Last updated on April 22, 2024
Yes! If you're a Windows 10 user, Microsoft allows you to upgrade to Windows 11 for free. However, this is contingent on your current computer meeting the minimum system requirements for the upgrade.
Microsoft has published a table listing the hardware requirements that all PCs destined for an upgrade should meet.
(This image depicts the system requirements for Windows 11.)
For devices released in the last 3-5 years, they should meet the minimum hardware specifications and qualify for a free upgrade. However, you might also find the wording quite sharp when it comes to checking if your machine meets the Windows 11 requirements. Fortunately, there's a Windows 11 checker that can assist you. Download the software quickly and follow the steps to verify the specifics:
Step 1. Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant and click on "Toolbox".
Step 2: Click on “Windows 11 Checker” to open the tool. Then, hit the Check Now button to start.
Step 3. The Windows 11 Compatibility results window will quickly appear, listing all of your compatible and incompatible configurations.
To install Windows 11 on Windows 10, you need to boot your machine from UEFI mode. If your partition style remains MBR, you'll need the GPT style to boot from this mode.
To check, press Windows + X and click “Computer Management” > Select “Disk Management” in the left pane > Right-click on the hard drive and select “Properties” from the menu > Go to the “Volume” tab, where you can see if your partition style is GPT or MBR.
For beginners, fewer steps and a direct interface are welcome, as none of us wants to get stuck in the first stage of the upgrade. The disk partition tool Partition Master has the function to change disk style from MBR to GPT or GPT to MBR without any data loss. Download the software and check out the simple video tutorial.
Once the disk is converted to the GPT style, you'll need to boot your Windows 10 computer from UEFI rather than BIOS, or it won't start up properly. Here's how:
Step 1. Open Settings and go to Update & Security > Click on Recovery > Under Advanced startup, click on Restart now.
2. On the Advanced Startup screen, click Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware Settings, and then click Restart.
A TPM 2.0 chip could be the main obstacle to upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11. Some users have seen messages on YouTube such as, “Free upgrade to Windows 11 equals buying a new Windows 11 computer or pay for new hardware…” How can you install Windows 11 on your Windows 10 device without a TPM chip? You can use a tool like Windows 11 Builder to create an ISO image on a bootable USB device. Then, you can bypass the TPM chip with the following manual method.
Step 1. Launch OS2Go after installing it, and click on the Create Windows Install Drive option. The main screen will display the system information that it has gathered, which will be updated continually. In addition to Windows 11, the Win11 Builder also lets you download Windows 10/8.1.
Step 2: Plug the USB flash drive into your PC. Windows 11 Setup should detect it automatically, at which point you can click the Create button.
Step 3. If you're using a used USB drive, the software will wipe its data. Once the download starts, wait for it to finish, or leave and do your own thing, coming back later.
Step 4. Once the Windows 11 ISO image has successfully downloaded to your USB drive, follow the on-screen instructions to start installing Windows 11 from the bootable USB drive on your computer.
Step 1. When you see the “This PC can't run Windows 11” error, click the “Back” button.
Step 2. Press Shift + F10 to open the Command Prompt > Type 'regedit' to open the Windows Registry.
Step 3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup. Create a new Key called LabConfig by selecting Edit > New > Key.
Step 4: Right-click in the LabConfig key, and then click New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Step 5: Rename it to BypassTPMCheck, right-click on it, and select Modify… > Type in 00000001, and click OK.
Step 6: Close the Registry Editor and return to the Windows 11 installer.
Step 1: Connect the USB drive with the ISO image to your computer. Head to Devices and Drives, and you should see the USB drive listed there.
Step 2. Plug in the USB drive and launch the setup.exe file to install Windows 11.
Step 3. On the Windows 11 Setup screen, click “Change how updates are downloaded” > check “Later” > click “Next”.
Step 4. Wait a while, then choose what to keep.
Then, click the Next button.
Step 5: Confirm the “Ready to install” prompt, and click Install.
Step 6: Wait for the installation to complete...
Once the upgrade to Windows 11 is complete, sign in to your account and set up your preferences.
If Windows 11 turns out not to be the ideal operating system for your device, you can still roll back from Windows 11 to Windows 10.
Step 1: Click the Windows icon, select Settings, go to Update & Security, then choose Recovery.
Step 2: Click the “Go back” button under “Return to an earlier version of Windows 10.”
Step three: Check the reason for the uninstall.
Step 4: If the program asks if you want to check for updates, click “No, thanks.”
Step 5: Read the “What You Need to Know” section and click on the “Next” button.
Step 6. Click “Next” again, then click “Roll back to an earlier version.”
Now Windows will restart. Please wait a few minutes.
For those who want to downgrade from Windows 11 to Windows 10, this guide will be helpful. With the compatibility checker tool, converting MBR to GPT, downloading the Windows 11 ISO file, you can easily upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11. And if you find that Windows 11 is not for you after trying it out, you can always go back to your previous OS.