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    Will unsupported Windows 11 devices be bricked by Microsoft?

    Karlston

    By Karlston,
    Published Date:

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    • 8 comments
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    When Microsoft announced its Windows 11 operating system, it made it very clear that the operating system was designed for devices that meet the operating system's system requirements. The company pulled the released Windows 11 compatibility checker, because it only returned "compatible" or "not compatible" when run, but did not provide explanations.

     

    With the release just a week away, users worldwide are left with uncertainty when it comes to installing Windows 11 on unsupported devices.

     

    Recently, Microsoft added a new prompt to the setup of Windows 11 that acts as a waiver if the device does not meet the minimum system requirements of Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system.

     

    windows-11-updates-not-entitled.webp

     

    One sentence sticks out in particular:

    If you proceed with installing Windows 11, your PC will no longer be supported and won't be entitled to receive updates.

    Does it mean that unsupported Windows 11 devices won't receive updates, even security updates? Or is Microsoft playing it safe and merely stating that it can't be held responsible if updates won't install on unsupported devices?

     

    It would be a first for the company if devices that run one of its supported operating systems would be blocked from receiving any updates or at the very least security updates.

     

    The devices would be stuck on the initial install version of Windows 11. Without updates, security issues and other issues would not be patched, and the devices would be vulnerable to attacks and exploits.

     

    Administrators would have little options but to restore an older version of Windows, install an older version of Windows from scratch, or switch to Linux.

     

    Microsoft has never been a company with clear communication. The wording of the "What needs your attention" waiver, which it displays during setup, is another prime example of that.

     

    It seems likely that unsupported Windows 11 devices will receive updates, but that administrators are on their own if issues are encountered during installation of the updates or afterwards. Unsupported means that Microsoft won't help customers if the PC does not meet the minimum system requirements.

     

    Updates could also refer to feature updates, which will be released once per year. Feature updates could include system compatibility checks, and devices not meeting the minimum system requirements could be prevented from installing those; this would end the ride one year after the official release of Windows 11. Admins may be able to install that new Windows 11 version from scratch but it could mean losing access to installed applications or system changes.

     

    Microsoft could provide a simpler explanation, both in regards to updates on devices that don't meet the system requirements and on installation of Windows 11 on unsupported devices, but there is little hope that a company official will go on record about either of these matters.

     

    Windows users who plan to upgrade to Windows 11 on unsupported hardware may want to wait at least a month before they consider starting the upgrade. By that time, the first cumulative update will have been released, and information about the update behavior on unsupported Windows 11 devices will have come to light. It is even possible that the first Windows 11 update will be released on October 12, the Patch Tuesday of the month.

     

    To answer the title's question: Windows 11 devices, that don't meet the minimum system requirements, could indeed be bricked by Microsoft, if the company decides to block these from receiving updates. We will know more in two weeks time, when the first updates for Windows 11 will be released.

     

     

    Will unsupported Windows 11 devices be bricked by Microsoft?

    • meohmy, jenyco2 and dabourzannan
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    meohmy

    With all the fuss being made by both people and governments about saving the planet from global warming by making things last longer and recycling products, it seems that Microsoft wants to do the complete opposite and condem millions of computers worldwide to the scrap heap and create loads of plastic for landfill.

    Well done Microsoft and thanks for your understanding of global warming.

     

    • Kalju and jenyco2
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    The Boca Deb

    @Karlston,

     

    For the sake of clarity, please define, if you can, what Microsoft meant by updates as referenced in the 'White Box Warning' in your original post.

     

    Automatic updates or manual updates?

     

    Thank you in advance.

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    Karlston
    2 hours ago, The Boca Deb said:

    For the sake of clarity, please define, if you can, what Microsoft meant by updates as referenced in the 'White Box Warning' in your original post.

     

    Well, I'm not Microsoft :) so guessing... all updates, security, "quality", drivers,...both automatic and manual.

     

    Peculiar attitude by Microsoft given its historical (since Windows 10) extreme obsession with forcing updates and going to equally extreme lengths to stop users blocking them.

    • The Boca Deb
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    The Boca Deb
    17 hours ago, Karlston said:

     

    Well, I'm not Microsoft :) so guessing... all updates, security, "quality", drivers,...both automatic and manual.

     

    Peculiar attitude by Microsoft given its historical (since Windows 10) extreme obsession with forcing updates and going to equally extreme lengths to stop users blocking them.

    Thank you, Karlston. I will query Microsoft directly and post back on this thread if/when I find something out, or are directed by the Admins to do otherwise.

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    Kalju

    Properly done advertising still has terrible power.
    For eight years and a little more, Microsoft had no way of getting people to use Windows 10, everyone was trying to stay away from it. Yet it was and still is the best Windows ever.
    Now that Microsoft is about to release the worst version ever, people are going crazy with the problem of how to get it and whether it will fit in my antique machine.
    No more  "I don't want to or I'm still waiting" as it was with Windows 10.
    So, advertising agents. Remember. There is no need to praise the goods, instead it must be said: "it is not given to everyone or everyone does not get it anyway" and all the shit is bought very quickly. Good things not mandatory, but good advertising must be. It works always, no matter what you sell, absolutely everything is suitable for commodity.

     

    PS. Sorry, I forgot. Anyway, I'm not in a hurry to upgrade this time. I'm waiting as long as possible.

    And I don't cry at all that can't put it in every old machine. I'm rather happy.

    Edited by Kalju
    • Edgar.Elooo and Karlston
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    The Boca Deb

    As promised, I am posting back with replies to my query to Microsoft about the "White Box Warning."

     

    The thread is here: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_11/upgrading-to-windows-11-white-box-warning/a18394b1-4be6-439c-8d6f-ad780b7c295b?messageId=f22e5d1c-6a51-4b61-a7c9-839913c6469e&lc=1033

    (I copied and pasted it while signed out of my Microsoft Account. If Admins feel the link needs to be 'cleaned', go ahead and do so. No worries.)

    Methodology: I took the graphic of the "White Box Warning" posted by @Karlston and used it in my query to Microsoft. My query read, "Dear Microsoft, I have a question about the impending release of Windows 11. This 'white box warning' has been brought to my attention. For the sake of clarity, please define what you mean by updates. Manual updates or automatic updates? Thank you in advance for your assistance."

    Summary:

    1st Response: Less than helpful. I am NOT about to wait it out and be at MSFT's mercy.

    2nd Response: A little more helpful. Respondent at least gave real world information about how they are going about the upgrade.

    3rd Response: Response from a volunteer moderator. Copied and pasted here verbatim, "We were told that the documentation regarding this would be available soon."

     

    Conclusion: They seem to know as much as we do here, which is not much. But at least they are aware that we are asking questions.

     

    I hope some of your/our questions have been answered or are closer to it.

     

    Debby

    "Manners, politeness, and good grammar go a long way."

    • Karlston and Edgar.Elooo
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