But the imaginable of having each those machines abruptly chopped disconnected from information updates runs the hazard of creating a information nightmare astatine the extremity of this year. So, successful a determination that immoderate tenable idiosyncratic could person predicted 4 years ago, Microsoft successful precocious June caved -- not by extending the end-of-support day for Windows 10 but by agreeing to springiness distant one-year ESU subscriptions to consumers with Microsoft accounts who are consenting to leap done a fewer hoops.

That doesn't lick the problem. It conscionable kicks the tin down the roadworthy for 12 months and gives consumers and tiny businesses thing to beryllium adjacent much confused about. I expect to person an avalanche of email this autumn from radical unsure astir their options and tense astir whether it's harmless to support utilizing their old, perfectly bully PC. Some of them volition simply wage the $30.

And let's beryllium clear: If these requirements are truly astir security, past wherefore is Microsoft consenting to instrumentality wealth from its concern customers to let it to support delivering updates to the "insecure" older operating strategy for 3 afloat years aft the end-of-support date? And wherefore is it limiting idiosyncratic customers and tiny businesses, who are moving the aforesaid OS connected identical hardware, to a one-year extension?

Also: 7 speedy ways to marque Windows 11 little annoying close now

It's astir similar Microsoft thinks those small-fry customers are much occupation than they're worth, conscionable a headache. It tin compression retired immoderate gross by making Windows much annoying, but those commercial/enterprise customers are a overmuch much dependable and lucrative root of revenue.

Bottom line: It didn't person to beryllium this way. Microsoft could person chosen to rotation retired Windows 11 successful a much accepted way, giving a compatibility interruption to older machines. Instead, it chose this path. And present it's paying the price.

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